The world of women in selected works of V.S.Naipaul
Abstract
This study investigates how female characters have been created in
selected works of V.S. Naipaul. It identifies female characters as being negatively
or unfairly represented in the works.
The work starts from the premises that female characters are treated as
peripherals in the works; that they are denied an enabling environment, which is
a prerequisite for self-actualisation
These considerations are followed by an interrogation of the literature
which reveals that works of art are not always fair representations. This links the
problem to previous research and provides a rationale for the conduct of the
study.
Feminist, post-colonial and psychoanalytic literary theories are advanced
as the suitable frameworks for the prosecution of the study.
The theories provide a methodological rationale for a thorough scrutiny of the
texts for textual evidence.
Although the focus is on the works of fiction of Naipaul, the findings have
wider ramifications on gender studies and the fight for rights in societies.
Having examined the representations of both male and female characters, the
study concludes that there is a consistently negative representation of the latter.
It identifies cultural beliefs, and colonial legacies as the prime factors for such
representations.
Citation
Ondieki, J. M. (2007). The world of women in selected works of v.s. NaipaulSponsorhip
University of NairobiPublisher
Department of Literature, University of Nairobi
Description
MA - Thesis