| A whistling woman or a crowing hen is neither fit for God nor men. —English proverb
Whistling women and crowing hens always come to some bad ends.
—American folk-saying
This dissertation examines the indelible marks urban life makes on female characters in
contemporary postcolonial literature exemplified by Nigerian literature, including that of
Nigerian diasporic writers. Specifically, I read modern Nigerian literature and explore the
relationship between place and identity to interrogate how postcolonial cities like Lagos
reinforce patterns of patriarchy and female oppression. I argue in this dissertation that
notwithstanding these negative patterns of patriarchal oppression in Lagos, the plethora of
women’s voices emanating from Lagos demonstrates an agency in reaction to this same
oppression. I consider this as “whistling against expectations of the society,” where women
deliberately perform the taboo of whistling women, as evident in the two proverbs above.
Considering the distinction between space and place that has become pronounced in human
geography over the past few decades, the concept of place informs my research. Consequently,
my study focuses on the importance of Lagos as a “place” that inscribes its presence on female
characters’ bodies and psyches. To this end, I use postcolonial theory to situate selected texts
within a continuous dialogue between Africa and the rest of the world, especially the Western
world, as I demonstrate how women characters exemplify a positive “worlding” of Lagos
experience. The dissertation also considers theories of teaching postcolonial feminist novels. I
survey how these texts elucidate discussions in the context of a course on Postcolonial City
Literature and Gender and my summations provide models for teaching these texts within these
intersecting fields of study. |