FEMALE MASCULINITY IN SELECTED SHAKESPEAREAN AND NIGERIAN PLAYS BY OLANREWAJU, FELICIA TITILAYO MATRICULATION NUMBER: 64869 B.A English/Educ. (Ilorin), MLS, M.A. English (Ibadan) A Thesis in the Department of English, Submitted to the Faculty of Arts In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN, IBADAN AUGUST, 2014. CERTIFICATION I certify that this work was carried out by Olanrewaju Felicia Tiitlayo in the Department of English, University of Ibadan. __________________ _____________ Supervisor Date Prof. Nelson O.Fashina. Department of English, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. ii DEDICATION This PhD thesis, which is made possible through the inspiration of God almighty, is dedicated to all fathers who believe and labour for the highest education of the girl-child. This is especially dedicated to my father, Chief Julius, O. Ajonibode, who gave me the courage most fathers of yesteryears never cherished and for having an implicit trust of her darling daughter. This is also dedicated to all husbands that support their wives in the course of educational pursuits, particularly the PhD. studies; and husbands who believe in women as the pillars of good homes and foundation of a better nation. This is moreover dedicated to my husband, Rev. Adewale Olanrewaju… for being my pillar of strength and faith during the programme. And for all the boys that stand by their mothers to achieve success. The thesis is also dedicated to you, Aduragbemi. May God never cease to keep you under His wings. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My profound gratitude goes to Almighty God, the Omniscient and Omnipotent, who directs my footsteps on the path of knowledge, for the gift of life, divine mercy and kindness. I give all honour and glory to God for seeing me through the completion of this thesis. I also appreciate the kind guidance of my supervisor, Prof. N.O. Fashina, for his support and understanding all through this programme. May God Almighty bless and reward you and your family. My gratitude also goes to all my lecturers in the course of this programme, those that taught me and contributed to its successful completion. I appreciate other members of staff in the department, Prof. E.B.Omobowale, Dr. R. Oriaku, our capable Postgraduate Coordinator, Dr. Mrs Jegede, my dearest loving and ever charming Princess, Dr. Mrs Adenike Akinjobi, Dr. Ayo Osisanwo, Dr. Mrs Aguoru, for their love and useful contributions to the success of this research. My deep appreciation to other members of the department: Mr Bassey- the secretary, Mr Iyiola, Uncle Victor and Aunty Iyabo.You have all been wonderful. I also appreciate the support of all my class mates in the Postgraduate programme. May God continue to bless and be with you all. I am quite grateful to all my sweethearts: Engrs. Kola Fashola (UI), Oyegbemi Ologunde, Miss Ruth Ajayi and to all my colleagues at the Federal College of Education, Abeokuta; Mrs Veronica Ajegbomogun, Mrs Nze and others who never stopped asking „how far‟. May God bless you all. Engr Kola Fashola and his pet, Rutie, were very generous with their time, searching for information from the PG School and attending to such in spite of tight schedules. God bless you real good. To all those whom I worked with in the last seventeen years and those who continually reminded me of the need to finish the race, especially Professors Ademola Sodipo, Adenola Ayanlaja, The Vice chancellor, Crawford University, Igbesa, and my other lovely ones from the Church . I also say a big thank you to all those that assisted me during this study. May the blessings of God and success abide with you in all your endeavours. My brothers and sisters have been very supportive. I appreciate in a special way their sacrifices: Chief Abiola Ajonibode, Mr Olusola Ajonibode, Big Uncle Oye, thanks for your prayers. iv To my late father, Chief J.O Ajonibode, who aroused my consciousness to some of the injustices women are subjected to and made me realise early enough that everyone is born to succeed, I owe you all I am today. Your support and encouragement, and love for education made me promise to get to the end of the ladder, even when it seemed impossible. Papa, continue to rest in the bosom of the Lord. From my late mother, Mrs. E.O Ajonibode, I learnt to resist oppression. Though semi- literate herself, she sacrificed the lucre of city life so that her children, especially the only beloved girl child, could go to school. Gladly, God rewarded her sacrifices as her valued dream came to pass. I also appreciate the support of my family members, most especially my darling husband, Rev. Adewale Olanrewaju, for standing by me throughout the programme and to the precious God given gifts: Olawale, Abejide and Temitope for trying to bear the stress with me. My God will perfect everything that has to do with you. I also appreciate the unrelenting efforts of those who typed this project, especially my pets Kabirat Adeboye and Kafayat Somoye, may the blessings of God abide with you all. