Feminism in twenty-first-century Nigerian novels by women

Nwokocha, Sandra Chinyeaka (2017). Feminism in twenty-first-century Nigerian novels by women. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

Scholarship on twenty-first century Nigerian female-authored novels has long been dominated by womanist readings, regardless of the fact that these modern narratives represent feminism in strong terms. The readings often subsume subversive femininity within non-aggressive liberation, resulting in an insufficient narrative of the intricacies of the novels of the period. This thesis challenges such representations by proposing subversion as the hallmark of twenty- first century Nigerian female-authored novels through a textual analysis of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun, Sefi Atta’s Everything Good Will Come and Kaine Agary’s Yellow Yellow. Through a gynocentric approach, the analysis of the novels foregrounds a feminist view of domination, resistance and solidarity, espousing the premise that the contemporary heroines are understandably rebellious in asserting female agency. The thesis draws three fundamental conclusions: that the feminist paradigm is useful to the comprehension of the nuances of twenty-first century Nigerian female-authored novels, that dissidence is a remarkable feature of contemporary texts, and that this revolutionary tendency contrasts with the conservative attitudes of the previous epoch.

Type of Work: Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)
Award Type: Doctorates > Ph.D.
Supervisor(s):
Supervisor(s)EmailORCID
Gunning, DavidUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Mitchell, RebeccaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Licence:
College/Faculty: Colleges (2008 onwards) > College of Arts & Law
School or Department: School of English, Drama and American & Canadian Studies, Department of English Literature
Funders: Other
Other Funders: Government of Nigeria
Subjects: P Language and Literature > PL Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism
URI: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/7310

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