Nelson Mandela And His Family Life Essay, Research Paper
Nelson Mandela mentioned in his book, In life, every man has twin obligations- obligations to his family, to his parents, to his wife and children; and he has an obligation to his people, his community, his country (623). In Martin Luther s King s Letter from the Birmingham City Jail, he stated, whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. According to Nelson Mandela s autobiography, this statement so happens to be true. Every member of Mandela s family was affected by his political activities. His political actions prevented him from fulfilling his obligations as a son to his mother, a father to his children, and a husband to his wives.
A mother to a son bonds together like peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese. They are two things that seem to match no matter which way the plate is turned. Nelson Mandela s mother s name was Fanny Nosekeni, Fanny being her christian name (13). After the passing of her husband, Nelson s father, she had to give up Mandela because she knew she could not take care of him. Also, she knew he would have a more traditional upbringing in the regent s, Jongintaba, care than in her own (17). Mandela enjoyed living with his new family. He had the chance to live the life of a prince and also he had a chance to have a traditional education. He never wanted to get into politics, but as sure those words were spoken out of his mouth, he was the leader of many political organizations. Later in prison, his mother and two of his children came to visit him. Then was when he realized, time may seem to stand still for those of [them] in prison, but it did not halt for those outside (444). His mother seemed old when she came through the visitation doors to visit him. She had lost a great deal of weight and that made him uneasy about his mother s health. Being in prison, permitted him from checking up on her like any son would. Later, it disturbed him to find out about his mother s heart attack and soon death (445). He asked for permission to attend the funeral, but the prison authority rejected his request, because they thought his people would try to plan his escape. This news added to his grief, because he could not bury his mother, which was his responsibility as her eldest child and only son.
Nelson Mandela had a total of six children between two wives. He loved each one of them with all of his heart, but because of his political involvement, he could not give them the attention a child needs from their father. His eldest son Thembi asked his mother several time, where does daddy live (119). This question was not asked as a joke, but as a serious question, because Mandela would return home late at night long after the children were sleep and depart early in the morning long before they were awoken to start a new day. Later, Thembi was killed in an automobile accident and Mandela asked to attend his funeral. Again, permission was denied. Mandela was not able to withhold his responsibility to make sure that his son s spirit would rest peacefully (446). Every time Nelson left, he could feel his children s pain. His son Makgatho slept in his bed at night just to feel close to him. Also, once before he left, his daughter Makaziwe asked could [she] come along with him (177). This question made his departure even harder, but he knew his loyalty to his people and he had to go.
Nelson Mandela had two wives, Evelyn Mase and Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela, who he loved dearly. His love for the struggle came between him and both of his wives. His first wife, Evelyn, wanted him to convert [his] commitment to the struggle to a commitment to God, because his loyalty to the struggle disturbed her (206). It disturbed her because, he would have meetings late at night and that brought about ideas of an affair. Mandela could not give up his life in the struggle, and Evelyn could not live with his devotion to something other than herself and the family. Winnie, his second wife, did not mind his political mentality to fight for what was right, because she was in the struggle herself. The only problem was, she was harassed many times, because the government suspected that she was doing her husband s work secretly. Also, after he was free, she asked him to slow down. He refused to quit. Mandela felt that he could no longer be married and he continued in the struggle.
All throughout Nelson Mandela s struggle, he found that he was prevented from fulfilling his obligations as a son, a father, and a husband. He found that the millions of South Africans that he will never know or meet were the ones he knew best and loved most (623).
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