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages Title Page i Certification ii Dedication iii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents vi Abstract x CHAPTER ONE: GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1 1.2 Objectives to the study 3 1.3 Statement of the problem 4 1.4 Research questions 5 1.5 Purpose of the study 5 1.6 Significance of the study 6 1.7 Scope and Delimitation of the study 7 1.8 Research methodology 8 1.9 Justification 8 1.10 Definition of terms 10 CHAPTER TWO: THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES AND REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE 2.0 Introduction 15 2. 1 Theoretical framework 15 2.1.1 Feminism 15 2.1.2 Feminist Theory 17 2.1.3 Derrida‟s Theory of Deconstruction 18 2.1.4 Nussbaum‟s Liberal/ Equality feminist theory 22 2.1.5 Liberal/Equality Feminist Theory 25 2.2 The Essence of English Renaissance drama to the Development of Nigerian Contemporary Literary Writings 28 2.3 The Development of Drama from the English Renaissance through the Contemporary Ages 29 2.4 Shakespeare and the English Renaissance Drama 30 vi 2.4.1 The gender concepts: masculine and feminine ideologies 33 2.5 Development of Feminism, Feminists and Gender Theories 39 2.6 Masculinity and Femininity 46 2.6.1 Perception of masculinity in Shakespearean era, the Renaissance Age 52 2.6.2 Concepts of masculinity in the contemporary society 54 2.6.3 Female Masculinity 57 2.7 Forms and features of Female Masculinity 64 2.8 Types of female masculinity clues exhibited 65 2.8.1 Dress code clues 66 2.8.1.1 Purposes for cross-dressing 67 2.8.2 Voiced Act clues 68 2.8.3 Assertiveness clues 69 2.8.4 Body language clues 71 2.9 Instances of female masculinity and governance in the indigenous Nigerian Society 72 2.9.1 Female masculinity in economic and agricultural ventures in modern times in Nigeria 76 2.9.2 Female masculinity in the business industry and the media 77 2.10 Significance of Comparative Analysis to the Study 78 CHAPTER THREE:THE GENESIS OF ENGLISH RENAISSANCE AND CONTEMPORARY NIGERIAN WRITERS AND THEIR WRITINGS 3.0 Introduction 82 3.1 The genesis of gendered literary drama in the Renaissance 82 3.2 The English drama in the Renaissance and the portrayal of women 84 3.3 Writers of the Renaissance drama 88 3.3.1 Shakespeare – his ideology 90 3.4 A brief perspective on the Nigerian contemporary dramatic literature and their playwrights 91 3.5 Nigerian Drama and the Playwrights‟ perception of Female characters 95 vii CHAPTER FOUR: ANALYSIS OF FEMALE MASCULINITY VARIABLES IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S SELECTED TEXTS 4.0 Introduction 98 4.1 Dress Code as clues to displaying Female Masculinity (crossdressing, disguise, transgenderism and transvestism in Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night and Macbeth 99 4.1.1 Merchant of Venice 99 4.2 Dress code: transvestism and disguise in: Twelfth Night (TN) 101 4.3 The voiced act as clue to displaying female masculinity (soliloquies, aside,convesational strategy, mannerism, flattery, persuasion,and prophecy)in: RJ, MV, MT and TN 105 4.3.1 Voiced act clue in: RJ 105 4.3.2 The voiced act clue in: (TN) 110 4.3.3 The voiced act clue in: MAC 110 4.4 Assertiveness as clue to displaying female masculinity (persistence, Dominance, control and coercion) in: MV, MAC, TN, MT, RED and RJ 112 4.4.1 Assertiveness clue in M V 113 4.4.2 Assertiveness clue in RJ 118 4.4.3 Assertiveness clue in MAC 119 4.4.4. Assertiveness clue of coercion, persuasion, control and Domination in MAC 120 4.5 Body language as clue to displaying female masculinity (flirtatious and glamorous outlook, gestures and bodily posture) in MV and RJ 125 4.5.1 Intirduction 125 4.5.2 Body language clue in MV 126 4.5.3 Body language clue in RJ 129 4.5.4 Shakesphere‟s perception of women 133 CHAPTER FIVE: ANALYSIS OF ZULU SOFOLA’S SELECTED TEXTS 5.0 Introduction 136 5.1 Osofisan Femi – his artistic vision and ideology 136 viii 5.2 Dramatic works of Femi Osofisan 138 5.3 Dresscodwe clue: (disguise/impersonation) in Morountodun (MT) 140 5.3.1 Assertivenes Sclues in Red 142 5.3.2 Body language clue in (MT): use of beauty, courage and determination 146 5.4 Nigerian female writers and their perceptins of female character 148 5.5 Zulu Sofola: her biography 151 5.5.1 Her works 152 5.5.2 Justification for choosing Zulu Sofola 157 5.5.3 Assertiveness clue in: Wedlock of the Gods (WED) 161 5.5.4 Assertiveness as clue to displaying female masculinity (persistence, control and coercion) in: The Showers (SHO) 165 5.5.5 Assertiveness clue in the Showers (SHO) 166 5.5.6 Voiced act as clue to displaying female masculinity (persuasion and loud voice) in: The Showers 168 5.5.7 Deconstructing female writings: Sofola 170 CHAPTER SIX: FINDINGS, SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS (FOR FURTHER STUDIES) 6.0 Introduction 172 6.1 Findings 172 6.2 Summary 178 6.3 Suggestions for future study 180 6.7 References 181 ix ABSTRACT Female masculinity is an expression of male gender traits in females.