INSTITUTION OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
RIVERS STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
PORT HARCOURT
FEMINISM IN EMECHETA’S SECOND CLASS CITIZEN AND ALKALI’S THE STILLBORN
BY
WICHE, INNOCENT EZEMONYE
2002/B.ED4/12249
DECEMBER, 2006
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CERTIFICATION
THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS DECLARES AS FOLLOWS THAT THIS IS THE
ORIGINAL WORK OF THE CANDIDATE. THE PROJECT ESSAY IS ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE BACHELOR OF EDUCATION DEGREE IN ENGLISH.
NAME SIGNATURE DATE
G.A. Worgu,
Esq. --------------------------- --------------
Supervisor
Dr. Kontein
Trinya --------------------------- --------------
Head of Department
Dr. D.N.
Ogum --------------------------- --------------
Dean/Chairman, Board of
Examiners
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DEDICATION
This project work is dedicated to God Almighty,
and to those who wish me the best in life ahead.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It IS CUSTOMARY THAT in a work of this nature,
the writer must necessarily extend some measures of complementary remarks to
institutions, persons etc. who overtly and covertly contributed to the success
of the writer.
My
first and greatest thanks is to God Almighty for His strength, courage and
inspiration which saw me through these four years of academic tutelage.
My
further thanks go to my parents, my father, Chief A.N.O. Wiche, my step-mother
Mrs. Edith N. Wiche, who supported my academic ambition with words of
encouragement and financially, and my mother Mrs. Mercy E. Wiche who supported
my academic ambition financially and morally.
Also,
my greatest thanks go to my
brothers and sisters.
Finally, I am greatly indebted to my supervisor,
G.A. Nwogu, Esq.
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PROJECT PROPOSAL
The aim of this project work is to review the raising
effects of hopeless state of the women living in bondage under patriarchal
domination and female subjugation in the society.
In the course of this work, the work will
undergo four chapters.
Chapter one is the introduction:
1.1 The background of the term Feminism
1.2 Women’s predicament under male imposed laws
1.3 The biography of Buchi Emecheta and Zaynab
Alkali and their achievements.
1.4 The features of African female writers.
Chapter Two is:
Review of scholarship on the Novels Second Class Citizen and The Stillborn
Chapter three is the creation of awareness of the influence of
sociological situation in the female protagonist of Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen and Zaynab Alkali’s The Stillborn
3.1 Economic domain
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1. Payment of Bride Price
1.1 Early Marriage
3.2 Socio-cultural domain
1. Preference for male child
1.1 Wife beating practice
3.3 Political domain
1. Divorce and Child custody
Chapter four is the empowerment of the female protagonist and the
departure from the stereotype in Second Class Citizen and The Stillborn
4.1 Conclusion
4.2 Work cited
Finally my achievement on this project work will bring to the
freedom from the bondage of male domination over female, so as to have a sense
of fulfillment and to be real and equal partners with the men in the
development of the family and the society.
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TABLE OF
CONTENT
Page
Title
page - - - - - - - - - i
Certification - - - - - - - - ii
Acknowledgement
- - - - - - - - iii
Project
Proposal - - - - - - - iv
Table of
Content - - - - - - - v
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 The
Background of the term
Feminism - - 1
1.2 Women’s
Predicament under
Male
Imposed
Laws - - - - - 6
1.3 The Biography of Buchi Emecheta and Zaynab
Alkali and their
Achievement - - - - 10
1.4 The
Features of Female
Writers - - - 13
CHAPTER TWO – REVIEW OF
SCHOLAR
The creation of Awareness of the Influence of
Sociological Situation in the Female protagonist
Of Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen and Alkali’s
Stillborn - - - - - - - - - 44
4.1 Conclusion - - - - - - - 49 Works
Cited - - - - - - - 51-52
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 THE BACKGROUND OF THE TERM FEMINISM
The term 'Feminism' has different uses and its
meanings are often contested, for instance, some writers use the term
'Feminism' to refers to a specific historico-political movement in the western
world; other writers use it to refers to the believe that there are injustice
against women, though there is no consensus on the exact list of these
injustice. Feminism, thus is realized to be both an intellectual commitment and
political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all
forms.
Alice Walker in her novel, The Color Purple uses the term 'Feminism' in comparism with the term 'Womanism' as being
an attempt to place the man and the woman almost at the same level while
womanism sees the woman as subordinate and subservient to the man i.e the woman
is seen as being loyal to her husband. In line with womanism there is an adage
'behind every successful man there is a woman and beside every successful man
there is a woman'. This is an effect as feministic. Therefore, feminism, as seen
in this context, is depicted as an umbrella term for range of views about
injustice against women.
Feminism is women liberation-movement which
believes that women should have economic, legal, religious, and social equality
with men.
According to James Susan, she defined the term
'Feminism' as "that which grounded on the belief that women are oppressed
or disadvantage in comparison some way illegitimate or injustified" (135).
World Book Dictionary Vol.1 defines feminism as
the doctrine that favour mere right and activities for women in their economic,
social, political and private lives; the qualities of female; and the present
for specially feminine characteristic in male (784).
While Websters New Twentieth Century Dictionary defines feminism as the theory to give women
political, economic and social rights and qualities as those of men; the
movement to win such right for women (674).
Furthermore, the term feminism is also seen as
an umbrella term for range of views about injustice against women. There are
disagreement among feminists about the nature of justice in general and the
nature of sexism, in particular, the specific kinds of injustice or wrong women
suffer; and the group who should be the primary focus of feminists
efforts. Nonetheless, feminists are committed to bringing about social change
to end injustice against women as women in the society.
According to Buchi Emecheta who projected the
idea of the New Feminism as compared to the Western Radical Feminism, which comprise of the extremists who seek
absolute quality with the male folks. These feminist ranging from bra burning,
from stark naked under-graduate girls to the demonstration of play-cards reading
ironically "we shall no longer be dictated to" from demand by women
for use of sex- neutral words whereby even God is to be addressed in unisex
term as "he/she" to denouncing child bearing and pregnancy as a
punishment inflicted on the female sex by God and men. This demands are only
obtainable in theory but never in practice, and if at all it is obtainable
especially in our traditional
customs then there would have to be a restructuring of the society. As opposed
to the negativism of the radical feminism is New African or positive feminism
who are not against the marriage institution but rather they aim at eradicating
all forms of patriarchal domination and female subjugation, which relegate and
cripple women's potentials. They acknowledge the division of gender roles as
propounded by the Almighty God, who after creating woman, places her not above,
nor below the man but as an equal and a helper to the man. That was why during
procreation God formed woman, with the bone drawn from rib of the man. This emphasized that God is
never in support of this subjugation. In recognition to this divine order of
procreation, the New Feminist seeks for complementariness in all forms of
gender relationship where partner respect and adjust to each other personality
for co-operation in the joint efforts of making a home. The New African
Feminism is the desire of every progressive minded woman, with ambition and
intent to make her own contribution in the society. However, some feminists
scholars object by identifying feminism with these particular movement of
political activism, thus, it shows the fact that there has been resistance to
male domination that should be considered as feminist throughout history and
across the culture.
