Gender In Selected African Novels

Scientific Essay from the year 2011 in the subject Literature - Africa, Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Brixen (none), course: Gender Studies, language: English, abstract: In its oral and written forms, literature has constantly served as one of the

major instruments in mirroring reality and society. Literature remains a

consistent tool in the representation, comprehension and interpretation of

fields of human endeavour such as religion, class struggle, politics, human

situations, social conflicts and Gender relations. No wonder then, gender

relations, especially feminism has laid hold on literature as a veritable

machinery for gender activism Men discovered the gold mine in literature

quite early and for ages tapped its resources to carve a niche for the male

gender in politics, culture and religion. At the same time the male gender

used the resources of literature and criticism to invent prejudices,

stereotypes and superstitious beliefs and heaped them on the female gender.

While women laboured under this burden for ages, men were busy

upstaging them in every field of life. Few instances have however existed

where certain female figures due to their exalted royal, military, economics

and cultic backgrounds have through individual efforts raised their heads

above water in their respective societies and eras. Literature has equally

recorded cases where powerful women in various races have astutely and

subtly cornered for themselves rights and priviledges which ordinary women

and even ordinary men could never dream of. Such positions were like

personal identity cards which neither outlived them nor were enjoyed by

other women during and after their lifetime. These examples are today

literature, in history and literary achieves. [...]