EXPLORING THE ‘I’ IN THE BILDUNGSROMAN: INDICES OF IFEMINISM IN BISI ADJAKPON’S OF WOMEN AND FROGS

Authors: Oboli, Blessing Ph.D & Agbonifo, Rosemary

ABSTRACT

Dissent voices in gender studies have taken root in the pillars of literary criticism in contemporary fiction. The perplexity of the bildungsroman as a novel whose protagonist is ever-changing and evolving reflecting the Cultural Revolution, sexual honesty and psychological realism poses as a significant aspect of a literary genre worthy of attention. Hence, it becomes paramount to scan the views of gender discourses with the tenets of the bildungsroman. Conceptually, the paper undertakes a symbiotic analysis of individual feminism and the bildungsroman genre using the growth process of the feminine protagonist in Bisi Adjakpon’s Of Women and frogs. Further, the paper highlights the extent the individual can assert her individuality alongside, scaling the expense of such freedom. The mushrooming elements of bodily freedom, the choice for abortion, right to peaceful enjoyment of the body, and the like are examined vis-à-vis the bildungsroman’s protagonist who is constantly in the quest for self-assertion and individuation. Although the bildungsroman as a genre in contemporary African fiction has been widely discussed, there seems to be a dearth in the critiquing of tenets of individual feminism as a critical aspect of the growth process of the protagonist. This paper seeks to partake in filling this critical gap. It is discovered that the individual is mostly determined to accentuate their freedom and right to bodily enjoyment but with the consciousness of morality and the spiritual which is the watchdog of the individual. There is also no private resolution but a group solidarity for this freedom.

Keywords: Bildungsroman, Bodily Freedom, Individual Feminism, Individuality, Ifeminism

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