Theses and Dissertations
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Theses and Dissertations (Foreign Language)
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- ItemOpen AccessLes Tendances Womanistes Dans Les Oeuvres Des Romancieres De L'afrique Francophone(2015-04-17) Bestman, Rukayat FolajokeThe study examined the position of black women in relation to feminist theory, identified and discussed the varieties of womanism as an African version of feminism. It also analysed Francophone African women's novels from the womanist perspective. This was done with a view to exploring the thematic of Francophone African women's novelistic works. A review of Francophone African women's novels and of their criticism was carried out in relation to African literature in general. The works of several Francophone African women novelists were studied in depth within the womanist framework. Major themes of womanism such as motherhood, the family, African women's self-definition, the racial question and socio-political issues were analysed in the novels, using the womanist literary theory. The study revealed that although Francophone women novelists did not deliberately or consciously cultivate wornanism, certain womanist trends could be identified in their works, such as radical explorations of motherhood, celebration of womanhood, self-definition, affirmation of family values, representation of the principle of gender complementarity and engagement with socio-political and race issues. The theoretical position of Anglophone women on the goals of women's writing thus found its manifestation in the works of Francophone women novelists. Black female writers considered feminism inadequate in giving full expression to the experience of black women who, in addition to being victims of racial discrimination, suffered a double yoke at the hands of black and white male chauvinists. Varieties of womanism were identified, namely the orthodox womanism of Alice Walker which accommodated lesbianism; Clenora Hudson-Weems' Africana Womanism which was basically concerned with the experience of black women in the diaspora; and Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi's and M.E.M. Kolawole's African Womanisms which focused on the peculiar circumstances of African women on the African continent itself. Analysed from the womanist perspective, Francophone African female novels, it was shown, redefined motherhood as something that could be biological and also voluntary. They also foregrounded the notion of self- definition and emphasised the primacy of race. It was concluded that womanist trends were prevalent in the Francophone women's novels studied.
- ItemOpen AccessLa femme Chez Mongo Beti et Aminata Sow Fall (Women in the Works of Mongo Beti and Aminata Sow Fall).(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1987) Lokulo-Sodipe, Yetunde; Mojola, I.This study attempts to bring out the different ways women are portrayed in the works of two authors. One is a male author while the other is a female author. It has been noted that male writers, over the ages, tend to attribute subordinate roles to females characters in their works. With the advent of female writers in the literary world, it is thought that these female writers will bring in their feminine point of view, thereby introducing new horizons into literature. It is also some-times thought that female writers will concern themselves mostly with domestic matters. The study has been divided into four chapters with each chapter devoted to the situation of women. The first chapter analyses the situation and attitude of the traditional woman as seen in different characters in the chosen texts. In the second chapter, the study examines the personality and mentality of the contemporary woman. The third chapter studies the socialization process that makes the woman what she is and her situation within the society. In the fourth chapter, interest her society. As regards the women, two major categories were found, namely the traditional passive, docile and submissive woman and the Contemporary woman who believes in the equality of the sexes. It was also found out that the traditional woman was not always submissive for she could be quite assertive at times, depending on her personality, irrespective of the norms passed down to her.
- ItemOpen AccessAlioum Fantoure: Romancier D'une Societe en Quete de la Liberte.(Obafemi Awolowo University, 1986) Eluchie, Victoria Ugoeze; Bestman, M.Alioum Fantoure is one of the African writers whose novels have received little attention, from literary critics. Some critics do not go beyond his first novel Le Cercle des Tropigue. This study is an in-depth analysis of the African searches for liberty as presented in the four novels of Fantoure. Attention is focused on the three major periods of the African search for liberation depicted in the novels - the colonial era, the period of the struggle for independence and the post-independence era. The analysis reveals a deep-rooted pessimism the part of Fantoure vis-ŕ-vis the liberation of Africa as a continent. The colonial era, with its oppression and exploitation is seen as the beginning of the African woes. Fantoure denounces the lack of unity among Africans fighting for their independence. To the author, Africa's independence is paradoxical in that the social ills of the colonial era are still present. Africans are still in need of liberation from indigenous colonialist but this time their liberation seems to be a myth because of the indifference of the masses and the insensitivity of the leaders to the social problems. Thus, Fantoure sees the African search for liberation as hopeless.