Representations of Women in Francophone African Literature – Experiences of Exclusion and Self-Assertion of Black African Female Characters in French-Language Texts "Le Ventre de l’Atlantique" and "Celles qui attendent" by Fatou Diome
Wilfreid Emmanuel Koung A Sanama
University of Erlangen-NürnbergAbstract
The present paper analyses the representation and situation of African female protagonists affected by social exclusion and discrimination in postcolonial African contexts in Fatou Diome’s novels Le Ventre de l’Atlantique (2003) and Celles qui attendent (2010). It examines the extent to which these female characters are shaped by processes of marginalization and subalternity within patriarchal social structures, as well as the subjective or collective strategies they employ to articulate their voices and assert themselves. Based on the selected literary texts, the study not only explores the everyday lives of marginalized Black African women but also deconstructs dominant representations of women as subordinate figures within patriarchal discourses. The findings suggest that these characters are capable of challenging unequal social structures and achieving forms of self-realization. To this end, feminist theory, the womanist approach, and narrative analysis serve as the main methodological frameworks. Finally, the study argues for a stronger engagement with such literary representations within Francophone and other foreign-language literary studies, alongside a broader inclusion of similar fictional works.
Keywords:
Black African women, representation of women, feminism, womanism, Fatou DiomeReferences
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University of Erlangen-Nürnberg
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