The Individual, Auto/biography and History in South Africa

“a wounded bird”, who would “smile and do anything” for Tabata if he was just able
“to say a word to her”. She “would tear the clothes off her back to give to him, because
he understood her”. Tabata “could sympathise with her” and “he felt with her”. Taylor
was “full of life and energy”, whereas her husband, J.G. was “tied to the chair” as a
physically disabled person. While J.G. may have been “a good companion” to Taylor, in
Gool’s view, he did not seem to satisfy her boundless energy. 56 This may be part of the
explanation of what drew Taylor to Tabata. They were also attracted to each other by
powerful desires and emotions, which drew upon the bedrock of their relationship of
political and cultural interchange and mutual reinforcement. And Taylor’s daughter
Doreen was her and Tabata’s fantasy child, whom Tabata described to her as “our
daughter”. In Taylor’s absence, Tabata “carried” her “eyes” with him “all the time” by
spending time with Doreen. 57
Tabata may have felt some responsibility for Taylor’s feelings of political isolation that
flowed from her unofficial political status. She recognised the “danger” for her of being
“necessarily cut off from contact for a number of reasons” except “through” Tabata. This
position was “fatal” for her “politically” and “from the point of view of [her] writing”. 58
And these feelings of the fatality of her isolation were amplified by a change in status in
Gool’s relationship with Tabata, when he moved into Milan Street with Gool in May
1953. This was a difficult moment for Taylor, and Tabata’s decision to make this move
was a contentious one in his and Taylor’s relationship. But he did so out of a sense of
political duty and orderly masculinity, which the demands of a rational movement with
a rational leadership required. The words Taylor recorded in her diary of these moves
and feelings were: “He has to decide now and feels the conflict but has no choice”. 59
Later, remembering these feelings, Taylor added a marginal note to her diary:
He had to agree to go to Milan Street and live there till exile
together…. Their house there became a centre for meeting.
56 Ciraj Rassool, Interview with Jane Gool, Harare, 25 January 1991.
57 I.B. Tabata to Dora Taylor, 19 April 1956, I.B. Tabata Collection, BC 925.
58 Dora Taylor, Notes added to Extended Diary, 1953, Dora Taylor Papers.
59 Dora Taylor, Extended Diary, entry for 6 May 1953, Dora Taylor Papers.
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