A Comparative Analysis of Gender Relations in Kourouma's Les Soleils - Research Paper Example

A comparative anlaysis of the role of gender relations in Kourouma’s Les Soleils des Indépendances and Chraïbi’s La Civilisation ma mère ! Winner ofthe Prix Renaudot and the Prix Goncourt, Kourouma has produced some of the most widely acclaimed African literature to date. Similarly, Chraïbi has also enjoyed international success not only as a writer, but also as a radio producer, commentator and dramatist. This essay, therefore, will closely examine Kourouma’s Les Soleils des Indépendances and Chraïbi’s la Civilisation ma mère in order to provide a comparative analysis of gender relations within the two novels. Firstly, the impact of assimilation will be analysed in both novels in order to capture how each novelist links this idea to gender. Secondly, the role of tradition will be examined in order to gain further insight into how this has affected the two sexes in the past and in the present. Finally, evolution will be considered, by examining how each author presents the different roles of genders, in order to establish what this representation says about gender roles within society. The function of male and female characters plays a large role in both of the novels and it is therefore necessary to establish the nature of the society and culture in which they live. Despite a different setting within each novel, there is a general problematic basis for conditions of assimilation present in both, since African societies have been affected by a Westernised view of assimilation. The intellectual and politician Léopold Senghor has challenger this view, arguing coherently and poetically during a public speech in Dakar that he wished to question; “The basic assumption on which the empire rested, namely that Africans were without a historical past and lacked culture so that progress could occur only if they tried to become as much like the French as possible.”1 Clearly, Senghor firmly believed that the African culture could never move forward, unless a comprehensive, traditional culture was firmly secure. The idea of a historical past can be easily linked to Kourouma’s novel, Les Soleils des Indépendances. It is interesting that the novel opens and closes with a scene, which represents death and Kourouma’s narrator is quick to inform the reader that ethnic value has been disrupted. He says, « Si l’on n’était pas dans l’ère des Indépendances… je vous le jure, on n’aurait jamais osé l’inhumer dans une terre lointaine et étrangère. »2 This displacement of geographical location for a traditional Malinke funeral establishes a certain culture and identity for the tribe. The quote suggests that local culture and tradition is suffering in the face of Independence, and that a new culture is consuming the older, more established ones. Therefore, Senghor’s theory on the necessity of ethnic African values become a key theme in the novel, as the reader soon learns that the protagonist Fama, is described as « Un prince presque mendiant, c’est grotesque sous tous les soleils. »3 In this light, Kourouma presents Fama as a male embodiment, in allegorical form, both physically and mentally, of what is happening to the Malinke culture. This representation of Fama, not only aims to show the reduction of masculine individuality within specific ethnic culture, but it also suggests that one superior nationalistic culture would wipe out individuality and ethnic history of his own culture. This is why Kourouma portrays his protagonist as weak in the above quote. This is the result of an unwillingness to emulate and assimilate towards supposedly superior national values. In order to uphold the traditional dominant masculine role within ethnic communities, Senghor is quite right to suggest that conforming to one particular national culture, such as being French in his example, is not a solution and that cultural diversity in terms of values and geography ought to be cherished. Therefore, the representation of assimilation and ethnic value in Kourouma’s novel appears to be on a quest to find the true cultural heritage of Africa, something that Fama abides by throughout the novel, despite the lifestyle changes he has had to make. As a result, it can be argued that this novel is afrocentric, as suggested by Ndiaye4. The authentic African male is presented in an absolute form with regard to ethnic values and he believes that it is his dominant role, within Malinke tradition that will bring the world to civilisation. Hence, Kourouma suggests that a harmonious and easy relationship between newly developed politics and the male gender, adhering to the upkeep of individual ethnic values as a source of inspiration and importance, is a very troubled one. Upholding ethnic values is also a recurrent them in Chraïbi’s novel La Civilisation ma mere! The importance of individuality and ethnicity is portrayed between husband and wife in a diametrically opposed fashion. Chraïbi demonstrates this notion by carefully explaining to the reader what each of the characters represent, the female protagonist is linked to nature as « Elle a bu un peu d’eau du ruisseau, dans le creux de sa main. »5 Her son continues « Nous avons remarqué alors sur la robe de ma mère une tache verte, imprimée par l’herbe où elle s’était assise. »6 This link to nature that Chraïbi establishes through the mark suggests that his female protagonist is not looking to assimilate into a new culture. Rather, she proves herself content within her surroundings, making use of and enjoying the natural sources that are available. Her husband on the other hand, « Était en train de parler de la