Re-reading African literature with feminist empathy : a gendered analysis of selected texts by Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Tsitsi Dangarembga

Abstract

Several African literary texts and the critical responses to these texts have engaged extensively with the varied ways in which men and women have been both complicit in and active perpetrators of gendered oppression and violence. Even though lives of female characters are often depicted as being impacted by such challenges, contemporary African literary texts consistently portray strong female characters who advocate for emancipation and empowerment while they make choices that allow them to flourish and lead rich, personally and socially meaningful lives. This study contributes to existing scholarly conversations by drawing on theoretical frameworks that are centered around feminist empathy and other discourses of feminism to reflect critically on the ways in which the selected African texts acknowledge, accept and recognise the pain and suffering of the female other marginalised through the practice of patriarchal norms. Through an examination of Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun and Tsitsi Dangarembga’s This Mournable Body, I depict the disparities between the conditions of life, the socio-cultural identities, and the power dynamics of male and female characters within selected African patriarchal societies. The study further investigates the literary strategies employed to expose the effects of sexism, classism, racism, stereotyping and macho-masculinity on the lives of marginalised characters, predominantly, female characters. The research establishes methods adopted by revolutionary female characters to subvert patriarchy and assert a constructive image and role for women in the societies exemplified in the texts. Based on these findings, the study concludes that through the use of empathy as a conceptual tool drawn from the theoretical framework of feminist empathy, both genders can thrive in their mutual support and understanding of each other within a more progressive society.