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DOO P\ 7RJROHVH IULHQGV :LWKRXW VXFK JHQHURXV SHUVRQDO VKDULQJ WKLV ZRUN ZRXOG QRW EH WKH ULFK UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ RI WKH SHRSOH DQG FXOWXUHRI7RJRWKDWLWLV<RXURFN ŝŝŝ 7$%/(2)&217(176 $FNQRZOHGJHPHQWVLL /LVWRILOOXVWUDWLRQVLY $EVWUDFWY ,QWURGXFWLRQ &KDSWHUDefining Togolese identity through Felix Couchoro’s L’Esclave-------------------- &KDSWHUReformulating Togolese identity through the feminine perspective---------------- &KDSWHUA contemporary take on Togolese identity----------------------------------------------- &KDSWHUA divergence in Togolese cultural identity------------------------------------------------ &KDSWHUA poet’s point of view on Togolese Identity------------------------------------------ &RQFOXVLRQWhat the future holds for Togo :RUNV&LWHGDQG&RQVXOWHG 9LWD ŝǀ /LVWRI,OOXVWUDWLRQV x &KDSWHU SKRWR RI *HRUJH 0DUNH 3ULQFH .RMR 7RYDORX+RXHQRX DQG 0DUFXV *DUYH\KWWSSODTXHKLVWRULFEORJVSRWFRPBBBDUFKLYHKWPO x &KDSWHU 1DQDV%HQ]LQV KWWSZZZDIULFDUGYFRPGHYHORSSHPHQWWRJRPDQDWH[XQHYUDLHKLVWRLUHGH 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SXEOLVKLQJLQRQHRIWKHILUVWWUXH$IULFDQQRYHOVVWLOOUHDGWRGD\,QQDWLYHVRQ)HOL[ &RXFKRURZDVDPRQJWKHILUVW6XE6DKDUDQDXWKRUVWRZULWHDQRYHOZKLFKJDYHDJHQF\WRDQ $IULFDQSURWDJRQLVWLQDVWRU\VHWLQ$IULFDZLWKDQ$IULFDQWKHPHGSORWDQGZLWKDFRQFOXVLRQ WKDWDLPHGDWUHWKLQNLQJ$IULFDQVRFLHW\&RXFKRURZDVWKHILUVWWRORRNGHHSO\LQWRKLVFXOWXUH DQG WKH VRFLDO LGHQWLW\ RI KLV QDWLRQ +H EURXJKW IRUWK VXJJHVWLRQV WKDW ZRXOG KHOS LQ 7RJR¶V JURZWKDQGLQVXUHLWVVXFFHVVIXOEDWWOHIRU,QGHSHQGHQFH ,QGRLQJVRKRZHYHU&RXFKRURDOVRFUHDWHGJUHDWFRQWURYHUV\DURXQGDVXEMHFWZKLFK FRQWLQXHVWRSODJXHQRWRQO\7RJHOHVHSHRSOHEXWDOO$IULFDQVZKRIHHOSXOOHGLQWZRGLUHFWLRQV SUHVHUYLQJWKHLUDXWKHQWLFWUDGLWLRQDOFXVWRPVZKLOHWDNLQJDQ DFWLYHSDUWLQWKHPRGHUQZRUOG WKURXJK HFRQRPLF LPSURYHPHQWV DV ZHOO DV WHFKQRORJLFDO DGYDQFHV ,Q WKLV GLVVHUWDWLRQ , ZLOO ILUVW VWXG\ &RXFKRUR¶V IODJVKLS QRYHO ZKLFK ZDV WKH VWDUWLQJ SRLQW RI WKLV TXHVW IRU D PRGHUQ LGHQWLW\WKHQDQDO\]HKRZVXEVHTXHQW7RJROHVHZULWHUVKDYHWDNHQXS&RXFKRUR¶VOHJDF\ % Introduction Togolese Literature: From Its Early Writings to The Present Dans le simple décor d’une maison de campagne, des passions s’agitent comme dans le cadre d’une vie de ‘civilisés’ avec son confort. On verra que la passion n’est point l’apanage de telle race parvenue à un certain degré de civilisation. La passion n’a besoin pour naître, que du cœur de l’homme (Felix Couchoro. L’Esclave. 1929.) * In this statement, Togolese writer Felix Couchoro’s vision of “passion” refers to all universal emotions, regardless of whether the individual lives in Africa or the “civilized” world of Europe. In Couchoro’s opinion, the human soul can either be full of refinement or reach the most reptilian of urges whether a man resides in a luxurious setting or a poor dwelling. Humanity itself is in a constant battle with emotions such as Pride, Ambition, Hatred, and Love. These emotions organize and shape human beings regardless of where they live and, because of this universality of emotions, understanding the African character should not differ from discerning European distinctiveness. For Couchoro, the African undergoes the same angst and gamut of feelings as any other human being. Yet, in depicting the African protagonist (especially during colonial times), Europeans often downplayed the African’s humanity. Historically, this & underestimation has led to stereotypical views of the African continent, its people, and its culture. In this dissertation, I study how Togo has struggled to lay the foundations of an established, universal, and exceptional literature, while also working to modernize its ancient traditions. In doing so, I hint at how Togolese literature sets itself apart from the colonial discourses of other African francophone literatures, as well as how social and historical forces have fashioned Togolese identity. However, before developing my argument, I take a brief look at the Western portrayal of Africans— from Medieval times to the nineteenth century— using examples mostly from France, as well as the history of Togo itself. In the chapters that follow, I then study five different Togolese authors, analyzing their novels, poetry, and a play to illustrate Togo’s unexplored contribution to World Literature. Identity: Socio-Historically Defined To explore the various forces (for example, tradition versus modernity) in the works that I propose in this dissertation, I find it necessary to define the meaning of the word identity. For this, I base my understanding on the research suggested by Professor of History and Women and Gender Studies Linda Nicholson in her book Identity before Identity Politics (2008). Nicholson provides a comprehensive explanation that guides my work. She defines society and identity as the explanation of how individuals not only become representatives of the geographical, cultural space in which they evolve, but ' also how the decisions that govern that space impact them. In her opinion, society has constantly, throughout history, created hierarchies that stratify people into specific groups. Nicholson bases her observations on historical analysis through which she seeks to “illuminate the historicity of some of the ideas about social identity that have organized the lives of women and black people” (Nicholson, 2008:5). Though Nicholson’s work focuses mainly on women’s history and social evolution (as well as on the history of African Americans in the United States), her theory, which postulates that everyone belongs to some race or culture, plainly explains that being part of a given social group provides a rich and multifaceted aspect to one’s social identity. Nicholson also attests that the elaborate frameworks that produce these identities have existed since the conception of a “society.” These frameworks have invented constructions which account for social divisions and, in turn, have become natural happenstances, projecting an aura of objectivity and neutrality. In other words, the evolution of societies created barriers which, through time, became the norm. But as Europe and the United States moved into the nineteenth century, these social frameworks combined with new disciplines—like psychology and sociology— which, by increasingly defining individual characteristics, eventually became tools to identify groups. In contrast, Nicholson argues that an individual’s character within a social group remains unique, although these personality traits are the very result of the social experiences that give birth to them. Moreover, the individual is the outcome of a variety of environmental interactions rather than a “bundled” set of
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