This paper scrutinized the womanist ideology in Aidoo's "Changes: A Love Story". It employed Alice Walker’s Womanism theory as the theoretical perspective within which the analysis of the instances of womanism in the text was cast. A major argument in this paper is that Aidoo's female characters are all well-educated, economically empowered, yet in their quest for independence as women in a traditionally patriarchal society, they opted against the Western radical feminist ideology of challenging men's domination and superiority over women to the extent that they would not agree to marry nor give birth. The paper then asserts that Aidoo is not a radical feminist but a Womanist who through her characters demonstrated Esi, Opokuya and Fusena’s willingness to marry, bear children, and work for the survival and wholeness of the family inter alia which are contra-attributes of radical feminism. The paper is relevant because it contributes to the ongoing discourse on the feminist ideology of Aidoo in her works.
THE WOMANIST IDEOLOGY: A STUDY OF CHANGES BY AMA ATA AIDOO
ABSTRACT
This paper scrutinized the womanist ideology in Aidoo’s Changes: A Love Story (1991). It employed Alice Walker’s Womanism theory (1983, 1984) as the theoretical perspective within which the analysis of the instances of womanism in the text was cast. A major argument in this paper is that Aidoo’s female characters are all well-educated, economically empowered, yet in their quest for independence as women in a traditionally patriarchal society, they opted against the Western radical feminist ideology of challenging men’s domination and superiority over women to the extent that they would not agree to marry nor give birth. The paper then asserts that Aidoo is not a radical feminist but a Womanist who through her characters demonstrated Esi, Opokuya and Fusena’s willingness to marry, bear children, and work for the survival and wholeness of the family inter alia which are contra-attributes of radical feminism. The paper is relevant because it contributes to the ongoing discourse on the feminist ideology of Aidoo in her works.
Key words: changes, family, love, survival, womanism
INTRODUCTION
There is an increasing debate in the literary circles on the concept of Womanism in African female writings. Particularly, there is a lot of attention paid to this ideological perspective in Aidoo’s Changes. There are concerns on how she problematizes her position on what constitutes radical feminism and womanism with respect to her treatment of her women or her female characters in the text. This problematization of the situation of the woman within the remit of the African socio-cultural structure in Aidoo’s Changes calls for critical views and diversified opinions on the novelist’s position on whether she, in this particular novel, embraces a radical feminist ideology or a womanist.
Arguably though, the narrative comments on the outright rejection of the indigenous Traditional values which subvert the liberty and freedom of women but that which are cherished and held onto by men in one hand, and in another, Aidoo takes advantage of a societal disarray, as well as the breakdown and degradation of traditional norms in order to advance the interests of the modern African woman (Ekpong, 2014). From this standpoint, one could argue that Aidoo is either radical and liberal at the same time in her feminist ideologies and assertions or she represents a strand of feminist discourse known as Womanism. Either way, as shall be demonstrated in this paper, calls for a critical interrogation.
Undoubtedly, Aidoo’s novel has been extensively studied and critiqued since its publication in 1991. There is an elaborate study on women portraiture (e.g., Ogunrotimi, 2015; Ndiaye, 2002; Dzokoto & Adams, 2007; Curry, 2011; Olaussen, 2002; Simpson, 2007; Teiko, 2017). In these studies, there is a panoramic survey of love, emotions, marital relations, time, space and empowerment inter alia in the ideational construction of the female in Aidoo’s text. Teiko (2017) for instances, discusses the changes in masculinity concepts in African marital culture and argues that in the context of marriage, they reframe their portrayals of women and masculinity. In the present enterprise, the focus is to establish that Aidoo’s novel is asserting a womanist’s view rather than feminism. The objective is to re-read Aidoo with the purview of womanism to ascertain whether or not, she advocates for a redefinition of the patriarchal African socio-cultural milieu. The paper employs Alice Walker’s Womanism theory to shed light on the analysis. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: first, it discusses the theory of Womanism followed by an overview of the text and then, the analysis. The last section is the conclusion of the paper.
THEORETICAL LENS
The analysis of this paper is cast within the framework of Womanism proposed by Alice Walker. The African-American author, Walker (1983), first used the term “womanist” to describe how black women’s experiences differed from those of white women. Womanism is centered on the importance of women and their place in both their local communities (such as their families, neighborhoods, or workplaces) and the larger global environment. A womanist, according to Walker, is a “black feminist or feminist of color” who values and favors women’s culture, emotional adaptability, and strength in addition to loving other women and/or men sexually and/or non-sexually as well as the “survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female” (Walker, 1983: xi). According to Razak (2006), the phrase “womanism” was first used by Alice Walker in her 1983 essay book In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens. She defines this notion as “feminist, Afrocentric, healing, embodied, and spiritual” (100) at the beginning of the collection.
The term “womanism” is strongly rooted in black matrilinear society, where black mothers used it to characterize girls who wanted to “know more and in more depth than is considered ‘good’ for anyone” and whose behavior was “outrageous, bold, or stubborn” (Walker,1983: xii). According to Walker’s more metaphorical definition of womanism, “Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender” (Walker,1983: xii), it clearly extols and distinguishes itself from feminism by being likened to the powerful color purple, which is frequently referred to as the royal hue.
