An exploration of Feminism in Amma Darko's Novel beyond the Horizon - Dissertation Example

Beyond the Horizon – Literature Review Amma Darko in her novel, “Beyond the Horizon” has explored the concept of feminism in a wonderful manner. Shebeing a writer from Ghana has been successful in presenting how the African black women were subject to objectification when they migrated to the European lands. It can be said that as she herself was a Black woman it was natural she will be able to establish a better connection with the Black women. She has been successful in bringing out the tragic plight of women and has indicated her readers as to how women are humiliated through the institution of prostitution and pornography. With numerous evidences she has brought into light the fact that women are utilized by men to serve their own purpose. In all her prominent female characters like Mara, Vivian and Kaye Darko has developed a disgust and disregard for the men folk and the reason of all disregard remaining the ill treatment which men directs towards women. As we carry out a thorough survey of the existing literatures on feminism and on Amma Darko’s novel we will be able to understand how well the writer has addressed the issue of feminism through her humane story. The article, “Women on Top: Prostitution and Pornography in Amma Darko’s Beyond the Horizon” by Frias says that the background of Darko’s novel was a time when prostitution and pornography was illegal in Ghana but yet it continued subtly in various places and this was mainly practiced by those women who were from economically lower strata and their one night’s income from the Whites could provide for their entire family. Darko had written the novel being inspired by the movie, which was an adaptation of the novel, “The Colour Purple” by Alice Walker to deal with explicit sexual topics, and she wrote the novel. Here we can understand that Darko was touched by the pitiable situation of the Black women especially in Ghana and that is why the protagonist in her novel was from the backgrounds of Ghana. (Frias, 2) The rationale of this paper is to find out how far is Darko’s novel successful in bringing out the miserable situation of the women and at the same time how Darko has subtly incorporated the elements of feminism in her novel. As women were subordinated and exploited they developed a strong distrust and ill feeling towards men and that ill feeling was expressed through various feminist movements. The essence of feminism is a challenge to the existing system of male domination that exists in society. Through the system of feminism women wanted to develop a sexual autonomy. They wanted to put an end to the system by which women were treated as mere bodily entities. This was because after long periods of torture women were disillusioned and wanted to come out of the situation. As we carry on our study of various literatures which talks about the kinds of torture which women received we can easily understand as to why women developed such ill feelings towards men folk. In the same manner Darko also in her novel has clearly brought out the situation which Mara faced and as to why she was completely disillusioned with life as well with men. Sexual exploitation of the body of women was a common form of humiliation which was meted out to them. The sexuality of women in fact was a tool in the hands of the men to oppress them. Men treated the bodies of women merely as outlets for sensuous pleasure and personas devoid of any human entity. Thus we can say that the origin of female exploitation was her body in the first place. (Wingfield and Bucur, 198) We have got similar evidences in the novel by Darko. Race which has taken an important place in the novel; in reality is an important criterion to determine the kind of treatment a woman gets. The colored women or the Black women are demeaned and are ostracized from the society. They are considered inferior in the society and have to undergo a lot more humiliation and exploitation in comparison to the White women. Even in professional spaces the discrimination exists to a large extent. This fact has been put forward by Keetley and Pettegrew in their book when they have mentioned that the lavatory was set aside for the use of White women and the Black women were barred from using it on the grounds that the colored women were inferior in status and did not have the right to use the same things as the Whites. (Keetley and Pettegrew, 372) Collins in his book, “Black Feminist Thought: knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment” has said that Black womanhood essentially remains derogated in a land of Whites like the USA and the England. He is of opinion that the bodies of the Black women are colonized and they are forced to bear it silently without even expressing their disgust. The author is of opinion that this is because in the countries which have majority of White population all the important positions are denied to the Blacks and as a result the Blacks especially the Black women lack the power to protest against the injustice which is done to them. In fact the reality is that the Black women in most places are considered as embodiment of sex and as a result the Whites