SAVED BY MADNESS : RESPONSES AND REACTIONS TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN FRANCOPHONE AFRICAN NOVELS . By MARY ORIEJI MBA Submitted to the graduate degree program in French and Italian and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson: Samira Sayeh ________________________________ Caroline Jewers ________________________________ Diane Fourny ________________________________ Tom Booker ________________________________ Omofola Ajayi-Soyinka Date Defended: December 13, 2013 ii The Dissertation Committee for Mary Orieji Mba certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: “S AVED BY MADNESS : RESPONSES AND REACTIONS TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN FRANCOPHONE AFRICAN NOVELS .” ________________________________ Chairperson: Samira Sayeh (Deceased) ________________________________ Caroline Jewers (Department Head) Date approved: April 3, 2014 iii Abstract This dissertation studies responses and reactions to domestic violence with special emphasis on madness in three major sub-Saharan francophone novels from West and Central Africa. These novels include Mariama Bâ’s Un Chant écarlate (1981) (Scarlet Song), Myriam Warner-Vieyra’s Juletane (1982), and Sony Labou Tansi’s Les yeux du volcan (1988). It studies the concept of madness as a myth and a cultural construction, as well as how women, to serve their own ends, can appropriate madness and inflict violence on others. It not only studies the violence done to women by men, but all forms of domestic violence, which include those done by women to men, by parents to their children, by in-laws and extended family members to wives of the family, and among co-wives. It also studies the role of the community as perpetrator of domestic violence as presented in the novels that studied. iv Acknowledgement It is with exceeding gratitude that I acknowledge the support and help of my dissertation committee members, Professors Tom Booker, Caroline Jewers, Diane Fourny and Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka, without whose help the completion of this dissertation would not have been possible. Given that my dissertation chair died during the course of this work, my dissertation committee worked extra hard and showed more dedication towards ensuring the successful completion of this work. I am extremely grateful for the thorough way they read my work and for their comments and suggestions. I wish to thank Professor Bruce Hayes for his compassion and all the suggestions he gave me, as I worked my way through graduate school. He is an exceptional mentor and advisor. I am also very thankful to my fellow graduate students for letting me run ideas by them from time to time. They were also supportive in substituting for me during the times that I needed to present my work at conferences. I am deeply indebted to my family who stood by me throughout the process of preparing for, and writing my dissertation. I would like to recognize specifically: Joy Foster, my wonderful mother, who became color blind as she never saw my color or racial difference, but she simply saw the God in me and believed in my abilities to stay focused and get through graduate school. She is my children’s beloved adopted grandma, who opened her home and gave my children a real taste of family; my children Ezinne, Ude and Uche; my brother Uche Ukeje and his wife Comfort Ukeje; my sister, Ukanwa Ogele, and my cousins, Mrs Gladys Ekwuribe, Dr. Goodman Okpara, and Mr. Johnson Okorie. Words can never truly express my gratitude to them. I would like to thank my spiritual church family who supported me through their prayers, especially Sisters Ugonma Bright and Glory Jonah Orji. Your prayers are deeply appreciated. v I feel it an honor to thank my dearest friends who listened to me incessantly and provided invaluable help and support. Among these are Ada Oparaku, Udochukwu Ogbonnaya, Tersoo Addingi, Sylvia Johnson, and Ambrose Utin. You all are priceless and I will not trade you for anything in the world. This acknowledgement can in no way be complete without my mentioning my baby- sitters – Jessica Braden and Sylvie Paluku Yemba, the Early/Head Start programs, the Boys’ and Girls’ club, the principal, nurses, and teachers of Hillcrest Elementary School. Thank you all so very much for providing such safe places for my children that allowed me to find time and concentrate on writing. vi Dedication To God be the Glory for making it possible for me to have come this far and to have been able to put this dissertation together. Joyously dedicated to my children, Ezinne, Ude and Uche. We took this work together and you made the experience so much fun and bearable. Fondly dedicated to my two mothers: Christiana Echerulam Mbonu and Joy Foster. One gave birth to me and the other unofficially adopted me. Both taught me to trust in God, to be strong, to believe in myself, and to love wisely and unconditionally. I have a story to tell Of mothers who loved me so much Their services cannot be rewarded by me and the world as a whole Mentors Orators Teachers Healers Entertainers Reservoirs of life their Services cannot be rewarded by me and the word as a whole My two mothers may be gone, but they will never be dead. vii Special Dedication Additionally, I dedicate this dissertation to the memory of my dearly beloved dissertation advisor, SAMIRA SAYEH, who saw me through my dissertation defense but could not see me through to the very end. Samira, you are the toughest person I ever met. You are beautiful inside and out and you are one of the most generous souls ever. When I would have found another dissertation chair after you became sick, you refused and promised that you would read my work. That was when our relation became more spiritual. We acknowledged each other’s faith. For two years, we both held unto our faith and belief in each other. It became our pact. You accepted my prayers and gave me encouragement as well. Even though the doctors said you did not have long to live, you beat ytheir prediction and lived much longer than anyone expected. You kept your word because you saw me through the successful defense of this work. However, we still had more work to do to get the dissertation corrected, formated and submitted. I was hoping that we would have more time with you. So you can imagine my shock when you passed on Monday, 3 Feb. 2014. I continue to draw strength and direction from the little things you did and said. You continue to whisper and gently guide me, my friend, my mentor, my colleague and my sister. Thank you for everything. « Ceux qui sont morts ne sont jamais partis, Those who are dead are never gone, Ils sont dans l'ombre qui s'éclaire, They are in the shadow that brightens, Et dans l'ombre qui s'épaissit, And in the shadow that thickens, Les morts ne sont pas sous la terre The dead are not under the earth, Ils sont dans l'arbre qui frémit, They are in the tree that shudders, Ils sont dans le bois qui gémit, They are in the wood that groans, Ils sont dans l'eau qui coule, They are in water that flows, Ils sont dans la case, They are in the hut, Ils sont dans la foule They are in the crowd Les morts ne sont pas morts. The dead are not dead. Birama Diop 1 1 du Recueil Leurres et Lueurs, Paris : Éd. Présence Africaine, 1960. viii Table of Contents Dedication ............................................................................................................................... vi Special Dedication ................................................................................................................. vii Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Thesis Statement and Definition Of Terms ........................................................................... 1 1.2 Scope ..................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Research Questions and Methodology ................................................................................ 12 1.4 Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 15 1.5 Chapter Outline and Description: ........................................................................................ 25 Chapter Two.................................................................................................................................. 29 The Myth and Cultural Construction of Madness......................................................................... 29 2.1 Madness: Fantasy or Reality? ............................................................................................. 29 2.2 What is Madness?................................................................................................................ 32 2.3. The Myth of Mental Illness and Madness .......................................................................... 35 2.4. Mythology, Religion, Witchcraft and Madness ................................................................. 41 2.4.1 Ancient Mythology: Demons/ daimonics (goddesses- Lyssa, Rab ies, Furor, Irae, and Mania) ............................................................................................................................. 43 2.4.2 African Mythology: Witchcraft: Ancestral Spirits, Rab s, and Mamiwata . .................. 45