Major Themes in the Works Of Four Ethiopian Women Writers
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Date
2000-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine themes women poets convey in
their work.
The four women writers who are considered under these study are
Aregash Seifu, Firmaye Alemu, Mekedes .J emberu, and Senayt Aberra. Their
poems are found in the anthology of poem entitled.
The four women writers have written their poems depending on their
individual experience, temperament, and their view of life.
The majority of their poem subj ects are drawn ti'om the ord inary social
life of the Ethiopian people. The four writers have commonly touched the
subject of love. They have great reverence fo r the issue of love. As each of
them have di fferent social background and experience, they seem to lack
common frame of reference to expl ain it.
As regard the moral question, they have clearl y stated the deteri orating
moral condi tion and the general abj ect poverty th at prevail in the country. It
seems the four writers are not generally happy with th e way things are in the
country at present. As a result, they have voiced their concern and blatantly
pointed out their bitter and critica l social comment. The Ibur women accept the
uni versa l law of life th at upholds contradi ction to be an inherent fea ture of all
phenomena in the uni verse. Their attitude toward Ii fe is based on the principle
of to lerance and optimism taking hope as a beckoning li ght.In their individua l work, the theme of woman subjugation is reflected in
the works of Aregash and Mekedes have touched on the pos ition of women in
the society and how they suffer due to the traditional and cu ltural practice.
Firmay elaborated on the lack of se lf- respect and personal integrity the
society shows by displaying unnatural behavior primari ly to be on good terms
in the day-to-day social relations at home and in public.
Senayt stresses on the necessity of moderate li ving. To conclude, in
male dominated literary tradition of the country the four women writers have
shown their intellectual competence.
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Keywords
Ethiopian Women Writers