Story of a Mother: a Biopolitical Reading of Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother, a fictional rendition of Amy Biehl’s murder, has been analyzed as a text that challenges the TRC’s reconciliatory philosophy, generates an empathetic dialogue across the color line, and reclaims the subdued maternal identity and voice. However, Mandisa’s narrative throws light on the condition of motherhood in apartheid South Africa. Examining Mandisa’s position as a girl, woman, and mother through a Foucauldian biopolitical lens, this paper argues that Mandisa’s story reveals the biopolitical construction of motherhood at a crucial historical juncture of South Africa. This analysis reveals that the novel is not a mere maternal testimony; rather, the narrative elucidates the creation of the docile bodies of black women under structural oppression and discursive regulation.