Siziba, L.P.Hove, L.M.Odubajo, Adedayo2023-08-032023-08-032023https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2416-4697http://hdl.handle.net/10394/41906PhD (Language and Literature with English), North-West University, Mahikeng CampusThe present research focuses on the literary narratives of Chinua Achebe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Buchi Emecheta, three postcolonial (West) African novelists who recapitulate the lived experiences of the Igbo people of the South-Eastern part of Nigeria in their narratives. The literary narratives selected for this academic study are Emecheta's The joys of motherhood (1979), Achebe's Anthills of the savannah (1988) and Adichie's Americanah (2013). The primary aim of this study is to unpack how Emecheta, Achebe and Adichie portray the concept of patriarchy and gender identity in the selected narratives. To achieve the aim of this study, I engage Chikwenye Okonjo Ogunyemi's African womanist theoretical framework. However, since Ogunyemi's Afrocentric lens is primarily reactionary, the textual analysis of the narratives also draws from the theoretical lenses of notable postcolonial theorists, Franz Fanon, Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak and Homi Bhabha, because each theorist, through their arguments on patriarchy, socialisation patterns and gender identity, provides lenses with which to study the genesis and impact of social norms on social actors. The social actors who also function as female protagonists in the selected literary narratives are Nnu Ego in Emecheta's The joys of motherhood (1979), Beatrice Nwanyibuife Okoh in Achebe's Anthills of the savannah (1988) and Ifemelu in Adichie's Americanah (2013). These female characters evolve from a state of voicelessness to one of agency. This study posits that through the adoption of unique literary techniques, Achebe and Adichie on one hand, lean towards activism and create characters who challenge patriarchy, while Emecheta on the other, explores how patriarchy stifles the Igbo woman. The conclusions drawn from the in-depth analysis of the narratives are that Emecheta, Achebe and Adichie are three (West) African novelists who articulate the challenges of patriarchy whilst envisioning a third space where interaction thrives through the precepts of complementarity and cohesion.enAfrican womanismGender identityPatriarchySocialisationWestern feminismThesis