A Study of Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, A

Redefining the African woman in contemporary African literature: a study of Adichie’s Purple hibiscus, Half of a yellow sun, and Americanah AS Okpala 25569899 Dissertation submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts--English at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University Supervisor: Prof JE Terblanche November 2016 DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to the Giants on whose shoulders I have been able to attain this height: My loving parents and demi gods, Sir and Lady C.E Okpala My ever-supportive and loving Sailmate Chikelue and my darling son Cephas My Siblings, Victoria Ezeukwu, Sophia Okpala, Lynda, and Cletus My second parents, Late Sir Chukwurah and Lady Rhoda Osuafor My dear family the Osuafors, especially Jason Osuafor I sincerely thank you all for your immeasurable support, love, and understanding. Without all your prayers, dedication, and motivations I would never have been able to complete this study successfully. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be all honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy, 1:17). My utmost gratitude and reverence goes to the Almighty God, who has been and will forever remain my fortress, my helper, and my light. I acknowledge and immensely appreciate the inspiring efforts and patience of my supervisor Professor J. E. Terblanche, who kindly accepted to undertake the Herculean task of supervising this work. His insightful scrutiny and constructive criticisms sculpted my ideas. I would love to thank all my Honours lecturers, Professor Attie de Lange, Professor Nicholas Meihuzien, and Mister Rakgomo Pheto, for all their kind words of encouragement when I was like a fish out of water, utterly confused about how to navigate my new academic environment. I thank you all for acknowledging my potential and motivating me to pursue my academic goals. I am indebted to you all. I would like to express my profound gratitude to the North-West University for the international bursary furnished me for this study and to the Research Unit: Language and Literature in the South African Context for the thoughtful monetary support that assisted in no little way to the accomplishment of this scholarly feat. My sincere appreciation goes to Christien Terblanche for being a true sister and offering me moral support at the most difficult moment of this study. I also appreciate all the members of staff of the department of English and Literature especially Ms. Bernice Mackenzie for all the kindness. Thank you all so much. ii ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the redefinition of the African woman in the three novels of the Nigerian-American author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, namely Purple hibiscus (2004), Half of a yellow sun (2006) and Americanah (2013). This involves the interrogation of Adichie’s representation of female characters, African female experiences, and issues of feminist concern in her fictional oeuvre. The aims of this dissertation were to analyse the representation of the female characters in the novels as feminist models, to explore Adichie’s portrayal of African female experiences and thematic issues of feminine concern, and finally to examine Adichie’s commitment to the African feminist ideological principles of gender balance, complementarity, and inclusivity. To achieve these aims, the research utilises African feminism as a theoretical framework. Through a close reading and in-depth analysis of the texts, the study examines the representation of female characters in Adichie’s novels. It further explores the textual strategies employed by Adichie to unravel and challenge patriarchal imbalances in her literary oeuvre. Therefore, different feminist thematic concerns in the novels such as patriarchy and sexist attitudes towards women, the suppression of female sexuality, and violence against women, including sexual violation and domestic violence, son preference syndrome, and the valorisation of marriage and motherhood come into focus. My analyses of Adichie’s novels affirm the vital role she has played so far and continues to play in redefining and reasserting the identity of African women. It also evinces her enunciation of their quest for agency and power, while emphasising the struggles women in Africa and the diaspora continuously face due to the persistence of patriarchal cultures on the continent. Indisputably, Adichie’s fiction reveals the importance of literary creativity as a tool for arousing feminist consciousness and instigating change in gender relations. iii This study establishes that negative masculinity, which refers to the cultural construct of manhood characterised by the extolling of maschismo affects both genders. Patriarchal social constructs stifle both men and women. Therefore, both genders must coalesce in the spirit of complementarity to achieve change in gender relations. Furthermore, it reveals that Adichie’s literary oeuvre re-envisions the future of African women by proposing female education, financial independence, and female bonding as the ways through which African women can successfully confront and negotiate the issues of female subjectivity, stereotyping, and empowerment. Like most contemporary female writers, Adichie’s inventions of the African female identity transcends societal perceptions of what a woman should and should not be. By doing so, she redefines the image of the contemporary African woman and renegotiates the patriarchal spaces she is accorded in African literature. Therefore, this dissertation proffers a fresh insight into the African feminist discourse as it transcends not just Adichie’s positive representation and redefinition of the African female identity, but also engages in a more complex and explicit analysis of feminist issues. The treatment of these feminist issues underscores the necessity for positive transformation of women’s status in African literature and a redefinition of what it means to be an African woman in the fast-paced socio-cultural and political context of the twenty-first century. Consequently, this dissertation concludes that through her authorial excellence and her commitment to constructing narratives that reflect the ambiguities, interests, anxieties, ambivalences, and gritty realities of not only African women but of women all over the world, Adichie epitomises major elements at the forefront of African feminist writing leading to a renewed examination of our very definition of feminism. Key terms: Adichie, African women, African feminism, feminist, female/feminine, patriarchy, gender, complementarity, sexuality. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................. I ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. III CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................ 1 INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXTUALISATION ....................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Contextualisation of the Problem .................................................................... 3 1.3 The aims of the study ....................................................................................... 7 1.4 Thesis statement .............................................................................................. 7 1.5 Methodology ..................................................................................................... 7 1.6 An Overview of African feminist discourse .................................................... 8 1.7 The status of women in Africa: text and context .......................................... 20 1.8 Structural outline of the study ....................................................................... 29 CHAPTER TWO ...................................................................................................................... 32 FEMALE CHARACTERISATION AS AN AFRICAN FEMINIST MODEL IN ADICHIE’S FICTION .................................................................................................................................. 32 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 32 2.2 The propagators of patriarchy ....................................................................... 33 2.3 The border-liners ............................................................................................ 37 2.4 The game changers ........................................................................................ 50 2.5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 73 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................. 76 DEBUNKING PATRIARCHY AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION TOWARDS WOMEN IN ADICHIE’S NOVELS .............................................................................................................. 76 v 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 76 3.2 The patriarchal romanticising of marriage ................................................... 76 3.3 The valorisation of motherhood

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