Visualizing myths and legends for grotesque gender configuration in Adimora-Ezeigbo’s trilogy

ABSTRACT

This paper critically examined Adimora-Ezeigbo’s use of myths and legends as avenues for articulating gender equality in her novels: The Last of the Strong Ones, House of Symbols, and Children of the Eagle. Gender equality is an expression frequently used in feminist criticism to denote the striving of women to have equal treatment with men at work, home and in society generally. Feminism itself, as world-wide movement has significantly contributed so much in advancing the cause of women in most countries. Besides, the concept of feminism has been given regional, cultural and religious interpretations, thus leading to different brands in different parts of the world. Notably, African feminism rests on the pillars of marriage, motherhood and complementarity in marriage. In using African feminism to examine the author’s deployment of myths and legends in her trilogy, this study found that the author deployed these rhetorical devices to articulate gender equality in society; thus, advancing the cause of women in Nigeria.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender equality
• African feminism
• legends and myths

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fidelis Nnawuihe Echendu

Nnawuihe Fidelis Echendu holds a PhD from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria.  He is a Principal Lecturer at Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Nigeria. He is a researcher and author with published works, such as The Debris and the Casualties (2005), Field of Blood (2015), Wahala: Collected Plays (2015), A Dirge of the Nation (2020) among others. His research interest is in the area of Feminism and Gender Studies.

Christopher Babatunde Ogunyemi

Christopher Babatunde Ogunyemi holds a PhD from the University of Sunderland in the United Kingdom. He also holds a European Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Dalarna University in Sweden and a honors Bachelor's degree from the University of Uyo in Nigeria. He is a Researcher and Scholar in postcolonial literature, Gender and Women Studies. He is a Research Fellow at the University of South Africa in Pretoria. His articles have appeared in highly rated Scopus, ISI, and Ebsco journals, which include: African Identities, Journal of Literary Studies, Gender Questions and Africa Insights.