feel that they can use them according to their whims and fancies. (Collins, 123-125). Similarly Darko in her novel speaks in the same tone because she shows how Mara a Black woman is derogated as she moves to Germany a land of the White people. Darko through her novel wanted to depict a close relation between racism and feminism. Even early socialists like Fourier were worried about the humiliation which the women faced in society. In this regard he had even said that, “The humiliation of the female sex is an essential characteristic of the human civilization as well as barbarism……..Nobody is hit more profoundly than the man by being condemned to keep women in slavery”. (Atkinson, Dallin and Lapidus, 86). Thus we can say that even he was certain of the fact that it was men who treated the women as slaves. Not only Fourier but at the same time socialists like Marx and Engels were of the opinion that general position of women in society was very much inhuman and they also supported the notion of Fourier who said that marriage was an institutionalized form of prostitution for women. (Atkinson, Dallin and Lapidus, 86).From this we can understand that men carried out exploitation of women in every possible. The similar tone has been resonated in the novel by Darko. Writers like Cohen and Wellman were of the opinion that pornography is a lethal medium to humiliate women. The various scenes that are depicted in the pornographies actually represent the servility of women towards men. Pornography is all the more inhuman because it gets circulated to numerous men who fantasize the women and greedily devour their sexuality. They in fact have said that “pornography is making female equality and not simply depicting it”. (Cohen and Wellman, 231) It has been found that many times the females are coerced into the industry of pornography. Various kinds of physical and economic threat force the women to degrade themselves in front of the world. Such a case is an absolute instance of humiliating the sexuality of a woman only on the basis that she has a female body. Similarly in the novel we find that protagonist Mara is coerced into the industry of pornography by her husband on the ground of economic threat and she was forced to comply with the words of her husband because she was in a new land and was completely helpless and hence we can conclude that Mara underwent absolute humiliation and the perpetrator was undoubtedly a male figure. Studying various literatures on the implications of pornography on women we can say that pornography is a medium of subordination of women on the grounds that pornography depicts women in a manner that they are present only to satisfy the needs of the men. The dignity of a woman as a human is neglected through the institution of pornography. Not only that all scenes and actions which are used in pornography are ways which point to the fact that women are bound to be regulated by their male counterparts but in reality pornography, represents the unequal power relations which exists between the males and the females of the society. In the novel, “Beyond the Horizon” Mara was pushed into pornography because she was a woman and it was the norm that she will be regulated by the decisions of her husband. Through prostitution and pornography a woman is “treated as a mere body, toy, tool, prop or pet to be used and abused by men who purchase her”. (LeMoncheck, 122) This has been well illustrated by the protagonist of Darko’s novel Mara when she says that, “And even when he puts me in pain and spits upon me and calls me a nigger fool I still offer him my crimson smile and pretend he’s just called me a princess, for I’ve got a job to do, and I’ve got to put my all in it”. (Darko, 3) Yuracko in his book, “Perfectionism and contemporary feminist values” had said that that prostitution and pornography degrades an individual and destroys the personhood of a woman because through the practice of prostitution the body of the woman is bought and not her services therefore prostitution could not be equated to other professions (Yuracko, 143) and this was well explained in the book by Darko because she could not support the fact that by being engaged in prostitution Mara gained her financial independence. In the book “Culture and Power: a media, culture & society reader” it has been said that pornography is the ultimate means to represent the objectification of the women’s entity. It not only represents objectification of the women but also represents a patriarchal structure which exists in our society and reveals what men think about women. It can also be said that pornography brings us the facts as to how women are subjected to violent sexual practices. In fact it is a means to represent the misogyny that is embedded in the patriarchal structure of our society. (Scannell, Schlesinger and Sparks, 101) This has been well explained by Darko in her novel, “Beyond the Horizon” because in the novel, Mara was forced into the institution of pornography and prostitution forced by her husband Akobi and Osey into the porn industry to satisfy their own gains. LeMoncheck is of the opinion that objectification of women brings about degradation of a woman and according to him any kind of sex work is certainly objectification of a woman’s body and so we can say that prostitution leads to immense degradation of a woman’s self respect.