On the other hand, the strategy for solving this
problems would be by identifying feminist in terms of a set of ideas or beliefs
rather than participating in any particular political movement. Thus, some
would suggest that we should focus on political idea that the term was
apparently coined to capture, viz: the commitment to women's equal right. This
acknowledges that commitment to an advocacy for women right has not been
confined to the Women's Liberation Movement in the Western World. But this too
raises controversy, for, its frame feminism within a broad liberal approach to
political and economic life. Therefore, most feminists would probably agree
that there is some sense of 'right' on which achieving equal right for women is
a necessary condition for feminism to succeed. Most would also argue that this
would not be sufficient. This is because women's oppression under male
domination rarely, if ever, consists solely, in depriving women of political
and legal right and also extends into the structure of the society and content of our culture, and permeates our
consciousness.
Moreover, in this regard, feminism represents
society as that given historical moment within which life and experience are
constituted as the variables of a specific totality which is categorized on
sexuality.
1.2 WOMEN'S PREDICAMENT UNDER MALE IMPOSED LAWS
Women encounter a lot of torture and suffering
because of the inability to participate as part of the decision-making body.
For instance, Nigeria society is the one which sees the women as a property to
be owned and used at 'will' by men. Women culturally, has no place in taking or
contributing to an important decisions over their person or body as touching
reproductive health right in their homes and definitely not in public.
Similarly, Nigerian society does not see women
as having any role in politics, education, and traditional issues. This
background of women in Nigeria as in any other country is very poor of them,
especially the democratic processes.
A woman who has always been under the leadership
and control of a man has not imbibed a culture of leadership and remain
disempowered politically.
Another case on this ill-patriarchal domination
system is stated in "THIS DAY" Vol:7 on the Saturday Newspaper,
November 24,2001 of the tragic experience in our modern day Nigeria. The Sharia
court is a case in Gwadabawa area of Sokoto state, a young mother named Sefiya
Hassan is awaiting death by stoning as a sentence imposed by Sharia court in
Gwadabawa area of Sokoto State. Her crime is told to be adultery. Sefiya got
pregnant out of wedlock but the man who committed the offence with her is
walking away, free and unmolested. This judgement is so partial because it
affects only the woman. Here we can also sense the same male oriented decision
which extricate men from the penalty of an offence. This favour given to men by the law is a means to dominate
and subjugate women to slavery. Similar to this case is the story in New
Testament Bible (John 3:7-3), when the prostitute was about to be stone to
death, she ran to Jesus for help. Looking at the crowed, Jesus could read their
thoughts, that if he should ask them to forgive and set her free, they will
condemn him, as one who does not confirm to the religious law, so he stopped
and wrote on the ground. When he got up he said to them "He who is without
sin among you, let him throw a stone at her
first". The same decision should also be asked those presiding over
Sefiya's case, "Let him without sin condemn her to death". Sefiya's
case is an example of the terrible predicament women encountered under the
Sharia law in the northern part of Nigeria.
In the other hand, there is always an emphasis on the supremacy of men over women in
the Moslem Quaran and the Christian Bible. An instance is stated in
1corinthian, 11:8-1, where it says; "for man was not created from woman
for woman's sake, but woman was created for man's sake on account of
angels". This is as much as God has ordained the marriage institution and
has placed men over women, these is no reason why men should abuse the
privilege given to them to take advantages of women. We note a strong influence
of the religious and cultural laws, which deliberately or indeliberately give more power to man indirectly, constituting more abuse and
violation of the rights of women. Such violations include denial of women's
economic independence and their reproductive health right.
According to Zaynab Alkali, this ill patriarchal
domination practice is depicted as a state of consciousness rising most
especially where the women have no rights over their husbands and the society
they belong to. For instance in her novel, The Stillborn , Li the central
character sees herself in prison and unhappy situation, thus not only Li but
the women where not given privilege to go out while the men were given that
right.
Li's awareness and knowledge of this unfair
treatment of women under patriarchal leadership is a products of her own
perceptions, and that awareness becomes a weapon for self-empowerment and
rebellion. Again unlike her sister and friends in the village who are not enlightened and who take
matters for granted, Li becomes aware and critical of the patriarchal order of
her family at the village and in the society in general. At home she felt
trapped and unhappy.
Li goes about challenging the oppressive
atmosphere and discriminatory codes which imposed on the girls some temporal restrictions. As an
act of rebellion to those codes, Li dances Heathen dance which her religion
Islam forbids.
Because of this, Li escape in the night to go to
the dance session where she went to meet her boy-friend, Habu. When her father
discovers a hole on the fence the next day, he demands to know who went out in
the night before. Sule, Li's elder brother comes to Li's rescue by admitting
that he did it because he longed to be at the dance arena. His father does not
punish him, the reason being that he
is a man; what worried him was the question, "What was he to do with the
male-child?" He was a man now and it wasn't just his age, but what he
stood for. Baba could have beaten Li easily if she was found responsible of breaking
the fence, but not Sule, his first born and of course male-child. And to beat a
man for going out to dance at night was outrageous. He decides to give him a
chance to apologise when he says "I am ashamed of you breaking a fence
like that ; he said and waited what has come over the children of today? They are not
only rebellious but completely immodest. Now what am I to do with Sule
?....(23)
Moreover, in view of this situation of imposed
law in favour of men, men have continue to wash their hand off any
responsibilities at home, while women continue to bear the double burden. Their
situation as made worsened by the society that continues to reinforced those
values that bind them to their children and husband in servitude.
1.3 THE BIOGRAPHY OF BUCHI EMECHETA AND ZAYNAB
ALKALI AND THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS
Florence Oyebuchi Emecheta was born in Lagos
State in 1944, where she was brought up but hailed from Umuezeokolo Odanta, a
village in Ibuzo in Ibo-speaking area in Delta State, Nigeria. After completing
her Primary School education, she won a scholarship and enrolled into the
Elitist Methodist Girls High School, having done very well at school, she
gained employment at the American Embassy in Lagos and got married to Nduka
Sylvester Onwonodi, who was studying for a degree in Accountancy at the
University of London. Later she went to abroad to join her husband and
therefore, their marriage ended in divorce after having five children, just as
Adah's marriage to her husband, Francis in Second Class citizen.
As a widow and a single parent, Emecheta managed
to further her studies, and obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and
Master's in Philosophy at University of London. She held the following post as,
a Senior Research fellow, Department of English and Literary studies from the
University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria in 1980. She was an Advisory Council
and Home Secretary on Race and Equality in London, UK. She has also become
a guest Lecturer at various universities in Europe and United State such as
University of Illinois (Chicago) and Spellman College (Atlanta).
