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
Adjamagbo, A./Antoine, Ph./Delaunay V. (2004), Naissances prémaritales au Sénégal: confrontation de modèles urbain et rural. Cahiers québécois de démographie 2/33: 239–272. https://doi.org/10.7202/011206ar.
Crossref
Google Scholar
Adjamagbo, A./Gastineau, B./Kpadonou, N. (2016), Travail-famille: Un défi pour les femmes à Cotonou. Recherches féministes 29/2: 17–41. https://doi.org/10.7202/1038719ar.
Crossref
Google Scholar
Adjamagbo, A./Koné, P.A. (2013), Situations relationnelles et gestion des grossesses non prévues à Dakar. Population 68/1: 67–96. https://doi.org/10.3917/popu.1301.0067.
Crossref
Google Scholar
Audibert, A. D./Morzelle, A. (1991), Révolutionnaires silencieuses au XXème siècle. Laval: Kerdoré. Google Scholar
Beauvoir, S. de (1949), Das andere Geschlecht. Sitte und Sexus der Frau. Hamburg: Rowohlt. Google Scholar
Danielzik, C.-M. (2013), Überlegenheitsdenken fällt nicht vom Himmel. Postkoloniale Perspektiven auf Globales Lernen und Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung. Zeitschrift für internationale Bildungsforschung und Entwicklungspädagogik 36/1: 26–33. Google Scholar
Diome, F. (2003), Le ventre de l’Atlantique: Paris: Anne Carrière. Google Scholar
Diome, F. (2010), Celles qui attendent: Paris: Flammarion. Google Scholar
Diop, M. (2020), Le salut de la femme africaine dans l’exil: L’interaction Bonheur-identité dans une perspective problématique. Akofena 1: 755–766. Google Scholar
Fröhlich, F. (2018), Feministische Mädchenarbeit. In: Gender Glossar/Gender Glossary. https://gender-glossar.de/glossar/item/ [Zugriff: 20.04.2026]. Google Scholar
Gerhard, U. (2020), Frauenbewegung und Feminismus. Eine Geschichte seit 1789. 4. Aufl. München: C.H. Beck.
Crossref
Google Scholar
Hall, S. (1992), The West and the Rest: Discourse and Power. In: Hall, S./Gieben, B. (Hrsg.), Formations of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press: 275–320. Google Scholar
Hudson-Weems, C. (1995), Africana Womanism. Reclaiming Ourselves. Troy: Bedford Publishers. Google Scholar
James, A. (1990), In Their Own Voices: African Women Writers Talk. London: Heinemann. Google Scholar
Karsch, M. (2016), Feminismus. Geschichte – Positionen. Bonn: bpb Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung. Google Scholar
Kolawole, M.E.M. (1997), Womanism and African Consciousness. Trenton/Asmara: Africa World Press. Google Scholar
Koye, S./Kalpet, E./Mamadi, R. (2021), «Le ventre de l’Atlantique» (2006) de Fatou Diome: entre oralité et transmission des valeurs identitaires africaines à travers la figure de la femme. Akofena 7/1: 189–202. https://doi.org/10.48734/S7V115.21. Google Scholar
Mbembe, A. (2006), Qu’est-ce que la pensée postcoloniale? Entretien avec Achille Mbembe. Esprit 330: 117–133.
Crossref
Google Scholar
Naâmane-Guessous, S. (1988), Au-delà de toute pudeur. La sexualité féminine au Maroc. Casablanca. Eddif. Google Scholar
Ogunyemi, C.O. (1985), Womanism: The dynamics of the contemporary black female novel in English. Signs: Journal of women in Culture and Society 11/1: 63–80.
Crossref
Google Scholar
Said, E.W. (2003 [1978]), Orientalism. London: Penguin Books. Google Scholar
Starosta, A./Vollmond, N. (2014), Einleitung: Radikal, sexy, aktuell – zur Relevanz von Feminismus in historischer Perpektive. In: Feminismus Seminar (Hrsg.), Feminismus in historischer Perspektive. Eine Reaktualisierung. Bielefeld: transcirpt Verlag: 31–44.
Crossref
Google Scholar
Tervonen, T. (2003), Partir pour vivre libre. Entretien avec Fatou Diome. In: Africultures. https://africultures.com/partir-pour-vivre-libre-3227/ [Zugriff: 14.01.25]. Google Scholar
Walker, A. (1983), In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens. Womanist Prose. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovic. Google Scholar
University of Erlangen-Nürnberg
