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Translating Black Feminism: the Case of the East and West German Versions of Buchi Emecheta’S the Joys of Motherhood

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Translating Black Feminism: the Case of the East and West German Versions of Buchi Emecheta’S the Joys of Motherhood Translating Black Feminism: The Case of the East and West German Versions of Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood ABSTRACT Feminism in Translation Studies has received a considerable amount of attention in the West, most especially in Canada from where it emanated. Also, studies in translation and Black Feminism have been carried out by scholars such as Silva-Reis and Araujo (2018) and Amissine (2015). There has, however been few studies focusing on the translation of literary texts by African feminist writers into German. This study therefore examined how Womanism in Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood was transferred into German. Against this backdrop, the two translations published during the division of Germany into two states by different political ideologies were analyzed. In doing this, Postcolonial Theory of translation as conceived by Spivak (2004) was employed. The study aimed at determining how translation mechanisms have influenced the manner in which black feminist activism is represented in a distinct socio-cultural environment. This is with the focus to indicate how Womanism is represented differently in the two German translations of the African novel. Keywords: Feminism. Womanism. Translation. Ideology. East and West Germany. RESUMO 132 Os estudos sobre feminismo em tradução têm recebido considerável atenção no Ocidente, especialmente no Canadá, de onde ele se irradiou. De igual modo, estudos sobre tradução e feminismo negro têm sido empreendidos por pesquisadores como Silva-Reis e Sousa de Araujo (2015) e Amissine (2015). Há, no entanto, poucos estudos centrados na tradução de textos literários de autoras feministas africanas em alemão. Este artigo portanto examina como o mulherismo de The Joys of Motherhood, de Buchi Emecheta, foi translado para o alemão. Contra esse pano de fundo, analisaram- se as duas traduções publicadas, sob diferentes ideologias políticas, durante a divisão da Alemanha em dois Estados. Visou-se determinar de que modo os mecanismos de tradução influenciaram a maneira como o ativismo feminista negro é representado num ambiente sociocultural específico. O objetivo é mostrar como o mulherismo está representado de maneiras diferentes nas duas traduções alemãs deste romance africano. Palavras-chave: feminismo, mulherismo, tradução, ideologia, Alemanha ocidental e oriental. Omotayo I. Fakayode Department of Linguistics and Language Practice. University of Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Email: [email protected] ISSN: 1807 - 8214 Revista Ártemis, vol. XXVII nº 1; jan-jun, 2019. pp. 132-143 Introduction One of the most popular Nigerian female writers, Buchi Emecheta, who lives in Britain empathizes with women in her works and is highly “respected for her imaginative and documentary writing about African women’s experiences” (Olawoyin 2017). She has been described as one of the most important female authors to emerge from postcolonial Africa and is distinguished for her vivid description of female subordination and conflicting cultural values in modern Africa (Sougou 2002). In addition, Emecheta is “highly regarded for introducing an authentic female perspective to contemporary African literature” (Essay 2018). In her novels, she engages the injustice of traditional male-oriented African social customs that relegate women to a life of child-bearing, servitude and victimization. Due to her preoccupation with feminine issues, amongst others women/girls as protagonists, motherhood and marriage (an important cultural tradition for African women), Emecheta has been classified as a feminist writer. However, in an essay on contemporary literary criticism, it was noted that: Emecheta differentiates her own Afrocentric perspective from that of her Western counterparts by describing herself as ‘an African feminist with a small f’ (Essay 2018). 133 Whatever she opines with her own type of feminism with the small “f” could probably be deduced from her writings. This could be based on the fact that she still recognizes African culture and traditions in her works. She eulogizes the female character and is preoccupied with the injustice and inequalities girls and women suffer in the African society. She sees marriage as perpetuating a woman’s powerlessness and motherhood compounding her disability. This in a way aligns with the notion of Western feminism but departs from the radical feminism of Western culture. Emecheta has published several works and the most published of them is The Joys of Motherhood. This work portrays a tale of a conventional African lady Nnu Ego – a personality who knows her character and its completion in having numerous kids