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Liberating the Potential of Kenyan Women in Margaret Ogola’S Novels

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Liberating the Potential of Kenyan Women in Margaret Ogola’S Novels LIBERATING THE POTENTIAL OF KENYAN WOMEN IN MARGARET OGOLA’S NOVELS BY CATHRYNE CHEROP DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE MASTER OF ARTS (ENGLISH STUDIES) IN THE SCHOOL OF ARTS, UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, PIETERMARITZBURG CAMPUS. SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR CHERYL STOBIE NOVEMBER 2015 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ....................................................................................................... v ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................... vii DEDICATION ....................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................ 1 Background to the Study ............................................................................................................. 1 Margaret Ogola: Relevant Biographical Information ................................................................. 3 Women’s Situation in Kenya ...................................................................................................... 5 A Selective Overview of the Treatment of Gender in Kenyan Literature by Male Authors ...... 7 Women Authors in Kenya ........................................................................................................... 9 Critical Works on Ogola ........................................................................................................... 13 Research Objectives .................................................................................................................. 15 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... 15 Research Methodology .............................................................................................................. 19 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 21 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................. 26 CHAPTER TWO: THE RIVER AND THE SOURCE .............................................27 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 27 Synopsis .................................................................................................................................... 27 Tradition and Culture ................................................................................................................ 28 Spirituality and Christianity ...................................................................................................... 33 Modernity and Change .............................................................................................................. 39 Theme of Illness ........................................................................................................................ 56 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 58 CHAPTER THREE: I SWEAR BY APOLLO ..........................................................61 Synopsis .................................................................................................................................... 61 Women and Transformation...................................................................................................... 62 Motherhood and the Supremacy of Women ............................................................................. 63 Women as the Backbone of Society .......................................................................................... 66 iii Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 73 CHAPTER FOUR: PLACE OF DESTINY ..............................................................76 Synopsis .................................................................................................................................... 76 Education and Career: Tools for Women’s Empowerment ...................................................... 77 Love and Marriage .................................................................................................................... 82 Ethics and Morality ................................................................................................................... 87 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 88 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION..........................................................................91 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................100 iv DECLARATION I, CATHRYNE CHEROP, HEREBY DECLARE THAT “LIBERATING THE POTENTIAL OF KENYAN WOMEN IN MARGARET OGOLA’S NOVELS” IS ENTIRELY MY OWN WORK, THAT ALL THE SOURCES THAT I HAVE USED HAVE BEEN PROPERLY REFERENCED AND THAT I HAVE NOT PREVIOUSLY SUBMITTED ANY PART OF DISSERTATION AT ANY OTHER UNIVERSITY FOR A DEGREE. CATHRYNE CHEROP____________________ DATE _____________________ AS THE CANDIDATE’S SUPERVISOR I, PROFESSOR CHERYL STOBIE, HAVE APPROVED THIS DISSERTATION FOR SUBMISSION. PROF. CHERYL STOBIE____________________ DATE ___________________ v ABSTRACT The research in this dissertation examines Margaret Ogola’s portrayal of female characters in three of her four novels, namely: The River and the Source, I Swear by Apollo and Place of Destiny. The main argument in this dissertation is that: through liberating the potential of Kenyan women in the texts, the author attempts to empower women. Of primary concern to this study is the way Ogola unleashes the potential of women through her narratives by analysing the impending liberation of Kenyan women in her fiction. I examine how Ogola restructures the image of women using different strategies to influence and boost women’s liberation and independence in their changing society. I further examine the classification of female characters: those who subscribe to traditional and tyrannical female socialisation, and those who go beyond the chains of patriarchy and advocate for emancipated femaleness. I analyse the traditional practices and cultural beliefs that bar women’s liberation and their progress, and also examine how the author privileges and gives voice to her female characters in their bid for liberation and independence. The analysis justifies the author’s aims to unmask the biased image of women in Kenyan society as demonstrated by her texts. Lastly, I analyse the principle of gender equality, and examine how the author gives cultural legitimacy to female power in her works of fiction. In this regard, my research is guided by African feminism theory and post-colonial studies. The analysis also takes a sociological approach as a focal point that informs the study on the plight of women and girls in the Kenyan context. I conduct my analysis in this study in a way that not only seeks to engage with the literariness of each of the primary texts, but also highlights the socio-economic value inherent in the texts, as well as how they function as vital tools for the liberation and independence of Kenyan women in the present time. The fourth novel, Mandate of the People (2012), is intentionally left out of my research because many of the issues tackled in it are similar to those found in the first three novels. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I humbly acknowledge the fact that the completion of this project would not have been possible without the support of so many people. Firstly, I wish to give special thanks to my distinguished supervisor Professor Cheryl Stobie; I cannot thank you enough for your dedication, patience, encouragement, prompt response and the phenomenal expertise you offered me throughout the writing process. I equally thank Professor Michael Anthony Wessels for his commitment and devotion at the start of this project. I would like to thank my course mates for their unwavering support throughout this study. I thank Samiksha Laltha and Paige Frankson for their endless encouragement. I am grateful to my darling husband, Kipchumba Cherono, for his inspiration and understanding, and for playing both mum and dad to our son as I buried my head in books. No words can appropriately express my gratitude for your support. To Gabriel, my son, I appreciate you for having understood the time I took away from you, I love you. Lastly, I would like to thank God for giving me strength and good health throughout this project. vii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this project to all Kenyan women who go an extra mile in pursuit of their economic, social and political aspiration in quest for their liberation and independence. viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background to the Study Margaret Ogola is a Kenyan woman author and a dedicated key novelist in the Kenyan literary scene. Her first novel, The River and the Source (1994), has been on the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Examination (KCSE) syllabus from 1999 to 2002 and from 2012 to 2016. It earned the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the best first
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