( LeMoncheck, 128). Darko has been successful in exploring this particular issue through her book because in her book it has been said through Mara that, “My image? No! What is left of once used to be my image”. (Darko, 1) From this we can well understand that Mara’s self identity has gone through degradation with her involvement in prostitution and she is extremely hurt with her present situation. Many feminists have presented various views against prostitution and pornography. Among them Andrea Dworkin and MacKinnon have said that pornography is a “systematic practice of exploitation and subordination based on sex that deferentially harms women”. They are also of the opinion that pornography brings about dehumanization and expresses inferiority of the women. Pornography also sometimes declines the opportunity to employment, accommodation, education and public services. (Nathanson and Young, 160) Apart from studying the various literatures which have talked as to how pornography and prostitution demeans the status of women, in this section, we have also included a number of studies which dealt with the novel of Darko and also have tried to find out as to how Darko’s novel has challenged the patriarchal society. In an interview conducted when Amma Darko was asked whether she was a feminist she had replied that according to the conceived notions of feminism that is a male hater and a lesbian she was certainly not so but she was a voice for the females because she had seen very closely the predicament of the women in Ghana and as a result she was inspired to bring out their issues to light. She has said that it is true that her novel depicts male hegemony because that is what the Ghanaian women face every day. As Darko talks about her protagonist in the novel she says that Mara does not represent the situation of any particular woman but undoubtedly Mara represents the collective situation of the women in society who face such subordination and humiliation throughout their life. (“Ghanaian Novelist”) In the article, “Male Bashing and Narrative Subjectivity in Amma Darko’s first three novels”, the author Adjei says that the first three novels of Darko one of them being “Beyond the Horizon” emphasises on the culture of patriarchy. All her women protagonists are subject to male violence and her novels are successful in representing the sharpness of male exploitation which is meted out to women. The article has said that Darko in her novel “Beyond the Horizon” has constructed an anti-patriarchal system and tries to challenge the entire status-quo of the men in the society. Novels like “Beyond the Horizon” have represented men as worthless husbands and fathers who act as monsters to the women of the society. In the novel Darko has personified Akobi; Mara’s husband as the Vice. On the other hand the author has wrapped her female protagonist under innocence and vulnerability and as a result Mara becomes the object of our sympathy. Akobi the prominent male figure of the novel is represented as a sadist and brutish entity who utilizes women to fulfil his purpose. This particular article has said that Darko’s novel is successful in showing how Akobi; Mara’s husband could dehumanize Mara through his inhuman acts. Adjei says that when Mara looks at her humiliated reflection in the oval mirror it actually reflects the entire image of the womankind who have been subordinated and exploited by men folk. Darko’s novel can be said to be a narrative of how the women suffer as daughters and wives. Darko portrays clearly that women have to suffer a lot under the control of men. In fact we can say that “Beyond the Horizon” has a sharp feminist approach and it also brings out antipathy which women have towards men. (Adjei, 1-4 and 9) Gyimah has said that in the book, “Aspects of Feminism and Gender in the Novels of Three West African Women Writers”, the writer Edith Kohrs-Amissah has taken the novel by Amma Darko as a medium to bring forth the issues of gender oppression. Edith Kohrs-Amissah has said that Mara’s prostitution had started from the time when she was married to Akobi, a man of ill character just for the bride price which Mara’s father received. Thus we can say that through this Darko tries to reflect the fact that a woman’s value is equaled to the monetary value and money is given more importance compared to a woman. Moreover an important fact thing which should be noted at this juncture is that the person who pushed Mara towards the first step of prostitution was nobody but her father. Through such an action in the novel we can also refer to the fact that Fourier considered marriage an institutionalized form of prostitution of women and also provide support to the issue that most of the times it is men of the society who coerce women towards slavery. The subjugation of Mara has been reflected in a number of ways in the novel by Darko. The fact that Akobi her husband sells all her belongings and uses the money to provide for his new wife is enough to show that Mara had no right to protest against her husband and as a result she continues to bear all his