Emecheta’s novels include: In The Ditch (1972), Second Class Citizen (1975), which are a mirror reflection of her
past life. A Kind Of Marriage (1975), The Bride Price (1978), which earned her an award of the best Black Writer in
Britain in 1978.
Emecheta has been able to achieve so much,
through her work especially in the aspect of changing social status of women in
Nigerian society.
Zaynab Alkali was born in Biu, Gongola State in
1950, where she was brought up but hailed from Dam, a village in Borno State,
Nigeria. After her primary and secondary school education, she managed to go
for further studies at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where she obtained her
B.A. in English Language.
Alkali was one of the very first woman
novelist to emerged from Northern
Nigeria.The Stillborn her first
novel marks her debut as a novelist. The novel reflect her belief that it is
essentail that women throughout Africa should be allowed and encouraged to
fulfil their potentials.
Presently, Alkali lives in Maiduguri with her
husband and their five children. She has held several post such as Principal of
Sherkara Girls' Boarding School, Kano. In 1976, she was appointed a Lecturer at
Bayero University and currently she is a Lecturer in English and African
Literature in English department at
the University of Maiduguri.
Alkali's novels include The Stillborn (1984), which won the association of Nigerian
Authors award for prose fiction in 1985, The Virtuous Woman (1987), which expresses her concern for the
condition of African Women in patriarchal African culture, andThe Cobweb (1989).
Alkali has been able to achieve so much through
her works, The Stillborn , Th Virtuous Woman,and The Cobweb especially through the subsevient position of
women in the society.
1.4 THE FEATURES OF AFRICAN FEMALEWRITERS
(i)THEME: This is one of the
features of African female writers. According to Felicia A.Moh who says, most
of the female writers treats the theme of marriage which is the metaphor for
the relationship with others; the theme of the status of the girl-child in the
society; the theme of parental choice of marriage partners, the theme of
childless marriage; the theme of polygamy; the theme of male preference etc.
These writer use the above issues to highlight the experience of women within
the social relationship.
(ii) PLOT: This is another features
which the African female writers use to create their works structurally. Most
of the female writers employ diverse plot depending on the subject matter under
consideration. Therefore in both cases Emecheta and Alkali used the same
epistolary methods in their novels, Second Class Citizen and The Stillborn. In both novels, the arrangement of the
structure lead from one event to another and is both complete and complicated.
(iii) CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATION: African female writers project dominant female
characters and leaves the men in the background. The conspicuous aspect of
these African female writers is that of making the women their central
characters, while keeping the men in the background or distance background, and
if at all, they appear at front stage, they hardly assume a protagonist roles
(men).
Also the African female writers even as they
locates female characters on the foreground and give them a space of their own and a voice to articulate
their concerns, readers are afforded and opportunity to look at how women
analyze from their own perspective, their state of affairs, their relationship
with men, and how they relates to social, economic, and political structure of
their society, while are referred to as castrated male; whereas the women are
presented as being active and purposeful, the men are projected as failures.
Emecheta and Alkali presented their female characters in an active mood while
the male characters were relegated to the background. In Second Class Citizen and The Stillborn we observe how Adah and Li, the central characters were active and
realistic in fighting for their freedom and
independence.
(iv) DICTION: According to Felicia A.
Moh, African female writers through their diction recreated a woman's world
which is replete with detail information and background noises. Therfore in
their choice of words, Emecheta and Alkali did not attempt to naturalized and Africanize their diction. They used standard
English in their novels Second Class Citizen and The Stillborn.
Even in The Joy of Motherhood, Emecheta uses standard English unlike other
female writer as Ama Ata Aidoo and Flora Nwapa who use both African and
standard English to make their works very sensitive.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF SCHOLARSHIP
In Africa and in other part of the world, feminism has been
attacked due to its aggressive approach to the solution of women related gender
problems. Some female writers have misunderstood Feminism to be a violent confrontation,
militancy and aggression towards men and have written their works based on the
line of thought. Such writers includes; Buchi Emecheta, Alice Walker, Molara
Ogundipe-Leslic, Zaynab Alkali, Flora Nwapa, Mariama Ba, Ama Ata Aidoo, Florida
Karodia, Eliesha Lema, etc. these female writers appear to be writing only for
female audience and this happens to be partially true since the approach to
their work tends to excludes men. They have made effort to write and make
correction on the sociological situation that affect women and try to show the
source to which gender and sexual identity should be questioned and critiqued
in the society.
In Women in the Academic, Helen Chukwuma quoted in Elizabeth C. Okeke's Education and the Transformative Power of
Feminist Consciousness in Nigeria. emphasizes that:
Feminism means ... a rejection of inferiority and striving for recognition.
It seeks to give the women a sense of self-worth, affectionate and contributing
human being. Feminism is a reaction to such stereotype of women which deny them
a positive identity (143).
According to Okeke, Chukwuma's observation
recognises the importance of women contribution to societal development and
calls for their freedom to contribute.
Feminism in Africa does not advocate a negative
stance against the male nor indeed a life without men. Thus, they advocate a
complementary relationship between the sexes where female individualism and
character are given ample opportunity for life and expression. It was a denial
of such opportunity that led Adah of Second Class Citizen to a bold way. It is quite known that feminism has infact been a
place of women, right from the day they realise their position under the law
impose by men. Women through this medium began to used the aesthetic work of
feminism to claim their position as being equal with men politically, socially,
religiously, etc.
According to Felicia A.moh, Women in Literature.
African Feminism....is not in conflict with traditionalism but is
eager to point out to society where the inequalities lie in sexual (genital)
mutilation, institutionalized polygamy, obligatory motherhood, the mandatory
wearing of clothing of constraint, and in the illiteracy of women....(10)
As quoted in (www.watermarks.com), the life of
Ogundipe-Lieslie adds to this contribution as a feminist that "African
female writer must be committed to her craft as a third world person: This commitment includes;
amending the image of the conceptual African and European Literature" (2).
Again, according to Julie Lasage's observation,
women should understand the different structures
behind different women's rage, such as black women rage against poverty, and
racism at the same time. She continues, feminism by itself is not the motor of
change. It is a participation of class, anti-imperialist, and antiracist struggle that demand
full participation in considering were the female writer are arriving at.
Though it is seen that the Nigerian female writer has been able to take part of
this critical situation based on the responsibility that rest squarely on their
shoulder seriously, such feminists like Buchi Emecheta, Zaynab Alkali, Flora
Nwapa, etc. These feminist writers have looked at feminism based on the
struggle that rest on motherhood, gender equality, lack of root, education to
better the life and position of women in the society.
Therefore in review of both novels, as
regards its contributions to
scholarship, Onyemachi Odumukwu in his Social Responsibility in Nigerian Novel sees the work of Emecheta as that which "is
framed in an iconoclasm which take it motion towards subjectification and
individualism"(136).
