Abstract
Summary As an introductory reading which addresses the notion of testimonial narrative, this essay offers a critique of Bozzoli's Women of Phokeng (1991). A central issue highlighted is Bozzoli's view that the testimonial text presents hidden forms of “consciousness”. However, it will be shown that “consciousness” is not something textualized when testimony is given, but is constantly developing in terms of its articulation. Key issues related to testimony, such as “evidence”, “subjectivity” and “knowledge” will be discussed in relation to the Bozzoli text. The essay will also attempt to identify some similarities to the confessional text. The article relies theoretically on the work of Spivak, although other theorists are drawn into the argument. Finally, the article will make the claim that the testimonial text sets itself up as a construction of reality and presents itself as a special case.
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