Hi!

I am doing a PhD on the construction of visibility in the first publications of two West-African women writers. Both texts are semi-autobiographical and have strong links with aspects of the writer’s own lives. However, some characters/aspects of the narratives are clearly creative interventions by the writers. Since I am devoting a chapter to narrative techniques, I would really like to know whether it would be fruitful to pursue the idea that the constraints placed on self-presentation by women in traditional societies sometimes impels them to “colour” the truth by presenting their multi-faceted identities through various personas etc. This would be in an effort to avoid censure and to present personal, cultural, religious and political truths, as they interpret them? One of the two writers wrote her novel in 1979, and was rooted in her own socio-cultural milieu, whilst the other currently writes about her country and its people from the diaspora. The current writer’s discourse is much less “veiled”, and I am focusing on a contextualised comparison of the two writings.

Thanks!
Rizwana

***

Sounds like an interesting project. I am not certain, however, that the constraints you are referring to regarding self-presentation in restrictive societies are a lot different than constraints other writers feel forced to rely on when they have something to hide—something that might hurt them or take advantage of innocent victims. I think the difference today has to do with the fact that so many people want to out themselves, their friends and their families for therapeutic reasons. That wasn’t happening very often in 1979. I do, however, think that this might be a very fruitful subject to investigate, especially if you can include a writer’s motivations to pursue certain narrative techniques.

Lee