While Orabueze in Woman in Academy, posits that So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba and Second Class Citizenu by Buchi Emecheta depict the "discriminations against women
in Africa"(104). In her observation, she says these works of feminism are
solely used where they are important in terms of bringing light towards the
chains of bondage on African women and the need for their liberation. To her
view, Emecheta uses imagery and language in such a way as to bring the little
girl's tenacity to the forefronts of the readers' mind. She confirmed this when
she says:
Adah enrolls herself in school, in defiance of her parents when
her father dies, she has to live with her uncle to make sure that she continues
in school. In London she has to cope with racial discrimination, taunting and
ostracism by other tenants, assaults and battery by Francis, frequent
pregnancies, child-bearing and house-keeping .... she knows that her liberation
from old-fashioned custom could only came through education and economic
emancipation. (117)
Thus, one can see clearly that Emecheta's feminist tendencies in Second Class Citizen where Adah decided to break from marriage that
does not hold any emotional strength for her and prefers to face the hazard of
unmarried life in a society that is prejudiced against such status. These goes to a great
length to show the extent to which there are growing in self-awareness and
realization.
Similarly, Anowa in Aidoo's Anowa stands against her husband by asserting her right and dignity by
contributing positively towards their family business. This is just to show
that women are capable of achieving worthy and fulfilling goals.
Charles Nnolim's Approaches to the African novels, adds that Emecheta is trying to show us the
image of the women as being debased and successfully divorced from a wicked
husband, which affect the self-hood of women and the cultural traps that bind
the women inexorably to the men.
In continuation to this, much comments have been
made pertaining to the exaggerated and radical approach utilized in Emecheta's
novels.
An adaptation in (www.africanliterature.com).
Omar Saugou's Writing Across cultures, posits "Emecheta fiction has sought to
account for the situation of African women in a changing world, whether it be
colonial Nigeria, traditional Igboland or contemporary London"(1). She
promotes Emecheta through her creativity as one who is clearly aware of the
importance of her journey as a feminist writer in Africa.
According to Catherine Acholonu's Motherism adopted from (www.wikipedia.edu.com), reveals that Emecheta's creativity is one of the
historical, informative and anthropological works on the African women
experience. The point by Acholonu is true because Emecheta's Second Class Citizen and other works are representative of true
African women's experience. Here we also sense the inability of Emecheta in
treating other important thematic issue due to her attention on the pessimism
and better expression in her narrative where she portrays the irresponsibility
and insensitivity of her male characters in an exaggerated state.
In Woman in Academy, according to Anyadike, Chukwuma is of the opinion in her contrast between Emecheta's female and
male characters that:
The distinctive point in Emecheta's female characterization is its
uniqueness. The women excel in their role; they are forceful and articulate
thinking beings who the reader is brought to recognised and appreciate as
individuals, not as types.... (181)
Despite the uniqueness of Emecheta's female
characters as Chukwuma put it, the women in the society were also prevented
from being restricted in a wide range activities. The point here shows us a
kind of total indifferent to female existence in the society, which Emecheta's
work portrays. This is seen in Second Class Citizen where education were discounted apart on the
side of women when Emecheta writes:
School - the Ibo's never played with that. They were realizing
fast that one's saviour from poverty and disease was education. Every Ibo
family saw to it that their children (especially male) attended school. Boys
were usually given preference, though. So even though Adah was about eight there were still discussion about whether
it would be wise to send her to school....(9)
Emecheta has made us know that her creativity has put forward an
attack on the male chauvinists.
In line with Zaynab Alkali The Stillborn which also represents the struggle of women,
women have come a long way in
the mind of scholars.
The Stillborn is a novel that depicts the women's lack of root in the new city-based
culture, and the consciousness raising of women. According to Onyemachi Udumukwu's Social Responsibility in Nigerian Novels;
...Alkali's creativity is the specificity of consciousness raising
as an intergral element in the ideology of women in the women's sphere. Zaynab
Alkali is alert to the fact that the actual dominant consciousness in her
society stands in the way of the women's struggle to realized her freedom and
defines her identity. (135)
Udumukwu is of the opinion that Alkali's
creativity is all about women consciousness and, Alkali sees women consciousness
raising as a power to change the women's world. However, through this view,
Alkali tells us what the consciousness of her chief character meant for her
which is seem as the history of Li's progress. Eventually, this is seen in a
situation where Li leaves Habu's (her husband) house and returns to the
village, where she resolves to go to school. Alkali assert;
She had vowed and go back into the world and make an independent
life herself...Now five years later, she was ready to read for her Advanced
Teacher Certificate. She intended to be the most educated woman in the village
and miles around. Only then would she assume the role of the man of the house
in her father's compound. (85)
From this point of view, one can clearly see that it is from this
point that Alkali's perculiar brand of 'feminism' begin to acquire its outlines
in the novel as a strong message to women.
Udumukwu further posits;
Alkali sees consciousness raising as a power to
change society not in terms of male consciousness, but in terms of woman's
consciousness.(136)
According to him, thus, consciousness become a source of creating
a
new sense of harmony between men and women.
In lines with Chikwenye Ogunyemi as quoted in
Udumukwu's book, asserts "The plot of Alkali's great novel The stillborn is hinged on the actions of Li. As the account
unfolds we see Li at home despairing under the strict rules made by her father,
Baba" (138). He further highlights that in The Stillborn, Li is restricted from going to the village stream and local
dance. Here she complains (Li):
"Let me be a brethren,she said more
seriously.
I'd be much happier. At least I could go ease myself
without having someone breathing down my neck
demanding to know where I have been".
"What kind of life is this anyway? And you,
big sister,
so content with it ?(3)
Even Li's elder brother think of the life his sister are living as
rotten, when he says:
"It is a rotten life; Sule interjected
"Don't talk like that Sule; Awa worried
"Yes it is a rotten life.(3)
As a matter of fact, when she realizes the critical
situation, she decided to create an awareness by taking a wise decision to dig
a hole on the fence in order to attend the local dance where she met Habu Adams.
On the other hand, according to Amina Bashir as
quoted in Woman in Academy, she elaborates that "Alkali in The Stillborn portrays the female folks as being weak, with no
hope in life at all"(72). She lay a good instance of this in her novel The Stillborn where the heroine, Li, estranged herself from
her husband, boldly decide to go back to further her education so as to be
independent and assume equality with men.
Bashir explained the novelist indicates the
indispensability of men"(72). Thus, one can see clearly that Alkali
portrays the women as weak, with no way of taking their lives into their own
hands. Her portrayal is otherwise unnatural to her chief character.
In Iniobong Uko's observations, as quoted in Woman in Academy, Uko recognises that Alkali in her creativity
highlights how the Muslim culture stifles the development of self-awareness in
women through a socialization process which restrict female potentials and an
eventual self-fulfilment.
Uko further says that the physical restriction
of women is confirmed and guided beyond the home. This comment by Uko reminds us of one of Elieshi
Lema's Parched Earth and Zaynab Alkali's The Stillborn, where Li and Dareon, the chief characters become aware of the
incapacitating power of the oppressive and discriminatory male dominated system
they were living under as married women.
