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Canada Peripheral Visions: Postcolonial Images of Africa in the fiction of Margaret Laurence, Audrey Thomas, and Dave Godfrey by Kerry Vincent Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia August, 1994 (C) Copyright by Kerry Vincent, 1994 National Library Bibliotheque nationale ••I of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Direction des acquisitions et Bibliographic Services Branch des services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (Ontario) K1A0N4 K1A0N4 Your lilt Voire releience Our lilt Noire rMtenc* THE AUTHOR HAS GRANTED AN L'AUTEUR A ACCORDE UNE LICENCE IRREVOCABLE NON-EXCLUSIVE IRREVOCABLE ET NON EXCLUSIVE LICENCE ALLOWING THE NATIONAL PERMETTANT A LA BIBLIOTHEQUE LIBRARY OF CANADA TO NATIONALE DU CANADA DE REPRODUCE, LOAN, DISTRIBUTE OR REPRODUIRE, PRETER, DISTRIBUER SELL COPIES OF HIS/HER THESIS BY OU VENDRE DES COPIES DE SA ANY MEANS AND IN ANY FORM OR THESE DE QUELQUE MANIERE ET FORMAT, MAKING THIS THESIS SOUS QUELQUE FORME QUE CE SOIT AVAILABLE TO INTERESTED POUR METTRE DES EXEMPLAIRES DE PERSONS. 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ISBN 0-612-05239-7 Canada Name K.ftfru V/^CgAA . — Dissertation Abstracts International is arranged by broad, general subject categories Please select the one subject which most nearly describes the content of your dissertation Enter the corresponding four-digit code in the spaces provided j^vjuJ* O 3 UMI SUBJECT TERM SUBJECT CODE Subject Categories THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS Psychology 0525 PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION AND Ancient 0579 Archilecturo 0729 Reading 053 5 THEOLOGY Medieval 0581 Religious 0527 Modern 0582 Art Hislor> 0377 0714 Philosophy 0422 Cinema 0900 Sciences Religion Black 0328 Secondary 0533 African 0331 Dance 0378 0534 General 0318 Fine Arts 0357 Social Sciences 0340 Biblical Studies 0321 Asia, Australia and Oceania 0332 information Science 0723 Sociology of nsoo Clergv 0319 Canad jn 0334 Journalism 0391 History of 0320 Libraiy Science 0399 ) ) Philosophy of 0322 Mass Communications 0708 Theology 0469 Music 0413 i Speech Communication 0459 Vocational 0747 SOCIAL SCIENCES History or science u 03 Theater 0465 Law 0398 LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND American Studies 0323 Anthropology Political Science EDUCATION LINGUISTICS Archaeology 0324 General 0615 General 05} 5 Language Cultural 0326 International Law and Administration 0514 General 0679 Physical 0327 Relations 0616 Adull and Continuing 0516 Ancient 0289 Business Administration Public Administration 0617 Agricultural 0517 Linguistics 0290 General 0310 Recreation 0814 Art 0273 Modern 0291 Accounting 0272 Social Work 0452 Bilingual and Multicultural 0282 Literature Banking 0770 Sociology Business 0688 General 0401 Management 0454 General 0626 Community College 0275 Classical 0294 Marketing 0338 Criminology and Penology 0627 Curriculum and Instruction 0727 Comparohve 0295 Canadian Studies 0385 Demography 0938 Early Childhood 0518 Medieval 0297 Economics Ethnic and Racial Studies 0631 Elementary 0524 Modern 0298 General 0501 Individual and Family Finance 0277 African 0316 Agricultural 0503 Studies 0628 Guidance and Counseling 0519 American 0591 Commerce Business 0505 Industrial and Labor Health 0680 Asian 0305 Finance 0508 Relations 0629 Higher 0745 Canadian (English) 0352 History 0509 Public and Social Welfare 0630 History of 0520 Canadian (French) 0355 Labor 0510 Social Structure and Home Economics 0278 English 0593 Theory 0511 Development 0700 Industrial 0521 Germanic 0311 Folklore 0358 Theory and Methods 0344 Language and Literature 0279 Latin American 0312 Geography 0366 Transporta' ~" n7no Maihomatics 0280 Middle Eastern 0315 Gerontology 0351 Urban and Music . 