In Aidoo’s text, there is the quest by her protagonist female characters to achieve emancipation. But “emancipating” women in Africa has proven to be challenging. This is so because the deeply established patriarchal views of African countries and the miserable circumstances of the majority of women who depend completely on their husbands for their livelihood make gender emancipation in this context challenging. The few high-earning women may have the freedom of financial independence with which to fight the domination of the other sex, but not the vast majority of stay-at-home mothers who are treated more like appendages.
Even while some African women find it difficult to live up to the unfair expectations that men set for them, most of them are too invested in the current state of affairs to openly resist or protest in a furious manner. The financially independent woman may occasionally indulge in binges and even revel in what she perceives to be the manumission of the individualized woman, but in the end, she avoids the label of non-conformist because she fears losing her respectability more than she laments losing her individuality (identity). As a result of the aforementioned, Flora Nwapa would insist on being referred to as a “womanist” and Buchi Emecheta would consistently deny being a feminist. This form of feminism is dismantled by Ogunyemi (1988), who asserts:
In addition to being accommodationist, womanism is black-centered. Similar to feminism, it supports women's freedom and independence. It will make sure that males alter their sexist attitude and wants real unity between black men and black children.
Ogundipe-Leslie (2009) summarizes what she calls “common” feminist “denominators” in Africa that cause women here to have a different attitude from women in Western countries, claiming that the temperament of gender oppression in Africa differs from that which prevails elsewhere and trying to better characterize the unique “brand” of feminism that exists on the continent:
1. Feminism need not be at odds with males. It has nothing to do with divisive gender politics.
2. Women shouldn't disregard their biological responsibilities.
3. That motherhood is viewed as having a unique expression in Africa and is idealized and cited as a source of strength by African women.
4. Rather than fixating on sexual difficulties, it is important to address the whole of women's situations.
5. That certain element of women’s reproductive rights are more important than others.
6. That the plight of African women must be considered in the context of their society's overall production and procreation, which also includes males and children. Therefore, in African feminist thought there has always been a focus on economic fulfillment and independence.
7. “Women’s ideology must be framed in the framework of the economic and racial conflicts that plague Africa today, that is, in the context of the liberation of the entire continent.” (549).
She suggests calling this distinctive form of feminism “STIWA”. She clarifies that this stands for Social Transformation Including Women in Africa. Though the majority of African female authors tend to favor the Womanist mentality, which is non-confrontational and non-antagonistic, the traits they abhor in feminism now seem to be slipping into Womanism. The maternal aspect of Womanism has not only been emphasized by Womanists; it has also always been touted as the key benefit a woman receives from her marriage to a man. However, although for some people this may be sufficient, others will not accept any compromise in which the male does not also make a concession. Why should becoming a mother improve a woman’s ability to be a wife if being a father does not? These issues are becoming more prominent, which is leading Africa to reevaluate its womanist values, though.
The likes of Esi, Opokuya and Fusena are exact examples of females who have accepted the womanist version of feminism. In Changes, they accept to marry, give birth, relate with their men and other families as Alice Walker specifies in Womanism, except that Esi in particular fights off masculine domination unlike the others. This intransigence on the part of Esi, however, does not make the novel appeal to a radical feminist view.
OVERVIEW OF THE TEXT: CHANGES BY AMA ATA AIDOO
In the captivating and touching narrative Changes, Esi, a determined woman, divorces Oko for invading her personal time and space. Esi, who struggles to find compatible love and companionship, meets Ali and falls in love, but she must first decide whether or not she is ready to make the changes necessary for a serious relationship.
Aidoo’s protagonist is Esi Sekyi, a middle-aged woman who works at a ministry's Department of Urban Statistics in Accra, Ghana. The plot revolves around her experiences. She initially encounters Ali Kondey at the beginning of the story, and Ali would go on to play a vital role in her life.
According to Killam and Rowe (2000), Ama Ata Aidoo, a literary figure from Ghana, “has no equivalent in the African literary tradition of the re-inventing of Africa and the re-imaging and re-imagining of its women” (21). Ama Ata Aidoo does not avoid commitment, like the majority of feminist authors. Her interest in feminism, from the social denigration of female writers to the cultural enslavement of female children, remains undiminished and unwavering in every book, play, and poetry she has written.
ANALYSIS OF THE TEXT: THE WOMANIST IDEOLOGY
Three of Aidoo’s female characters who are the focus of this paper include: Esi, Opokuya and Fusena. All three women have been educated to some degree, they have cars, they have children with their men and they embrace the opposite sex. Arguably though, Aidoo’s beautiful narrative revolves around how these characters represent the redefined and reinvented version of the feminism termed as Womanism, an ideology I argue, is projected in a re-reading of Aidoo’s captivating novel. In these characters, I argue that they demonstrate clearly, women’s love for other women non-sexually such as Esi’s friendship with Opokuya who is more of a confidante; women’s love for individual men such as the love shared between Fusena and Ali, Esi and Ali, Opokuya and Kubi; and women’s interest in the survival of the whole family such Esi’s grandmother quest for the survival of Esi’s marriage with the Oko’s inter alia despite their educational and financial independence.
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