Besides, both characters(Dareon and Li) awareness and
knowledge of the unfair situation they found themselves in the patriarchal system becomes a product of their
perception, and thus this awareness becomes a weapon of self-empowerment.
According to de Beauvoir in an adaptation
from(www.womenwriterinafrica.com) comments that both Lema and Alkali in their
creativities try to tackled the issue of gender relation and disillusionment
experienced by the heroines of the novels, Dareon and Li are themselves engaged
in heterosexual romantic affairs and marriage, however, de Beauvoir further
adds, the commentary in the introduction of The Stillborn present the view of Li's
mind. Thus,
She wants to be able to establish a relationship with her husband
based on the understanding of their being equal partners and not on the
traditional master-dependent relationship that so badly sourced their first
attempts at married life.(1)
Whereas for Dareon, the present of her husband
around is good enough insurance
for a happy existence in her materials life. According to de Beauvoir, she tell
the reader that: "....I comforted myself with the thought that as long as
Martin was by my side and reader to marry me" (68).
Nevertheless, the two novels advance that there
is mere than materials provision a married woman should desire from a man,
In addition to these workers, I believe that my
little literary contribution on Emecheta and Alkali creativities would be
appreciated. It has been said that there are a lot of exaggerations on both
novels. Both Emecheta and Alkali portrayed a concepts of the New African
Ferminism as against the radical feminism.
In as much as both utilize exaggerations here
and there, the end result of their works is a beautiful literary
representation, put together by the purpose of fighting the feminist cause.
Emecheta and Alkali as African feminists have gone ahead to be force from the bondage of
male domination so as to have a sense of self-actualization and
self-fulfilment, and to be a real equal partner with the man in the development
of the family in particular and the society of large.
In conclusion, my belief is that they have
successfully mirrored the Nigerian society from the women's point of view, for literature to
influence change in the society. The society must recognized this ill practice
in its system. Both feminist have aimed to make sure that men should see women
as partners in progress and not as moveable assets that can be turned this way and that way
at will.
CHAPTER THREE
THE CREATION OF AWARENESS OF THE INFLUENCE
OF SOCIOLOGICAL SITUATION IN THE FEMALE
PROTAGONIST OF EMECHETA'S SECOND CLASS CITIZEN AND ALKALI'S THE STILLBORN
Both Emecheta and Alkali created awareness on their female
characters of the inferior status of women, as well as stressed the effect of
the sociological situation on them. They do this effectively by comparing the
place of women in our cultural society to that of their female characters.
Therefore the sociological situation that affect women are the economic, socio-cultural and political
influences.
3.1 ECONOMIC DOMAIN
(1) Payment of bride price: It is any payment according to ones indigenous tradition by a man
to the father of the girl he intends to marry. Besides, during the payment of
bride price those of them from rich families gives dowery to make the payment
made on their daughters' head appear more honourable.
In The Stillborn Alkali tells us:
At home various food items and household
articles, some of which were not of use at all, were brought. By the end of the
week, Li had become a proud owner of articles such as wooden stools, mats, clay
pots, calabashes, wire net....(67)
Thus, payment of bride price limits the respect and recognition given to women in their husbands' home.
Occasionally, the bondage placed on women by the
payment of bride price, is such that it gives the husband the right to make
claim of all the children born by the woman, even
when she has left him.
By payment of bride price we means the woman is solely
considered to have sold off her right of equality. Emecheta projects this
subjugation of female using her fictional character Adah, who was born in Igbo
society where a female child is seen as an investment. This is verified by the
marriage arrangement that was being made for Adah at the tender age of
thirteen, to the "Olds baldies" who according to her relative, could
afford the high bride price placed on her. Adah was repulsed to those "Old
baldies", instead she marries Francis.
Traditionally, as the case may be, after
performing the marriage rites, men believes that they own authority over their
wives. To some men, their wives are like property in the house as women were bought like
any other property they own. Emecheta tells us thus, "...in Africa and
among the Igbo's in particular, a girl was little more than a piece of
property. Adah had been bought, though on credit and she would never go
back" (37).
Similarly, in Alkali's The Stillborn, when Habu paid the bride price after the festival, he boldly
asked Li to wait in the village. In Habu's consciousness Li, and in fact any
woman, is no more than a piece of fine furniture one pays for and can move into
ones residence when once has created enough space for it, and so can decide to
keep it where it is purchased and came back anytime to pick it. This is what
particular is at the back of Habu's mind when he write to Li, As a salesman, I
am always travelling. you will be alone until I send for you" (57). Also
like a fine piece of furniture which has been paid and abandoned at the
dealers' shop, any potential buyer can still admire Li if she continue to be on
display. This is why Bature and other men invade Li's privacy to woo...her. Li
discovers that the assault on her being treated as an object.
In most marriage arrangements, women are seen as
an article to be sold and after marriage are treated like article purchased.
This leads to the call to abolish the age. Long cultural practice, which
emphasizes the inferior status of women as symbolised by the marriage arrangement. Women have fought
to abolish the payment of bride price and unless they succeed, they may not be
able to have a voice in their husband's homes nor will they regain their
rightful place in the society at large.
(ii) Early Marriage: This is another ill practice which men manipulate in the inferior
life of women. Early marriage is a kind of marriage in which female teenagers
between age of 12 and 13 are given out in marriage at unusual times. In other
words, it is also known as child marriage. In Nigeria today, this practice is
common among both the Christians, muslims and different ethnic groups
(communities), but this is more common with the Hausa Muslims of Northern
Nigeria where most parents encourage such practice and even indulge without
seeking the consent of their young daughters. The reason why the Hausas do this is mostly is to safeguard the
girl from becoming promiscuous and to preserve the family honour since a girl
must be a virgin when she is married.
This incidence is also remarkable among the
Christian communities of Bauchi, Plateau, Benue and other northern states. It
is found to be rampant in the Orlu, and the Ideato Local Government Areas of
Imo State. In these communities, a female child is seen as a liability to the
parents and investment in their education is considered a waste of family
resources since she will eventually be married to another family. Thus, the
parent would rather give them out in
marriage early to avoid having to drain the family funds in their education.
Emecheta projects this issue using her fictional
character, Adah in Second Class Citizen. this is when Adah's mother impressed her to
marry bald headed and huge men that are as old as her dead pa, and as well can
afford the high bride price. she refused to be impressed. knowing well about
the Ibo women marrying early, Adah refused all the suitors that came to ask her
hand in marriage; instead she marries Francis.