0522 Romance 0313 History Women s S uu, u4^^ Philosophy of 0998 Slavic and East European 0314 General 0578 Physcal 0523 THE SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES Geodesy 0370 Speech Pathology 0460 Engineennq Agncullure Geology 0372 Toxicology 0383 General 0537 General 0473 Geophysics 0373 Home Economics 0386 Aerospace 0538 Agronomy 0285 Hydrology 0388 Agricultural 0539 Animal Culture and Mineralogy 0411 PHYSICAL SCIENCES Automotive 0540 Paleobotany 0345 Biomed cal 0541 Nutrition 0475 Pure Sciences Animal Pathology 0476 Paleoecology 0426 Chemical 0542 Food Science and Paleontology 0418 Chemistry Civil 0543 Technology 0359 Paleozoology 0985 General 0485 Electronics and Electrical 0544 Forestry and Wildlife 0478 Palynology 0427 Agricultural 0749 Heat and Thermodynamics 0348 Analytical 0486 Plant Culture 0479 Physical Geography 0368 7 Hydraulic 0545 Physical Oceanography 0415 Biochemistry 048 Industrial 0546 Plant Pathology 0480 Inorganic 0488 Plant Phyiology 0817 Marine 0547 Nuclear 0738 Materials Science 0794 Range Management 0777 HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL Organic 0490 Wood Technology 0746 SCIENCES Mechanical 0548 Pharmaceutical 0491 Metallurgy 0743 Biology Environmental Sciences 0768 Physical 0494 General 0306 Health Sciences Polymer 0495 Mining 0551 Anatomy 0287 General 0566 Nuclear 0552 Radiation 0754 Packaging 0549 Biostatistics 0308 Audiology 0300 Mathematics 0405 Botany 0309 Chemotherapy 0992 Petroleum 0765 Physics Sanitary and Municipal 0554 Cell 0379 Dentistry 0567 General 0605 Ecology 0329 0350 System Science 0790 Education Acoustics 0986 Geotechnology Entomology 0353 0769 Astronomy and 0428 Hospital Management 1 "796 Gonohcs 0369 Human Development 0758 /w/w limnology 0793 Immunology 0982 795 Microbiology 0410 Medicine and Surgery 0564 Atomic . w 4o > ?94 Molecular 0307 Mental Health 0347 Electronics and Electricity 0607 Nouroscience 0317 Nursing 0569 Elementary Particles and PSYCHOLOGY General 0621 Oceanography 0416 Nutrition 0570 High Energy 0798 Physiology 0433 Obstetrics and Gynecology 0380 Behavioral 0384 Fluidand Plasma 0759 Clinical Radiation 0821 Occupational Health ana Molecular 0609 0622 Veterinary Science 0778 Therapy 0354 Developmental 0620 Nuclear 0610 Experimental Zoology 0472 Ophthalmology 0381 0623 Biophysics Optics 0752 Industrial Radiation 0756 0624 General 0786 Pathology 0571 Personality 0625 Medical 0760 Pharmacology 0419 Solid State 0611 Physiological Pharmacy 0572 Statistics 0463 0989 Physical Therapy 0382 Psychobiology 0349 EARTH SCIENCES Public Health 0573 Applied Sciences Psychometncs 0632 Biogeochemistry 0425 Radiology 0574 Applied Mechanics 0346 Social 0451 Geochemistry 0996 Recreation 0575 Computer Science 0984 Table of Contents Table of Contents iv Abstract v Acknowledgement s vi Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Patterns of Paradox: Margaret Laurence's African Experience 22 i. Decoding the Hieroglyphics: Naming and Meaning in The Prophet's Camel Bell 22 ii. "The Intolerable Wrestle with Names and Meanings" 54 iii. Intermediators and the Splic Self 78 Chapter 2: African Configurations: Audrey- Thomas's African Fiction 104 i. The Problem of Writing About Others 104 ii. Imprisoned in the Cultural Compound 136 iii. The Dark Continent of Women 147 iv. Out of the Compound and into the Myth of Africa 173 v. "Tropenkollered" in the Text 193 Chapter 3: Dave Godfrey's Deforming Vision 219 i. Contested Realities 219 ii. The Question of Authority 252 iii. The Proverb and the Law 259 iv. Impermeable Man, Penetrated Woman 275 v. Camera Obscura 280 Conclusion 301 Bibliography 313 iv Abstract Africanist discourse has so distorted Africa that its reality is perceived only to the extent that it conforms to what has been previously written about the continent. This discourse has largely been constructed by countries with colonialist or imperialist interests, but the global impact of its