(Re)Presentation of the ‘Educated’ Woman in Kenyan Popular Fiction: A Study of P. M. Waweru’s Judy the Nun and Wanjiru Waithaka’s The Unbroken Spirit
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Date
2017-07
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Kenyatta University
Abstract
The emergence of an educated class of women in the society today has drastically impacted on the interaction between men and women. Since literature mirrors society and human nature from an artistic angle, it is necessary to study how literature as a process of communication presents the “educated” women, and for what consequence[s]. The literary texts sampled for this study are two popular Kenyan novels namely P.M. Waweru’s Judy the Nun (1990) and Wanjiru Waithaka's The Unbroken Spirit (2005). The two novels position women at the top in power hierarchy in a way that reinforces their domination and suppression. This study is hinged on the argument that ‘educated’” women are portrayed positively and not stereotypically. The first objective of this inquiry examines how styles used by the two popular writers communicate their image of ‘educated’ women. The second objective explores how “educated’ female characters are positively portrayed in the two sampled popular novels. The final objective of the study interrogates the two writers’ social vision as reflected through “educated” women characters in the selected texts. This study not only contributes to the available criticism on gender representation in literature but more significantly adds to our understanding of how contemporary popular writers view the educated women. Feminism theory and the stylistic approach were found useful as tools of analysis in carrying out the research. The stylistic approach considers literary language as an important tool for communication in any work of art where content and form are inseparable. Since feminist literary criticism is not homogenous, the analysis of the text uses the strands of feminist literary criticism identified by Elaine Showalter. The study employed an eclectic approach to the theory. These theoretical approaches guide this study by examining how P.M. Waweru, a male writer presents the ‘educated’ woman in his novel Judy the Nun and how Wanjiru Waithaka, a female writer, presents her characters in her novel The Unbroken Spirit. The methodology utilized involves textual analysis of the primary texts. Secondary texts and internet have been utilized for more information to critique the primary text.
Description
A Project Submitted to the School of Humanities and Social Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Master of Arts of Kenyatta University, July 2017.
Supervisor
1. Dr. J.K.S Makokha
2. Prof. Wangari Mwaj