In some parts of Northern Nigeria, young girls
are given out in marriage to men old
enough to be their fathers as seen in Emecheta Second Class Citizen. Most suitors in this case are usually 30 to 60
years older than the girls they want to marry. Considering the effect of such
an unhealthy sexual union on these immature girls. The problems caused on their
reproductive health are infections like the Vesico Vaginal Fistula (V.V.F) caused
by damage to the leg nerves from prolonged labour and the prolapse of uterus
caused as a result of early marriage and resultant pregnancy. The worst of all
is that these female teenagers who are victims of these reproductive ill health
are often abandoned by their husband as they become incapacitated making them
social outcasts without means of livelihood.
3.2 SOCIO-CULTURAL DOMAIN:
(i) Preference for male child: It is noted that discrimination against women in
African traditional societies (including Nigeria) starts from the day the
female infant steps into the world. In many cultures, especially in the Ibo
traditional custom, sons enjoy greater importance than daughters because they
are the only ones that can perpetuate lineage, while daughters are
married off to propagate their
family of procreation. Also in Ibo traditional setting, any married woman who
has not given birth to a male child is regarded as not having fulfilled her
role as a woman. Besides, the birth of a male child gives the woman a feelings
of completeness and a sense of belonging in her husband's home.
Emecheta and Alkali highlighted the importance
of the male-child in their novels for instance, in Emecheta's Second Class Citizen, when Vickly, Adah's first son took ill, after
it had been diagnosed that he had contracted meningitis, Adah left her other
children in other to be with Vickly and look after him at the hospital. She
also made it clear to the nurse that came to inform her that it was time for
her to leave. Thus, the nurse asks:
Is
Victor your only child? Adah replied and shook her head, Vickly was not, there
was another, but she was only a girl. the nurse asks again "only a girl?
what do you mean by 'only a girl? She is a person, too, you know. Just like
your son". (68)
The dialogue above shows us how important the
male child is valued. Accordingly, for any woman to be sure of her husband's
love and the loyalty of her parents - in- law in our traditional society will
depend an her ability of having and keeping alive as many male children as
possible, although females may be counted by her people, but a male is like
when you put together four females, it becomes one.
On the other hand, it is obvious that in most
cultures where the males are given preference, we find out that the is the
tendency for the female child to be exposed to all forms of life threatening
discrimination, manifesting in the form of uneven feeding, lack of timely or
adequate medical care, lack of educational opportunity, etc.
In Second Class Citizen, Boy, Adah's younger brother was given this
opportunity just because he is the only male child in the family, while Adah on
the other hand was left apart and was asked to marry earlier in order to use her
bride price to educate Boy. Through
this preference a hundred pound was used in Boy's education when their father
died, while Adah was stopped from schooling, due to this circumstances, Adah
missed her education as a brilliant girl just because of the preference for the
male-child.
Most male children are favoured as regards the
freedom to go out of the house at any time, allowed to laugh out loud, move
their legs freely, run and play as much as he wishes, whereas the girl are not
to look people directly into the eyes, and are to keep their voice down when
they laugh, while their primary duties are to help in the clearing of the house
and cooking. Thus in Alkali's The Stillborn, Sule, Li's elder brother was given preference
to this when he accepted of being the person that dug the hole in the fence
just because he longed to be at the dance arena, meanwhile it was Li that did
it, but Sule only came for rescue. Thus, Kaka (Li's father) erroneously
discovered that it was Sule, he couldn't believe and he did not lay hand on
him. However, had it been it been it was Li, she would have been punished
immediately by her father for being irresponsible.
This partial treatment is also extended even
toward the sexual attitude between the two genders. Licentiousness is encourage
in the boys whereas the girls are expected to remain chaste until they get
married. Alkali portrays this in her creativity through the life of Sule as
being a victim in this act. Sule has privileged of going out, playing
licentious life when he impregnated a girl that gave birth to his first son,
Bala. He denied ever knowing the girl or having canal knowledge with her.
Besides, this ugly game leads to sexual assault
on the female, since they are the available creature for the men to practice
his licentiousness on. These girl through this means, get rape and assaulted.
Eventually, they are made to feel ashamed and humiliated by the loss of their
virginity, whereas the men lose nothing and the severest punishment he gets is
to marry the girl by force.
(ii) Wife beating Practice: This is another cultural practice that degrades the status of
women in our society today. This practice is a matter of ones personal
attitudes to life. It is a kind of practice that is borne out of conviction
among the members of our society as a means of making the woman submissive to
her husband. This support given to the men by the society is like a license for
them to go ahead and physically abused their wives into total submission.
Thus, Adah's marriage with Francis in Second Class Citizen took the turn for the worse, after Francis
discovered about the Cap, accuses her of being a prostitute, saying that she
put the Cap so as to take other men behind his back. He beats her savagely and
call on the other tenant to come and hear
about her duplicity. Everybody then knows that Adah has been knocked about only
a few weeks after she had come out of the hospital. After that incident Francis
never stopped beating her; he even beat her while she was pregnant. This went
on until Adah couldn't take it no more. The beating coupled with other reasons
made her decide to seek for a divorce from Francis.
Similarly, in Alkali's The Stillborn, something of this nature have occurred after Li got soaked through the hand of
her husband (Habu) and felt humiliated. Thus, this is seen in a quarrel between both couples:
"You leave me alone !" He sat up and
Pointed a warning finger at her.
"Yes you leaves alone ! she mimicked.
That's all you're good for leaving you alone.
What would you do if I did not ?kill me ?"
She stood right in front of him (Habu) and
dared him to touch her.
I could do just that, he shook with
suppressed anger.
"That do it, you coward, she blazed
at him. "show that you are a man with a
heart .(75)
At this point, Li felt cheated
and humiliated and was nearly beaten up by her husband and even went as far as
requesting for divorce. At the end of the quarrel, Li's husband gradually went out and did not come
back home until late in the night.
Emecheta and Alkali have tried their best as
feminist to portray the physical and
gender abuse in the life of their female protagonists, Adah and Li
through their husbands, Francis and Habu. As said earlier it has become
obviously dehumanizing considering the placement of women in our society who
take themselves as full time house wives. They are therefore of the opinion
that this privilege and license given to men should be equally corrected and
extended to women.
3.3 POLITICAL DOMAIN
(i) Divorce and Child Custody: Divorce could be said to be kind of legal ending
of a marriage. It is the irretrievable background of marriage or could be
simply put as the dissolution of the marriage. It is made possible on the
ground of refusal to consummate the marriage on ground of infidelity. Others
are an account of desertion or when the couple has been separated over a long period of time. Any of
the parties can seek divorce. In most cases, it is the men that always seek for
divorce.
Divorce is finalised only if the husband has
given his consent. It said that it is women inherent devilry that make the
husband wish to seek to divorce himself from her. Sometimes the fault is blame
on the woman's inability to give in to her husband's sexual demands on her and
also her persistent nagging on the man which they say drives him out of the
house, and at time the man is blamed due to the inability to look after his
wife and having licentious life outside the home, the woman may decides to put
an end to the marriage and find her way out.
