Abstract

This article examines Sindiwe Magona’s 2008 novel, Beauty’s Gift (Cape Town: Kwela), noting its significance as the first full-length work by a South African woman on the topic of HIV/AIDS. The article contends that the novel borrows elements from popular modes of African fiction, primarily through its valorisation of female friendship, to speak to the urgency of the country’s health crisis and to question how love and marriage can be negotiated when women have become vulnerable to disease and death because of their unfaithful husbands. Charting the trajectory of the novel, this analysis recounts how one woman’s illness and death inspire her friends to challenge both the cultural endorsement of a masculinity that rejects any expectations of fidelity and the stigma which encourages South Africans to remain stuck in a quagmire of denial and indifference. While Magona envisions a transformation from passivity to determined action, she also nuances her indictment of men by noting the destabilisation of the African family caused by the exploitation of the black male body under apartheid. In addition, she suggests the role that certain traditional practices can play in offering examples of the type of community cohesion that is needed to stem the tide of HIV infections. The article concludes by acknowledging Magona’s willingness to adapt her aesthetics in this work to become an advocate for critically needed change as well as a spokesperson for uncomfortable truths related to the misdirection and inadequacy of the governmental response to the HIV/AIDS crisis.

摘要

本文考察了辛迪威·麦格纳（Sindiwe Magona）的2008年小说《美女的礼物》（Beauty's Gift）（开普敦：Kwela），并指出其重要性是南非妇女就艾滋病毒/艾滋病问题所做的第一篇全长著作。文章认为，这本小说借鉴了非洲小说的流行模式，主要是通过其对女性友谊的重视，来诉说该国健康危机的紧迫性，并质疑当妇女变得易患疾病时如何谈判爱情和婚姻。和死于他们不忠的丈夫。这种分析描绘了小说的轨迹，叙述了一个女人的疾病和死亡是如何激发她的朋友挑战既拒绝忠诚的男性气质的文化认可，又是一种耻辱感，这种耻辱感促使南非人陷于否认和沉迷的泥潭。漠不关心。麦格纳（Magona）设想从被动转变为坚定的行动，同时，她注意到种族隔离制度对黑人男性的剥削所造成的非洲家庭的不稳定，对男性的起诉也产生了细微的差别。此外，她建议某些传统做法可以发挥作用，以举例说明阻止艾滋病毒感染浪潮所需的社区凝聚力类型。文章最后总结道，麦格纳愿意在工作中适应自己的审美观，以成为迫切需要的变革的倡导者，并成为与政府对艾滋病毒/艾滋病危机的误导和不足相抵触的令人不快的真相的发言人。她还注意到种族隔离制度下对黑人男性的剥削所造成的非洲家庭不稳定，从而对男人的起诉产生了微妙的影响。此外，她建议某些传统做法可以发挥作用，以举例说明阻止艾滋病毒感染浪潮所需的社区凝聚力类型。文章最后总结道，麦格纳愿意在工作中适应自己的审美观，以成为急需的变革的倡导者，并成为与政府对艾滋病毒/艾滋病危机的误导和不足相对应的令人不安的真相的发言人。她还注意到种族隔离制度下对黑人男性的剥削所造成的非洲家庭不稳定，从而对男人的起诉产生了微妙的影响。此外，她建议某些传统做法可以发挥作用，以举例说明阻止艾滋病毒感染浪潮所需的社区凝聚力类型。文章最后总结道，麦格纳愿意在工作中适应自己的审美观，以成为急需的变革的倡导者，并成为与政府对艾滋病毒/艾滋病危机的误导和不足相对应的令人不安的真相的发言人。