<p>This study focuses on the different strategies that the author uses to subvert the patriarchal and the colonial discourses which are reflected in the novel "Les Honneurs perdus" of Calixthe Beyala. In the introduction a theoretical background is given which includes feminist and postcolonial literary theories and their relation to postmodern theories and deconstruction. The introduction underlines the importance of the constitution of subject in postcolonial and feminist theories in contrast to deconstruction of subject in postmodernism and poststructuralism.</p><p>The analysis demonstrates that the novel can be seen as a female bildungsroman in the protagonist’s intent to create an autonomous identity. A gynocentric writing and the dialogue with another female character, the heroine’s antagonistic double, which includes the possibility of a female genealogy, as well as the final love to a white man, contribute essentially to transculturation and the construction of the heroine’s hybrid identity.</p><p>The second chapter of the analysis shows that the dichotomies Europe–Africa and man–woman in the binary system of the western way of thinking are very marked in the novel. Finally the third chapter points out how the different narrative techniques like the mixing of different language levels, the creation of new words, the use of irony and carnivalation, a special form of parody, as well as the intertextuality of magic realism deconstruct and subvert the heritage of colonial and patriarchal values and demonstrate the post-colonial misery both in the protagonist’s native suburb in Cameroun and in Paris.</p>

This study focuses on the different strategies that the author uses to subvert the patriarchal and the colonial discourses which are reflected in the novel "Les Honneurs perdus" of Calixthe Beyala. In the introduction a theoretical background is given which includes feminist and postcolonial literary theories and their relation to postmodern theories and deconstruction. The introduction underlines the importance of the constitution of subject in postcolonial and feminist theories in contrast to deconstruction of subject in postmodernism and poststructuralism. The analysis demonstrates that the novel can be seen as a female bildungsroman in the protagonist’s intent to create an autonomous identity. A gynocentric writing and the dialogue with another female character, the heroine’s antagonistic double, which includes the possibility of a female genealogy, as well as the final love to a white man, contribute essentially to transculturation and the construction of the heroine’s hybrid identity. The second chapter of the analysis shows that the dichotomies Europe–Africa and man–woman in the binary system of the western way of thinking are very marked in the novel. Finally the third chapter points out how the different narrative techniques like the mixing of different language levels, the creation of new words, the use of irony and carnivalation, a special form of parody, as well as the intertextuality of magic realism deconstruct and subvert the heritage of colonial and patriarchal values and demonstrate the post-colonial misery both in the protagonist’s native suburb in Cameroun and in Paris.

According to some theorists, the roman d’apprentissage, a sub-genre of the novel that reached its height during the 19th century, was essentially a masculine genre in which the female characters invariably played an incidental role. Although some maintain that the sub-genre is now obsolete, many others insist that it continues to be adapted to explore themes relating to larger topics such feminism and postcolonialism. The current study examines how a female author of Cameroonian origin, Calixthe Beyala, appears to have adapted the traditional form of the roman d’apprentissage in her novel, Assèze l’Africaine, to reflect the perspective of a young black woman migrating from Cameroon to Paris, while simultaneously exploring theoretical concepts such as féminitude and hybridité. By comparing the essential characteristics of the novel to those advanced by Pierre Aurégan (1997) concerning the sub-genre as a whole, the study first attempts to determine whether the novel in question can reasonably be classified as a roman d’apprentissage. Subsequently, given that the protagonist is female, by exploring the literary function of several of the male characters in the novel, the study seeks to reveal whether the roles of the characters are simply reversed according to their gender, with the male characters merely playing an incidental role. The study reveals that although the author has clearly adapted the sub-genre to suit her own purposes, the novel still adheres to enough of the typical characteristics to be classified as a roman d’apprentissage. In addition, although the protagonist is female, the roles of the characters do not appear to be simply reversed, as several of the male characters are essential to the emotional development of the heroine, as well as to the perpetuation of the binary oppositions female/male and black/white, which, it has been suggested, the author seeks to maintain in her other works. It would seem that, in the novel under examination, the male characters largely function as an essential complement to the female ones. It remains to be seen, however, whether the same can be said about the characters in the author’s other works.

This study examines the feminist ideas in Calixthe Beyala's fictional novel Les Honneurs perdus (1996) and her essay Lettre d'une Africaine à ses sœurs occidentales (1995). The description of women's situation and their possible liberation in these two texts are analyzed, notably based on the feminist theories articulated by Simone de Beauvoir and by Judith Butler. The analysis demonstrates that the women in these texts live in a patriarchal society where they are oppressed and dominated by men. Religion and tradition serve as a way of internalizing this oppression. Early on, the women learn that their sexuality is owned by men, and that the main purpose of their existence is to get married and have children. However, Beyala also demonstrates a possiblity for women to reclaim their subjectivity and to liberate themselves from men's oppression, mainly through gaining awareness of the oppression, getting access to education and finding solidarity between women. In the last chapter of the analysis, Beyala's vision of the woman as the savior of the world is questioned, and the importance of the postcolonial context is considered. The study concludes that Beyala's feminist ideas consist of a fusion of, on one hand, Western feminist theories such as those based on the works of Beauvoir and, on the other hand, ideas of solidarity characteristic for the African continent. This creates a feminism which, just like Beyala herself, straddles two continents.

