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Precarious unmoorings : women’s voices in the Anglo- and Lusophone literature of Adichie, Chiziane and Mohamed

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2023.

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Main Author: Lim, Rose Joanna
Other Authors: Steiner, Tina
Format: Thesis
Language:en_ZA
Published: Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University 2023
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access_status_str Open Access
author Lim, Rose Joanna
author2 Steiner, Tina
author_browse Lim, Rose Joanna
Steiner, Tina
author_facet Steiner, Tina
Lim, Rose Joanna
author_sort Lim, Rose Joanna
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv Stellenbosch University
description Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2023.
format Thesis
id oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/126970
institution Stellenbosch University (South Africa)
language en_ZA
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:41:06.301Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
publishDate 2023
publishDateRange 2023
publishDateSort 2023
publisher Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
publisherStr Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
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source_str SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository
spelling oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/126970 Precarious unmoorings : women’s voices in the Anglo- and Lusophone literature of Adichie, Chiziane and Mohamed Lim, Rose Joanna Steiner, Tina Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of English. Women -- Africa -- Social conditions Women authors, African -- Political and social views Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977- African literature -- Women authors -- History and criticism Chiziane, Paulina, 1955- African diaspora in literature Mohamed, Nadifa, 1981- Postcolonialism in literature -- Africa UCTD Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2023. ENGLISH SUMMARY : African women’s writing has firmly established itself in the arena of postcolonial literatures. It has long walked on from the clamour of the great African language debate on the use of Europhone versus Afrophone languages in African fiction. This dissertation studies the enigma of unmoored African women’s articulations from the perspectives of narratives written in Anglo- and Lusophone mediums. Unmoored, ‘orphaned’ women’s language has taken on a life of its own and disengaged from its colonial-era Europhone sensibilities. It has unobtrusively established unmistakable footholds in the realms of African literature. I argue that the women-centric unmoored language in the narratives of African women writers exist within the ambits of culture and society and yet demonstrate vagabond tendency to wander and engage with further potentialities of articulation. My dissertation examines selected novels from the literary repertoires of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Paulina Chiziane and Nadifa Mohamed respectively. The main impetus for my study is to engage with the phenomenon of unmoored African women’s writing and the manner in which the narratives reflect and create registers in which the experience of women takes centre stage. In particular, attention is drawn to the multivalent articulations of the texts’ women protagonists and other supporting characters, and the routes through which they subversively express themselves in hostile patriarchal settings. The core chapters of this dissertation identify three main strands of such women-centric unmoored articulations, namely the role of imposed and strategic silence in Adichie’s narratives, a reliance on collective expression in Chiziane’s work and geo-poetic spatial contemplations in Mohamed’s texts. The variegated nuances of these different narrative features draw out the diverging approaches to articulation in selected narratives of these three African writers. Writing from Lusophone Africa, Chiziane offers an additional contrast to the Afro-Anglo-perspectives of Adichie and Mohamed. My dissertation contends that these women-centred narratives amplify the heterogenous stances of African women, whose voices do not conform to societies’ prevailing tenets. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Afrika-vroueskryfwerk het ditself stewig gevestig in die arena van postkoloniale letterkundes. Dit het lank aangestap van die kabaal van die groot Afrika-taaldebat oor die gebruik van Eurofoon teenoor Afrofoontale in Afrikafiksie. Hierdie proefskrif bestudeer die raaisel van onvasgemeerde artikulasies van Afrika-vroue vanuit die perspektiewe van narratiewe geskryf in Anglo- en Lusofoon mediums. Onvasgemeerde, 'verweesde' vrouetaal het 'n lewe van haar eie gekry en het ontkoppel van haar koloniale-era Eurofoon-sensitiwiteite. Dit het onopvallend onmiskenbare vastrapplekke in die ryke van die Afrika-letterkunde gevestig. Ek argumenteer dat die vrou-gesentreerde, onvasgemeerde taal in die vertellings van Afrika-vroueskrywers binne die omstandighede van kultuur en samelewing bestaan en tog 'n vagabond-neiging toon om te dwaal en betrokke te raak by verdere potensialiteite van artikulasie. My proefskrif ondersoek geselekteerde romans uit die literêre repertoriums van onderskeidelik Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Paulina Chiziane en Nadifa Mohamed. Die hoof stukrag vir my studie is om betrokke te raak by die verskynsel van onvasgemeerde skryfwerk van Afrika-vroue en die wyse waarop die narratiewe reflekteer en registers skep waarin die ervaring van vroue die middelpunt is. Die aandag word veral gevestig op die multivalente artikulasies van die tekste se vroue-protagoniste en ander bykarakters, en die roetes waardeur hulle hulself subversief uitdruk in vyandige patriargale omgewings. Die kernhoofstukke van hierdie proefskrif identifiseer drie hooftrekke van sulke vrou-gesentreerde onvasgemeerde artikulasies, naamlik die rol van opgelegde en strategiese stilte in Adichie se narratiewe, 'n vertroue in kollektiewe uitdrukking in Chiziane se werk en geo-poëtiese ruimtelike besinning in Mohamed se tekste. Die uiteenlopende nuanses van hierdie verskillende narratiewe kenmerke trek die uiteenlopende benaderings tot artikulasie in geselekteerde narratiewe van hierdie drie Afrika-skrywers na vore. Chiziane skryf uit Lusofoon Afrika en bied 'n bykomende kontras tot die Afro-Anglo-perspektiewe van Adichie en Mohamed. My proefskrif beweer dat hierdie vrou-gesentreerde narratiewe die heterogenetiese standepunte van Afrika-vroue versterk wie se stemme nie ooreenstem met samelewings se heersende beginsels nie. Doctoral 2023-02-13T07:42:35Z 2023-05-18T06:58:07Z 2023-02-13T07:42:35Z 2023-05-18T06:58:07Z 2023-03 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/126970 en_ZA Stellenbosch University viii, 164 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
spellingShingle Women -- Africa -- Social conditions
Women authors, African -- Political and social views
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977-
African literature -- Women authors -- History and criticism
Chiziane, Paulina, 1955-
African diaspora in literature
Mohamed, Nadifa, 1981-
Postcolonialism in literature -- Africa
UCTD
Lim, Rose Joanna
Precarious unmoorings : women’s voices in the Anglo- and Lusophone literature of Adichie, Chiziane and Mohamed
title Precarious unmoorings : women’s voices in the Anglo- and Lusophone literature of Adichie, Chiziane and Mohamed
title_full Precarious unmoorings : women’s voices in the Anglo- and Lusophone literature of Adichie, Chiziane and Mohamed
title_fullStr Precarious unmoorings : women’s voices in the Anglo- and Lusophone literature of Adichie, Chiziane and Mohamed
title_full_unstemmed Precarious unmoorings : women’s voices in the Anglo- and Lusophone literature of Adichie, Chiziane and Mohamed
title_short Precarious unmoorings : women’s voices in the Anglo- and Lusophone literature of Adichie, Chiziane and Mohamed
title_sort precarious unmoorings women s voices in the anglo and lusophone literature of adichie chiziane and mohamed
topic Women -- Africa -- Social conditions
Women authors, African -- Political and social views
Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi, 1977-
African literature -- Women authors -- History and criticism
Chiziane, Paulina, 1955-
African diaspora in literature
Mohamed, Nadifa, 1981-
Postcolonialism in literature -- Africa
UCTD
url http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/126970
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