Mandisa

Outer characterization

Mandisa Ntloko is the main character and narrator of the novel Mother to Mother by Sindiwe Magona. She is a Black South African woman from Blouvlei, now living in Guguletu, a poor township of Cape Town where only non-white South Africans live due to segregationist apartheid laws. 

Mandisa has three children: Mxolisi, Lunga, and Siziwe. She is currently married to Dwadwa, Siziwe’s father. She used to be married to China, who was her first husband and Mxolisi’s father. She had Lunga with a man called Lungile, though Mandisa and Lungile were never married. 

Mandisa is in her mid-thirties and works as a maid for Mrs Nelson, a white woman. Though she sometimes feels guilty for not staying at home to take care of her family, Mandisa’s wages are necessary for the family, as they are relatively poor: “We couldn’t possibly survive just on what Dwadwa makes … we hardly make it as it is, with me working full time” (p. 8). 

Inner characterization

Mandisa was a dutiful daughter

As a child, Mandisa was intelligent and well-behaved. She cared about her education and was a good student, which allowed her to get into school once all the residents of Blouvlei were relocated to Gunguletu: “because both Khaya and I were such good students, our teachers sneaked us in” (p. 31). Moreover, even after she got pregnant an...