To Hell and Back

After finishing Bessie Head's novel A Question Of Power it would be a lie to say that I am not exhausted, confused, a bit angry, and happy all at the same time. This book was a path of twist and turns that the faint at heart would have a little trouble reading. After all is said and done however I truely am glad that I stuck it out and finished this amazing book. The stress and confusion was all worth it in the end.

The main character Elizabeth has been tormented by her mental demons, Sello and Dan, for about three years. Her mental disease has drove her to the point where she is no longer fit to work at the school she had been working at. After Elizabeth gets fired from the school she picks up gardening. When she did this I started to think that just maybe there was some hope for her. The reason being that she was able to comprehend the tasks at hand that gardening took. Although not too complicated Elizabeth found a way to grow vegetables and cape-gooseberries, which were not native to the land. She did her gardening with the help of a new friend, Kenosi. Kenosi and Elizabeth end up selling the vegetables and gooseberries for jam making.

Something that caught my attention was that whenever someone would walk by the garden and suggest they try some new seed they havn't yet, Elizabeth would not think twice about trying it out. To me this was a sign that she was ready for a new beginning. Maybe she was leaving her hell and the garden was just the place to pull her out of it.

Elizabeth's other friend Tom has a bigger role in he passage out of hell I believe. He came to the country for agriculture and by chance was interested in Elizabeth's garden. He does not see Elizabeth as a mentally ill person and treats her with respect like any friend would.

Elizabeth is later put into a hospital after posting a letter on the community bulletin board about Sello. Once she is diagnosed with a mental disorder she is checked into a facility for the mentally ill. Tom tries to come and visit however Elizabeth wants nothing to do with him. She is actually very rude and tells him that she never wants to se him again, even when she gets out.

Fortunately when Elizabeth gets out of the hospital Tom gives it one more chance to go see her. When he gets there Elizabeth apologizes for the things she has said and confesses how she truely feels for him. It is then when Tom notices her coming out of her hell..."Her soul-death was really over in that instant, though she did not realize it. He seemed to have, in and intangible way, seen her sitting inside that coffin, reached down and pulled her out. The rest she did herself. She was poised from that moment to make the great leap out of hell." (188)

This book was by far the hardest and most confusing book I have ever had to read. I feel fortunate to have gone through the journey with Elizabeth because it made me realize that at some point everyone needs somebody. One can not keep their sanity living a life of solitude. The outside perspective of friends is one of the most important things anyone can ask for.