torture stoically. Akobi hurts Mara emotionally when she forces her to pretend as his sister in front of Comfort; his new wife and even then Mara fails to raise her voice. At the end of the novel we find Mara so very disillusioned with her life as a prostitute that she gets addicted to drug and finally turns insane. This is a pointer to the fact that constant exposure to humiliation through mediums like prostitution erodes the esteem of a woman and in order to accept the reality of her situation she turns to intoxication so that the fact that she has been treated as a commodity in the society does not hurt her anymore. Thus by studying the analysis given by Edith Kohrs-Amissah about “Beyond the Horizon” we can well understand that the main focus of Darko’s novel was to highlight the status of the women in an essentially patriarchal society. (Gyimah) Maria Frias in her article has said that Amma Darko through her novel has reflected the objectification of women through the institutions of prostitution and pornography in a very humane manner. Frias has said that Darko in her novel particularly wanted to show the objectification of the bodies of Black women. The reason as to why Darko had made Mara, a young Ghanaian woman, as the protagonist because she wanted to make her readers realize how the Whites treated the Black women and what they thought about the Black women of Africa. Frias has said that in her novel Darko wanted to show that the Blacks were sexually demeaned and the origin of such an attitude was that the explorers, sailors, scientists and traders had discovered West Africa and Guinea and so even the sexuality of the Blacks were related to primitiveness. Hence the Whites got a license to brutally enjoy the Black women and left them injured and bruised in the process. This has been made clear when Akobi told Mara that in a land of Whites, Mara had no other choice as she was a Black, but to engage in prostitution to earn her living. (Frias, 2-4). We have conducted a thorough survey of the existing literatures on feminism and on Amma Darko’s novel, “Beyond the Horizon”. As we have carried on our study we have come to understand the various issues which are closely related to the concepts of feminism. Our study has also made us aware of all those facts which bring about degradation of the woman persona. For instance we have examined as to how institutions like pornography and prostitution dehumanize women. Taking cue from such studies we are in a position to say that Darko’s novel has successfully explored the issues of feminism. At the same time we have also considered various literary pieces which have talked about Darko’s novel and with the help of all those it was evident that Darko wanted to bring out to her readers the fact that women are ill treated to a large extent in the society and the main cause of all the sufferings are the males of society as because they utilize the women as commodities to accomplish their intention. As all the literatures studied enables us to compile the features of feminism, women degradation and Darko’s novel we can say that Darko through her novel has tried to challenge the system of patriarchy existing in the society.      Works Cited 1. Adjei Mawuli. “Male Bashing and Narrative Subjectivity in Amma Darko’s first three novels”. SKASE Journal of Literary Studies. Vol. 1, Spain:  2009, retrieved on July 14, 2009, from:http://www.skase.sk/Volumes/JLS01/pdf_doc/04.pdf. 2. Atkinson, Dorothy, Dallin Alexander and Lapidus Gail. Women in Russia. Chicago: Stanford University Press, 1977. 3. Cohen Andrew and Wellman Christopher. Contemporary debates in applied ethics. New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell, 2005. 4. Collins Patricia. Black feminist thought: knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. London: Routledge, 2000. 5. Darko, Amma. Beyond the Horizon. New Hampshire: Heinemann, 1995. 6. Frias, Maria, “Women on Top: Prostitution and Pornography in Amma Darko’s Beyond the Horizon”, retrieved on July 14, 2009, from:http://www-english.tamu.edu/pers/fac/muana/darko1.pdf. 7. “Ghanaian Novelist”. Introducing Amma Darko, retrieved on July 14, 2009, from: http://awuraba.com/profiles/100/417-introducing-amma-darko.html?75f8a9599189f78a7bba7c78a085cfd8=e1fad8cf41f32dc5755e106523bc5f51. 8. Gyimah Miriam. “West Africa Reivew”, retrieved on July 14, 2009, from: http://www.westafricareview.com/vol4.1/gyimah.html. 9. Keetley, Dawn and Pettegrew, John. Public Women, Public Words: Vol. 2. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005. 10. LeMoncheck, Linda. Loose women, lecherous men: a feminist philosophy of sex. USA: Oxford University Press, 1997. 11. Nathanson Paul and Young Katherine. Legalizing misandry: from public shame to systemic discrimination against men. Canada: McGill-Queens Press - MQUP, 2006. 12. Scannell Paddy. Schlesinger Philip and Sparks Colin, Culture and power: a media, culture & society reader. USA: Sage, 1992. 13. Wingfield, Nancy and Bucur Maria. Gender and war in twentieth-century Eastern Europe. Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2006. 14. Yuracko, Kimberley. Perfectionism and contemporary feminist values. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003. Read More