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Changing images : representations of the Southern African black women in works by Bessie Head, Ellen Kuzwayo, Mandla Langa and Mongane Serote

This study examines representations of Southern African black women
in the works' of two male and two female writers. A comparative
approach is used to review the ways in which the writers
characterise women who labour under intense restrictions in
domestic situations, the workplace, and in political contexts.
Some representations suggest that women have come to terms with
social strictures and have learned to live fulfilled lives despite
them. Other representations are contextualised in creative situations
in which social roles are re-imagined. In the process,
women are removed from conventional object-related gendered
positions. These representations suggest that women have the
capability to achieve personal transcendence rather than accept the
immanence imposed by stereotyped gender relationships and repressive
political structures. The suggestion is made that writers can
change the image of women by centralising them as active subjects,
challenging their exclusion and creating spaces for women to
represent themselves / English Studies / M.A. (English)

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/18134
Date11 1900
CreatorsMarsden, Dorothy Frances
ContributorsDe Kock, L.
Source SetsSouth African National ETD Portal
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Format1 online resource (137 leaves)

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