This accusation is made on the woman without
actually finding out the reasons for her change of attitude. According to most
customs a woman must make self sexually available to her man and must also work
hard to keep her home, so that the husband doesn't walkout on her. Further
blame is laid on education as the cause of the high rate of divorce case in
most communities. It is believed that with education a woman gain knowledge of
her values. This new awareness she acquires make her seek equality on these
right that are entitled to her. Men distaste this idea of equality in the home as it makes them feel that they have lost
grip of their control over their wives. This make them seek for divorce while
women see the idea as a point of freedom when it comes to this level or when it
comes to the level of divorce.
In line with the two novels, Emecheta and Alkali
try as much as they could to portray this issues as a serious one (divorce).
Occasionally, they shows this through their fictional characters by creating an
awareness on their female characters and
make them realized their freedom from the suffering they undergo through the
hands of their husbands. Both feminist project this idea towards the end of
their works. Here Adah and Li realized their state of equality by divorcing
their husbands and find their way out from the humiliated condition to
challenge the men through education in order to gain freedom, equality and independence. Thus, Li in The Stillborn, after a long neglected by her husband request to put an
end to her marriage with him
due to his licentious life.
Besides, this started when she requested to go
to the village to see her parents Habu disagrees with her and asserts Do what you like, but if
you go, just remember not to comeback to this house" (74). This statement
made by Habu reminds Li to ask for divorce when she says ; "I will
remember this very well" she retorted, but just you remember to give me my
divorce paper ...if you call yourself a man, divorce me properly" (74). Meanwhile, it was at this
point that Li realized her self that she was married to a coward from an unworthy clan.
Also, Adah does this in Second Class Citizen . After being cheated and maltreated by Francis,
stood up to her husband and used her intelligence as an educated woman to
divorce her husband instantly. On the other hand, the right to child custody is
often given to men, because it is believed that the woman begets children for
man. After divorce is granted the male children are allowed to remain with their mothers until they
attain seven and above age, while the female children must leave their mothers to stay with their
fathers until they attain puberty so that their fathers may give them out in
marriage.
Naturally, it would have been the place of
Francis in Second Class Citizen to have children but since Adah had always been
the head of the family financially, the magistrate decided that she should keep
the children.
CHAPTER FOUR
THE EMPOWERMENT OF THE FEMALE PROTAGONIST AND
THE DEPARTURE FROM STEREOTYPE IN EMECHETA'S SECOND CLASS CITIZEN AND ALKALI'S THE STILLBORN
Both Emecheta and Alkali has tried as much as
they could to challenge the Nigerian society in the perspective of feminism
that women should have equal rights with men in tradition, culture, education,
politics and of course, in every working place.
Therefore looking at the empowerment of the
female protagonists in both novels, first the socio-cultural aspect of the
novel Second Class Citizen projects the unjust treatment meted on the
female protagonist (Adah} whereby the younger brother was sent to school while
she was neglected. This is the overruling of cultural decision to all other
rational factors. It does not matter if the female child is intelligent or older in age; what count is the
superiority of gender. The male who is to bear the family's name get the best
of everything including education.
Another aspect is the economic factor. This
hampers the female protagonist, denying her chance of acquiring an equal
educational opportunities with her younger brother, Boy. We notice that whereby
the family find it very difficult to eat and managed to squeeze out just enough
money for education will, they first sent their male child to school while
marriage arrangement is made to marry off the
female child. The money realized from her bride price is then used to assist
the male child's education.
Adah, Emecheta's fictional character was thrust
into an early life of struggle and frustration, because of her parent refusal
to provide her with her basic education, which was then exclusively regarded as
men's right. Nudged by the feeling of envy, she did some outrageous things on
two different occasions so as to gain access to school like sneaking off to
school without her parents consent.
After this incident she enrolled into school and
was able to passed all her exams with distinctions. Having done very well at
school, she got a good job at the American Consulate Library in Lagos and
helped to enhanced her economic status. The triumph of Adah in her academic
field makes nonsense of the preference given to men over women in education.
Empowered by education she brought down the pride of most men who would always
want to have their dictate rules over that of the women, portraying this adage
to be true: that "what a man can do, a woman can do even more
better". Here Adah beats all odds to get to the peak of her writing
career. With the help of education, Adah became an independent woman. When her
husband abandoned her and the children. She single-headedly maintained herself
and her children, she was able to do all these because of her rise in economic
status, which she was able to acquire through education.
Aslo, in Alkali's The Stillborn, this unjust treatment was partially measured on the female
protagonist (Li) and her friends which lead her to be aware of her status in the society where she
find herself. Li's awareness and knowledge of the unfair treatment of girls and
women by the patriarch is the product of her own perception, and that awareness
becomes a weapon for self-empowerment and rebellion after she realized herself.
This realization was so painful, it made her cried. She was filled with guilt
and shame. Unlike her friends and sisters who are not socially enlightened
and take matters for granted, Li becomes aware and critical of the patriarchal
order of her family, at the village, and in the society in general. At home she
felt trapped and unhappy. Thereafter she goes about challenging the
oppressive atmosphere and the
discriminatory codes, social spatial and
temporal restrictions.
Another empowerment of Alkali's protagonist is
the aspect of economic factor. This aspect hampers the female protagonist
through marriage after waiting for Habu, her husband for five years in the
village. Li finally sees it futile to invest one hopes in a man who neither
nurses genuine romantic feelings towards her, nor support her and her child
materially. She ultimately come to her senses and says, "who says a
husband makes for a guardian or a father?... A woman who takes a husband for a
father will die an orphan " (85). The statement shows an open supervision
of a patriarchal training women get since childhood that their patience for
marriage and dependence on men will salvage them from neglect and destitution.
Thus, when her elder sister laments over their
state of being unmarried, with the villagers laughing behinds their backs, in a
way proposing that they should go back to their husbands, Li says, "may
gods forbids it...The day a woman begins to woo a man has not yet come and if
it has, it may not begin with me"(83). That reminds me of a question, what
should women do now after this realization? This is a very crucial question
because once a person knows that person will still ask what does she do about
it? It really enough for women to just say that now they know they want to do
something to change whatever it is that make them live like animals in the
society. This is the question Adah and Li, the protagonists in the two novels,
attempt to answer in order to provides strategies for the patriarchal
domination.
Li finally realizes that it does not pay for
woman to go on leaning on men for materials support and existence. She also
realizes that the high desire that emotional and psychological bliss of
heterosexual relationship promises to provide women is anchored on the
ideological and structural strength piled up by men. As one of the strategies
to destroy these dependence syndrome, Li decide to join a teacher training
course, with a dream that one day she would be able to provide for herself and family and do the same
thing that men do like building a house, sending children to school, and more importantly becoming
her own boss.
Literally, the departure from stereotype in both
novels is a representation of power and independence that led the female characters
to begin to write as no man can really tells the female story the way a woman
could talk about it, just as Emecheta's Second Class Citizen, tells us how she managed to be a writer in the area of feminism.
