Masculinity in Margaret Ogola’s The River and The Source and I Swear by Apollo

Abstract

There has been extensive literary research on gender in Kenya and Africa in general. A lot of these literary scholarships has tended to ignore male characters by concentrating on highlighting the woman and her struggle for emancipation from male dominance which has relegated the male character to the periphery. The research has attempted to fill this gap by exploring patriarchal expectation of masculinity and masculinity transformation in Margaret Ogola’s The River and the Source and I Swear by Apollo. It has been guided by two objectives: To interrogate traditional conception of masculinity and to examine how Ogola represents the transformation of masculinities in these texts. Hegemonic masculinity and African feminism theories have been used, whereby Conservative hegemonic masculinity enhanced understanding of the society’s view and expectation of the male gender as dictated by traditions and culture that perpetuate patriarchy while the reformed hegemonic masculinity aided in distinguishing men who have embraced changes. African feminism helped in the need to consider universal conditions that the African man and woman have experienced other than concentrating only on gender issues. The literature review showed the importance of the research because it revealed that the male gender has often been viewed universally as the oppressor of the woman resulting to her subsequent subjugation that leads to the men being undermined and stereotyped by society. Qualitative research design has been used to elicit response and understanding of research area. Whereby an in-depth analysis of the primary texts has been done to show how Ogola has presented her male characters in order to determine the various constructions of masculinities. The data from the primary texts has been analysed as per the stated objectives. The study is encased in six chapters. Chapter one includes background to the study that highlights the problem, objectives of the study and research questions. Literature review and theoretical framework are in chapter two and methodology and ethical considerations in chapter three. Figuring of traditional conception has been interrogated in chapter four while subverted masculinity discussed in chapter five. The findings in chapter six have shown that traditional conception of masculinity yielded idealization of the male gender while some men conformed to patriarchal expectations; a move that resulted to their entrapment. The presence of feminine men has also been noted. Subverted masculinity discussion has exhibited men who have no patriarchal tendencies, men releasing power at different levels and men who either fully or partially support women. Recommendation for further research on discourse of language as a literary tool in masculinity transformation and use of style to implement change in society’s perception of the male gender in texts studied were made. The research is important because it will augment debate on gender studies not only by literary scholars but also development partners on the importance of including men in gender discussions to enhance social growth and development.