This study is based on the main female African characters in Une si longue lettre written in 1979 by Mariama Bâ and Assèze l’Africaine written in 1994 by Calixthe Beyala. Both novels describe the African society and the obstacles that exist for women in this society where men dominate. This study presents the transformation of Ramatoulaye that is a traditional and passive woman but she becomes modern. In addition, it presents the transformation of young Aïssatou that becomes an independent and strong woman, in these two novels. These two women are facing similar forms of discriminations and oppression in the African society and they are struggling against injustice in various ways. The aim of this analysis is to investigate how the image of the African women and the feminism in Africa show and develop through the main characters, Ramatoulaye and Aïssatou. The conclusion reveal that the image of the African women has considerably changed over the years in a positive way and that Femininity is a cultural construction and not a natural construction. The conclusion further reveal that even today a woman is not independent, but is still considered "the Other" in relation to the man.

This thesis examines representations of the intimate as experienced by female protagonists, through expressions related to the heart, the soul and the body, in a comparative study of novels by French women writers from the 19th century and the present day. The corpus consists of seven novels : Ourika by Claire de Duras (1822), Lélia by George Sand (1833 &amp; 1839), Monsieur Vénus. Roman matérialiste by Rachilde (1884), Femme nue, femme noire by Calixthe Beyala (2003), Vous parler d’elle by Claire Castillon (2004), Le Cœur cousu by Carole Martinez (2007), and Mon cœur à l’étroit by Marie NDiaye (2007). As a starting point, the thesis provides an extensive literature survey of existing research on the intimate as well as an introduction of the feminist and psychanalytic approaches underpinning the subsequent analyses, which are conducted in two parts, according to the personal and relational dimensions of the intimate. The theories of Beauvoir, Kristeva and Lacan offer perspectives on the intimate experience of women characters which is conveyed in literary imagery as the desire of the Other, and which is oppressed in a patriarchal symbolic order, although an aesthetic with specific narrative techniques related to women’s experience of the intimate is identified in most of the novels. These features include blurring and fragmentation of spatiotemporality, a marked intricacy of narrative voice, proximate first-person narrators, and the development of themes such as the writing of the body, sensed as a container. A discrepancy is noticed between the dominating androcentric posture of the heroines which is found in underlying discourse, and the sensorial dimension of their experience. This leads to a sublimation of body and sexuality in the romantic novels, a masochistic exaltation of the body and pain in the decadent novel and a psychotic and paranoid state in the novels from present day literature. The themes of female sacrifice and of death and denial of the body are very strong throughout the corpus. Relationships within the family are explored, including the mother-daughter relationships that are emphasised in the recent novels but not in those from the 19th century. Family structure, Christian culture and patriarchal, hierarchical social organisation are analysed as grounds for women’s alienation in the novels. The issue of perversion, which is striking in the novels on several different levels, is described as a transgression which involves the reader.

This study analyzes the experience of alienation from family and culture as portrayed in the personal narratives of francophone women. The authors appearing in this study are Assia Djebar and Marie Cardinal, from Algeria, Mariama Bâ and Ken Bugul, from Senegal, Marguerite Duras and Kim Lefèvre, from Vietnam, Calixthe Beyala, from Cameroon, Gabrielle Roy, from Canada, and Maryse Condé, from Guadeloupe. Alienation is deconstructed into the domains of blood, money, land, religion, education and history. The authors’ experiences of alienation in each domain are classified according to severity and cultural normativity. The study seeks to determine the manner in which alienation manifests in each domain, and to identify factors which aid or hinder recovery. Alienation in the domain of blood occurs as a result of warfare, illness, racism, ancestral trauma, and the rites of passage of menarche, loss of virginity, and menopause. Money-related alienation is linked to endemic classism, often caused by colonial influence. The authors experienced varying degrees of economic vulnerability to men, depending upon cultural and familial norms. Colonialism, warfare and environmental depending upon cultural and familial norms. Colonialism, warfare and environmental degradation all contribute to alienation in the domain of land. Women were found to be more susceptible to alienation in the domain of religion due to patriarchal religious constructs. In the domain of education, it was found that some alienation is inevitable for all students. Despite its inherent drawbacks, education provides tools for empowerment which are crucial for overcoming alienation. Alienation in the domain of history was found to hinder recovery due to infiltration of past trauma into the present, while empowerment in this domain fosters optimism and future-oriented thinking. Each domain offers opportunities for empowerment, and it is necessary to work within the domains to create a safe haven for recovery. Eight of the nine authors experienced at least a partial recovery from alienation. This was accomplished via cathartic release of negative emotions. Catharsis is achieved by shedding tears, talking, or writing about the negative experiences. The personal narrative was found to be especially helpful in promoting healing both for the author and the reading audience. / Classics and World Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (French)