particularly the male. In spite of poverty, she defines herself as rich for she has three sons. In terms of Ibuza tradition, she thought she would experience an agreeable seniority because of the assistance of her children. Having described Nnu Ego’s excruciating life in Lagos, a colonized city, the novel concludes with her shocking death. A desolate passing on without a child to hold her hand and no companion to converse with her. She had never truly made numerous companions as she was occupied with delights of motherhood. Describing the novel, Marie Umeh states: In Buchi Emecheta’s novel, The Joys of Motherhood, one witnesses the collapse of these glorifying images of the African mother. As a literary artist preoccupied with promoting change, ISSN: 1807 - 8214 Revista Ártemis, vol. XXVII nº 1; jan-jun, 2019. pp. 132-143 author Emecheta, an iconoclast, breaks away from the prevalent portraitures in African writing in which motherhood is honorific… The title of the book, which is taken from Flora Nwapa’s novel, Efuru is then significant and bitterly ironic… Here Emecheta constructs a completely different set of economic socio-political and cultural imperatives which diverge from the existing literary models. (Umeh 1982: 40) From the above, it can be deduced that although the title of the novel seems to romanticize motherhood, the theme of the novel contradicts the essence of the title. The title of the novel is appealing, especially to an African feminist, since it encapsulates motherhood and “appears to be part of the significant body of feminist literature concerned with women’s experience of motherhood in patriarchal cultures” (Maclean 2003: 1). The irony of the title, The Joys of Motherhood does not however imply that the feminist writer, Emecheta, jettisons the need to be a mother in the African society. She, as a matter of fact, does not align herself to the notions of radical feminism, but rather to the need for African women to reject traditional stereotypes and to opt for a radical change of their situation in society. In view of the above, the following section reviews the relevant concept of black feminism, namely Womanism. 134 Womanism and Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood African feminist theorists, observing that Western feminism excludes the experience of the black woman informed the development of black feminist theories, such as Stiwanism, motherism and womanism, which account for black women’s experiences. In the 1980s, Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi and the African-American Alice Walker proposed the first version of African feminism, namely Womanism. The philosophy of Womanism differed from Western feminism as it appeals to unity rather than separateness. Furthermore, it celebrates the ideals of black life and incorporates racial, cultural, national, economic and political considerations in the plight to defend women. According to Ogunyemi (1988), Womanism is Black centred; … unlike radical feminism, it wants meaningful union between black women and black men and black children and will see to it that men begin to change from their sexist stand (Ogunyemi 1988 cited in: Alkali et al. 2013: 240). Womanism is a reasoning that praises African roots, the beliefs of African life, while giving a clear presentation of the African woman liberation. Its ultimate aim is black solidarity where each African individual has some form of power (Adesanmi 2004 cited in: Alkali 2013: 241). ISSN: 1807 - 8214 Revista Ártemis, vol. XXVII nº 1; jan-jun, 2019. pp. 132-143 The womanist consciousness cannot be excluded from Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood in view of the fact that the author conceives her own type of feminism to be Womanism (Barfi & Alaei 2015: 12). The author’s womanist position can be investigated through Ogunyemi’s womanist theory, which extends beyond sexism to incorporate national, political, social and economic considerations. According to Collins Amartey (2013: 76), this is a project to demand an holistic change in the lives of African women. In view of this, Emecheta’s novel could be considered as a womanist novel by scrutinizing the title and chapter titles. Although the titles eulogize the feminine personality, they include references to the male counterpart and children as well. Chapters 2, 3 and 18, for example, focus on the mother (women): The Mother’s Mother, The Mother’s Early Life and A Canonised Mother. As a womanist, the author includes men and children in her chapter titles. Chapters 13, 16 and 17 refer to children, A Good Daughter, A Mother of Clever Children and A Daughter’s Honour, while chapters 6, 7 and 12 includes the role of men, A Man is Never Ugly, The Duty of a Father and Men at War. Apart from the social aspect stated above, the national, political and economic aspects visible in the chapter titles of the womanist novel are The Rich and the Poor (chapter 8), A Mother’s Investment (chapter 9), Men at War
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