culture maraîchère intensive et des engrais chimiques, de la ‘nécessité de repenser l’agriculture dans son ensemble en fonction de l’essor industriel, dans une société en pleine mutation’. »7 It can be argued therefore, that the two genders take an opposing view on what society ought to believe in. The female protagonist represents a micro outlook with regard to local values and ethnic culture, which is demonstrated by her contact with nature. Her husband, however, supports a macro outlook toward industrialisation, thus conforming to a European way of thinking and ultimately assimilation towards eurocentrism, whereby Morocco’s values would be based on a European perspective. Chraïbi, therefore, uses gender relations in this example to highlight exactly what Senghor stated, as Chraïbi’s presentation of gender serves to explain to the reader that the local environment, which the female protagonist enjoys so much and which is representative of who they are as a culture, would be destroyed eventually, in the face of European power and influence. It is likely that Chraïbi agrees with Senghor’s statement about the importance of ethnicity and local values, as the man’s son describes him as a « moderniste d’objets, non d’idées. »8 This calls into question western values and what the meaning of civilisation actually is. This process of re-defining political, economic and social order has been defined in many different ways and Debray succinctly questions « Peut-on penser ‘universel’ sans penser ‘domination’? »9 Further to this, Marx- Scouras points out that the term barbarism has to be evoked when defining civilisation.10 It can be deduced therefore, that the process of civilisation is ambiguous, where the creation of a supposed perfect society is characterised by a form of legitimate domination. Assimilation is further discussed when Chraïbi’s female protagonist is presented as having experienced liberation from Islamic values as a woman, which will later be discussed in more detail, by « Prenant des notes, n’hésitant jamais à contredire et à faire se contredire l’orateur. »11 It is clear that Chraïbi wishes the reader to be aware of the ethical background of the society in which the family live. Both authors conform to Senghor’s statement about maintaining a deep-rooted culture, whereby cultural hierarchy is no solution to shaping the future. However, it is interesting that Chraïbi’s female protagonist, in the words of Senghor, seems to “Take charge and actively assimilate what might be useful...rather than allowing others to shape [her] to their wishes.”12 Chraïbi therefore, presents a female character, who is strong willed in the face of adversity, namely her husband and female tradition. She is prepared to gain new skills, yet her local ethics and landscape are paramount to her development as a character, thus Chraïbi teases out some positive factors of European assimilation via the representation of the female gender. Kourouma on the other hand, presents his male protagonist Fama, as opposing the new regime, to such an extent that it is portrayed in a destructive and barbaric way with regard to his Malinke culture. Fama becomes weak in the face of opposition and in comparison to Chraïbi’s protagonist, creates a gender role reversal concerning the dominant male sex. The place of cultural value within this gender is , therefore, severely weakened through the process of assimilation. The representation of cultural value is also shown through the portrayal of tradition in the two novels. Kourouma’s Fama is unable to fulfil traditional expectations, as his role in the Malinke tribe is described as « Un prince Doumbouya ! Lui Fama né dans l’or, le manger, l’honneur et les femmes ! Éduqué pour préférer l’or à l’or, pour choisir le manger parmi d’autres, et coucher parmi sa favorite cent épouses ! »13 These particularities, which define Fama as an alpha male, a descendant of royal blood and as head of the Malinke tribe are almost immediately discredited, as at the start of the novel, on the seventh day of the funeral celebrations for Koné Ibrahima, Fama was late and « Il se dépêchait encore, marchait au pas redouble d’un diarrhéique. »14 It would appear that tradition has disjointed him from the reality in which he now lives and this is not only shown physically by the way in which he now walks, but also mentally, as he nostalgically reminisces on the past when he was a heroic figure among the Malinke culture. Kourouma therefore suggests that African Independence has erased his aristocratic lineage and as a result, his heroic past is not credible with regards to the newly emerging society. Therefore, traditional values are presented now as an emasculating entity for the male gender in the novel, seeing as « Vraiment les soleils des Indépendances sont impropres aux grandes choses ; ils n’ont pas dévirilisé mais aussi démystifié l’Afrique. »15 Les Soleils in Malinke means day, yet ironically, Independence does not perpetuate a life, or indeed any days to look forward to for Fama. This idea is further enhanced by the use of exclamation marks, proving that tradition is under threat and due to Fama’s declining bodily functions, his impotence results in the lack of an heir to secure the Malinke tradition. It would appear then, that time has stopped for Fama, as for him there is only one set of rules by which he can live; and that is tradition. In this respect, Fama is representative of a male gender, which is now becoming weaker in the face of nationalistic political orientation. The decline in traditional African values is, therefore, in accordance with the decline of the male gender in Kourouma’s novel. Chraïbi