Browsing by Author "Zhuwarara, Netty"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Interrogating masculinities in female-authored texts: a critical analysis of Valerie Tagwira's The Uncertainty of Hope and Neshani Andreas' The Purpule Violent of Ashaantu
    (University of Namibia, 2016) Zhuwarara, Netty
    This thesis explores the depiction of masculinities in Valerie Tagwira’s The Uncertainty of Hope and Neshani Andreas’ The Purple Violet of Oshaantu. The portrayal of the male figures invAfrican women writing is an area which has not been given a lot of attention in gender writing. The two novels were selected using purposive sampling as they portray an array of masculinities. The researcher employed masculinities, nego-feminism and STIWANISM as literary theories to underpin this study. Masculinities as a concept was used in order to magnify the construction of the male identity as it has a lot of bearing on the character of men. Nego-feminism places both genders side by side as men and women try to negotiate their spaces in life. STIWANISM mirrors how the negotiated spaces between men and women bring about a transformed society in which negative patriarchal values melt away. A qualitative research design was adopted to interpret the portrayal of masculinities in the two novels. Content analysis was used to analyse the two novels for the portrayal of the male characters. The study indicated that the male figures identities are a product of a social construct which differs from community to community, and are constantly subject to change. The study further noted that, as portrayed by Andreas and Tagwira, some men are good and some exploit the patriarchal dividend of power and hold on to the characteristics of hegemonic masculinity. Among other themes that came up in the research are; emasculation of masculinity- reaction of thwarted personhood, the threatening scourge of HIV/AIDS, alternative masculinity-egalitarian existence, patriarchal values; exploitation of women, disinheritance of women and coping strategies in face of adversity. From the various roles men play in the texts, it can be concluded that the two authors portray masculinities as they are experienced in daily life where historical periods determine their different reactions to situations and particularly interesting is that there are indeed ‘good men’ who are role models and the African women writers celebrate them.