Adah, her fictional character after realizing herself, was committed to writing about the plight of
women in correcting the damaged image of women in society. This is what
Emecheta and Alkali have suggested, that for women to liberate themselves, they
need to acquire the same tools that men used to dominate them, such as
education and paid employment. It
is only then that they can re-negotiate their relationship on equal terms. In
other words, once they gain that power, they will be in a position to
re-negotiate their relationships in the society.
4.1 CONCLUSION
Conclusively, feminism is realized to be both an
intellectual commitment and political movement that seeks equality and justice for women, and
the end of sexism in all forms. It is seen to be the development of the fight
for legal, political, economic, social rights for women. When the term
"feminism" is applied to literature, it stands for female assertion,
an effort by women to claim proper treatment and place in society and the homes, not out of pity and consideration
but out of their rights to human dignity.
In this regards, Feminism is a representation of
the society by that given historical moment within which lives and experience
are constituted as the variable of a specific totality which is categorized on
sexuality. Within the totality, women is objectified on the basis of male
desire. Women exist to function, to gratify the desire of the man. But feminism
is not just the matter of sex and desire, it is the issue of power and
discourse. In other words, we need to be aware of this assertion because
feminism is committed to correcting the wrong against women.
Both Emecheta and Alkali have perfectly used
their ideologies to view the women's world through the feminist perspective
that says men and women are entitled to equal rights and respect. Also, they
have successfully mirrored the Nigerian society from women's point of view for
literature to influence changes in the society and the society must recognize
the ills in its system. Both of them aim to make sure that men should see women
as partners in progress not as movable assets that can be done away with at
will.
WORKS CITED
PRIMARY SOURCES
Emecheta, Buchi, Second Class Citizen. London: Allisan & Busby, 1975.
Alkali Zaynab. The Stillborn. Lagos: Longman Nigeria, 1984.
SECONDARY SOURCES
Lesage, Julia.
"Womens Rage" Marxism and the
Interpretation of Culture. New York:
Macmillan, 1988.
Gloxer, Heather. Feminist Reading on The Joys of Motherhood and Second Class Citizen: an ill- fitting
theoretical view. London: Watermarkes, 2003.
Epstein, Barbara.
"Feminism Consciousness After the Women's Movement", New York: London Press, 2002.
Nnolin,Charles. Approaches to the African Novel. Owerri: Ihem Davis Press Ltd, 1999.
Jaja, Bethel. How to avoid Divorce. Port Harcourt: Bethsan International Agencies Nigeria Ltd, 2000
Udumukwu, Onyemaechi. Social Responsibility in the Nigeria Novel. Port Harcourt: Sherbrook Associates, 1998.
Moh, Felicia A. Women in Literature: selected Essays, Port Harcourt: Amethst & Colleagues Publishers,
2005.
Hut, Elison. Parched Earth and The Stillborn:
feminist analysis. London: cans Publishers, 1998.
Koroye, Seiyifa and Noel
C. Anyadeke. Woman In Academy:Fedscript For Professor Helen Chukwuma. Port Harcourt: Pearl Publishers, 2004.
INSTITUTION OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN
RIVERS STATE COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
PORT HARCOURT
FEMINISM IN EMECHETA’S SECOND CLASS CITIZEN AND ALKALI’S THE STILLBORN
BY
WICHE, INNOCENT .E.
2002/B.ED4/12249
DECEMBER, 2006
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CERTIFICATION
THE BOARD OF EXAMINERS DECLARES AS FOLLOWS THAT THIS IS THE
ORIGINAL WORK OF THE CANDIDATE. THE PROJECT ESSAY IS ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE BACHELOR OF EDUCATION DEGREE IN ENGLISH.
NAME SIGNATURE DATE
G.A. Worgu,
Esq. --------------------------- --------------
Supervisor
Dr. Kontein
Trinya --------------------------- --------------
Head of Department
Dr. D.N. Ogum --------------------------- --------------
Dean/Chairman, Board of
Examiners
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DEDICATION
This project work is dedicated to God Almighty,
and to those who wish me the best in life ahead.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It IS CUSTOMARY THAT in a work of this nature,
the writer must necessarily extend some measures of complementary remarks to
institutions, persons etc. who overtly and covertly contributed to the success
of the writer.
My first and greatest thanks is to God Almighty
for His strength, courage and inspiration which saw me through these four years
of academic tutelage.
My further thanks go to my parents, my father,
Chief A.N.O. Wiche, my step-mother Mrs. Edith N. Wiche, who supported my
academic ambition with words of encouragement and financially, and my mother
Mrs. Mercy E. Wiche who supported my academic ambition financially and morally.
Also, my greatest thanks go to my brothers and sisters.
Finally, I am greatly indebted to my supervisor,
G.A. Nwogu, Esq.
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v
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PROJECT PROPOSAL
The aim of this project work is to review the raising
effects of hopeless state of the women living in bondage under patriarchal
domination and female subjugation in the society.
In the course of this work, the work will
undergo four chapters.
Chapter one is the introduction:
1.1 The background of the term Feminism
1.2 Women’s predicament under male imposed laws
1.3 The biography of Buchi Emecheta and Zaynab
Alkali and their achievements.
1.4 The features of African female writers.
Chapter Two is:
Review of scholarship on the Novels Second Class Citizen and The Stillborn
Chapter three is the creation of awareness of the influence of
sociological situation in the female protagonist of Buchi Emecheta’s Second Class Citizen and Zaynab Alkali’s The Stillborn
3.1 Economic domain
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1. Payment of Bride Price
1.1 Early Marriage
3.2 Socio-cultural domain
1. Preference for male child
1.1 Wife beating practice
3.3 Political domain
1. Divorce and Child custody
Chapter four is the empowerment of the female protagonist and the
departure from the stereotype in Second Class Citizen and The Stillborn
4.1 Conclusion
4.2 Work cited
Finally my achievement on this project work will bring to the
freedom from the bondage of male domination over female, so as to have a sense
of fulfillment and to be real and equal partners with the men in the
development of the family and the society.
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Page
Title
page - - - - - - - - - i
Certification - - - - - - - - ii
Acknowledgement
- - - - - - - - iii
Project
Proposal - - - - - - - iv
Table of
Content - - - - - - - v
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 The
Background of the term
Feminism - - 1
1.2 Women’s
Predicament under
Male
Imposed Laws - - - - - 6
1.3 The Biography of Buchi Emecheta and Zaynab
Alkali and their
Achievement - - - - 10
1.4 The
Features of Female
Writers - - - 13
CHAPTER TWO – REVIEW OF
SCHOLAR
The creation of Awareness
of the Influence of
Sociological Situation in
the Female protagonist
Of Emecheta’s Second
Class Citizen and Alkali’s
Stillborn - - - - - - - - - 44
4.1 Conclusion - - - - - - - 49
Works
Cited - - - - - - - 51-52
By WICHE, INNOCENT EZEMONYE
