| dc.description.abstract | This study examines the literary depiction of postcolonial trauma in selected African
women’s writing. Post-colonial trauma here refers to the psychological, social, and cultural
wounds experienced by individuals and communities as a result of colonisation,
decolonisation struggles, and the ongoing effects of colonial systems and structures.
Through comparative analyses of contemporary fiction by African women writers from two
regions (West and Southern Africa), the study examines the close connection between the
historical traumas of colonialism and the identity of African women in Purple Hibiscus by
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga. The authors
considered serve as literary historians engaging with traumatic pasts to rewrite and re-present
African women in a global present. The following objectives guide the study: to investigate
the forms of postcolonial trauma expressed in the female characters of the selected texts; to
examine the literary techniques employed by the authors to portray postcolonial trauma in
their female characters; and to analyse the role of postcolonial trauma in shaping the
identities of these women. Using postcolonial feminism trauma theory and the concept of
decolonising trauma, the study reflects on how postcolonial trauma manifests in African
women characters and explores how they navigate the historical limits imposed by collective
trauma in their respective locales. The selected primary texts demonstrate the potential of a
postcolonial feminist and decolonised trauma framework tailored to African women’s
writing, aimed at framing their experiences. Additionally, the study investigates the
solidarities envisaged by the authors under consideration, in terms of progressive
decolonised trauma studies that can promote healing beyond borders. A critical approach
underpins the analysis, employing literary theories such as postcolonial feminism trauma
theory, and decolonising trauma to interpret the texts. Uncovering the links between
remembering traumatic events and collective healing, as distinct from the individualistic
Euro-American models discussed by theorists, the study posits that engaging with a specific
postcolonial feminist trauma theory is essential for interpreting these texts. It argues that
such an approach can reveal how women’s fiction articulates and facilitates routes to
communal healing from traumas specific to African women's experiences in postcolonial
contexts. The research identifies various manifestations of trauma rooted in colonial
legacies, such as dismemberment, psychological wounds, physical abuse, double oppression,
and oppressive domestic spaces influenced by religious fanaticism. These traumatic
experiences are closely tied to the fragile identities of women. In attempts to transcend their
fragile identities, women often acquire hybrid identities, reflecting the complex interplay of
cultural and historical forces. The texts employ key techniques, including first-person
narration and vivid imagery, to evoke the profundity of these traumas. These methods offer
a personal and immersive perspective on the impacts of colonialism on women’s lives,
illustrating how their identities are shaped and often fractured by both historical and
contemporary forces. | en_US |
