The Ambivalance Of Womanhood in the Postcolonial Igbo Society:

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the paradoxes of womanhood for women in the postcolonial Igbo society as manifested through the protagonist of Flora Nwapa’s Efuru. The main argument is that the concept of womanhood carries with it different ambivalent feelings for women as they grow up and struggle against social expectations. At some times, women are weak and vulnerable and can easily be subjected to sexism. At other times, women are capable of incredible strength and can be resilient and strong. In the case of Nwapa’s Efuru. Efuru, the female protagonist in the novel, is an example of a woman with strong feminine consciousness who lives within a postcolonial society that imposes a lot of expectations as well as barriers that women must accept. As a result, even though Efuru has a strong personality and is self-dependent, she finds herself entrapped within a patriarchal society that exerts limitations on women’s lives and choices. In this regard, the study will use both the feminist theories and postcolonial approaches to study the concept of womanhood and its implications for African females whose communities are affected not only by patriarchal norms but also by the inherited forms of hegemony, subjugation and domination exercised upon them by Imperial powers. The dissertation is divided into three chapters. The first chapter provides a theoretical discussion of the concept and its representation in African Literature. The second chapter will examine the concept of womanhood as a set of notions and roles that weaken women and reduce their sense of selfhood as manifested in Flora Nwapa’s Efuru. In the third chapter, the focus is placed on aspects of womanhood that empower women and strengthen their sense of self-esteem.