Representing the Paradox of Transformation : An analysis of the education of the female "self" and the collective in The Book of Not (2006) and Coconut (2007)
Abstract
This research analyses the representation of the paradox of education and
transformation of the female self and the collective in Dangarembga's The Book of
Not (2006) and Matlwa's Coconut (2007). The argument raised in this study is that
the education of the young women in both novels informs the transformative state of
the position of women in society. The thesis foregrounds the various ways in which
African female writers represent and examine the ways in which women in Africa
continuously negotiate multiple identities that are often complex, contradictory and
ambiguous. Tsitsi Dangarembga and Kopano Matlwa's novels represent access and
acquisition of education for young girls in Zimbabwe and South Africa respectively.
The novels are about young girls on their quest to womanhood. This research
particularly focuses on how education shapes that journey. The paradox lies in the
fact that education is both a tool for empowerment, and a source of alienation for
women who have access to it. This study bases its argument on the thesis that
inasmuch as education is a tool for empowerment, it has transformational
implications on the female self as well as the collective.
The researcher draws on aspects of Africana womanist literary theory; as this theory
enables one to analyse gender roles in the African society not as separate but
complementary roles. Africana womanism as a gender theory allows one to analyse
social, historical, political and economic is,sues in African communities without
distorting the cultural relevance of these concepts. The researcher also argues that
the roles of African women in their societies are changing and highlights how their
exposure to education plays a role in this shift. Afrocentricism was used as a
supplementary theory as it brings to the core the concept of cultural dignity and
nationalism in Africa.
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