A Feminist Reading of Selected Novels in Afan Oromo: A Study in Deconstruction
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Date
2013-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Or01110 creative writings are developing fasl. H owever, th e critical studies conducted are
far beh ind. More speci ficall y, c ri tical studi es conducted in the area of port raya l of women
arc not ex haustive. The objective of th is study is to critica lly examine four se lected
novels in AFlI/ Oro1l10, namely Hmvwii (2003), Klll/saa Gadoo ( 1991 ), Illaa (2007), and
Dhoksaa Jireeuyaa (201 I) from femini st perspecti ve. Textual analysis has been
employed as it best fits to this study. Using tex tual analys is, contents of the texts or their
structure and di scourse are closely examined.
Feminist deconstructionist approach is used to analyze the selected novels. It is used to
examine female characters in the selected novels with regard to notions such as a
woman's body, subject/object, motherhood and knowledge. With respect to motherhood,
most female characters are fou nd out to osc illate between the rewards of giving birth and
its constrictio n, which deconstrllcrs notions of insti tution al motherhood. Fema le
characters such as Chaltu , in lIIaa are shown to be mothers who assume both insti llitional
motherhood and mothcrhood as a choice. Although body parts of female characters are
dominant ly dep icted as object of gaze, under some situati ons, fema le characters use their
body for surviva l lI nder difficul t li fe co ndi tions (Yadashi , in Kllllsaa Gadoo, Aster in
Dhoksaa Jireeuyaa and Saartu in [I faa). Fema le characters are also fou nd out to osci ll ate
in the continuum be tween subject and object because of economic, soc ial, cu ltural and
institutional forces. As to knowledge, the not ion that assigns male characters to rati onal,
knowledgeable and that ass igns female characte rs to irrational and nOllk nowkdge
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pos ition is deconstructed and some fema le characters such as Yadash i in KULIsaa Cadoo,
arc fOllnd out to win male characters, using an argument in the court of justice.
Comparative analys is made has shown that in llIaa the novcl by female writer Rahima
Johar femini st issues are valorized more as compared to the other novels by male authors.
From the texts of male authors, Esayas' Hawwii attempts to give enough space to female
characters than Abdi's Dhoksaa Jireenyaa and Gadissa's KULIsaa Cadoo.
In the life of the female characters, the social and economic spaces are the causes for the
psychi c space to be created in them which make them the center of multi ple contending
forces.
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Afan Oromo: a Study in Deconstruction