The role of society in the woman's subordination in selected works of Bessie Head
Abstract
This study examines Bessie Head's presentation of the woman in
the selected works studied here. The study proceeds from a
feminist perspective to interrogate the patriarchal dictates which
influence social expectations and roles of the woman.
Using library research as-its methodology, the study examines
Head's presentation of the woman as subordinated to the control of
patriarchal dictates in her social relationships. The study also
analyses the woman's rejection of social expectations in an attempt
to redefine her self. It further examines the alienating effects of
patriarchal expectations on the woman. These are looked at in the
way the alienation is projected onto the woman's psyche.
The conclusion reveals that in Head's fiction under study, the
woman is viewed and views herself as the 'other' in the society.
This results in her exclusion from societal main stream - an
experience that she now seeks to subvert. The study proposes an
examination of the social facets that can aid the woman's readmission
into the societal main stream as an equal participant, not a subordinate "other."
Citation
Masters of Arts DegreePublisher
University of Nairobi Department of Arts
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Arts in
the University of Nairobi