however, presents traditional values in a different way to Kourouma. For Fama, these values were a source of inspiration and knowledge, yet Chraïbi’s female protagonist presents tradition as a constraining factor, which denies her essential knowledge. Chraïbi demonstrates the protagonist’s lack of self-awareness and lack of education by referring to her body. He explains to the reader that, « A trent-cinq ans, elle comprit enfin pourquoi et comment elle avait des menstrues. Jusqu’alors, elle était persuadée qu’elle avait une maladie « personnelle » dont il ne fallait parler à personne. »16 The fact that she had no idea about sexual health up until now, and the innocent way in which Chraïbi describes this scene not only alludes to a learning process, but also a maturity process, something which tradition has not permitted for the female gender. In La Civilisation ma mère, the mother is prudish about her personal problem. Traditionalist values are shown here, which contrast with Western culture. However, El- Outmani refers to the portrayal of the body in Western civilisation as cynical, opportunistic and materialistic with a lack of consciousness for the past and future.17 As a result, it soon becomes clear that the act of merging two sets of traditional values together is an impossible task, purely based on the way in which the female gender and female body is regarded within the two cultures. The negative effects of tradition are also proved further by Chraïbi, by suggesting that the female gender is a silhouette of tradition, as the mother « Moulait le blé, le tamisait, fabriquait de la pâte…cuisinait, jouait du tambourin…chassait les mouches, faisait la lessive…sans se plaindre. »18 This exact quote can also be found in Le passé simple 19another novel by Chraïbi, which depicts family life in a triangular structure, as one family member expresses that «nous nous plaçâmes en triangle isocèle. »20 This is ultimately an outcry against tradition and the failings of tradition and European influence. The father figure is the head of the household, a domineering man, who gives out orders to the other family members and they are clearly his inferiors. The fact that Chraïbi uses the exact same language in this novel, suggests that female tradition within Islamic culture is ambiguous and dominated by men, who clearly have the more important role. It can therefore be argued, that the role of tradition for women is presented by Chraïbi as an ambiguous one. It is dominated by the male gender and it denies the knowledge of basic information, such as health issues. Fundamentally it only involves a somewhat monotonous list of household duties. Yet interestingly, Kourouma presents his male protagonist as being lost without his set of traditional values, as his physical decay is reminiscent of nationalistic consumption of the Malinke culture. It is therefore possible to suggest that it is necessary for the female gender to remain uneducated and at the mercy of the male race. It has already been noted that Fama possesses many mistresses and that Chraïbi alludes to a hierarchical traditional family structure in favour of the male gender. Therefore, in terms of tradition, it can be concluded that the male gender is unable to sustain its dominant features without women being classified as the inferior gender. If tradition designates an inferior role to women then it is necessary to consider what precise roles Kourouma and Chraïbi give to their female protagonists. McClintock points out that, “No ‘post-colonial’ state anywhere has granted women and men equal access to the rights and resources of the nation state. Not only have the needs of the post-colonial nations been largely identified with male conflicts, male aspirations and male interests, but the very representation of ‘national’ power rest on prior constructions of gender power.”21 Kourouma agrees with the above statement to a certain extent, as women are objectified by the male gender in the Malinke tribe. When Fama’s cousin dies, he considers taking his cousin’s wife Mariam, as his second wife, which is confirmed in the narrative as « Mariam sera sa chose ».22 The power of gender plays an important role here; however, this is where the similarities end with regard to McClintock’s point. The idea of male aspirations and male interests is lost, in Kourouma’s novel, to female dominance. This is demonstrated through Fama’s wife, Salimanta, who was subject to brutal excision and rape by the Malinke culture before her marriage to Fama. The city represents a new space for her as it offers new opportunity and a new culture, one which she considers to be positive. She is desperate to put her opinion across to Fama about the second marriage to Mariam, by explaining that, « La puissance d’un chef de tribu d’affamés n’est autre chose que la famine et une goudre de soucis…tu devrais te préparer à refuser à leur répondre. »23 It is clear that Salimanta sees her culture and her geographical origins as a place with little opportunity and she begs Fama not to go back and stay there for Mariam, as she believes that there is no opportunity within the Malinke tribe. Her direct tone in telling Fama to refuse the temptation to go back, shows her dominance over him as a woman. It is clear that she is the stronger member in the relationship not only economically, but also mentally as she rejects her culture for new industrialised society and she speaks out against polygamy and a tradition that asserts the dominance of the male gender. Their relationship is described, as a form of « stérilité aride »24, which suggests that Salimanta takes on the dominant role with regard to life in the city, a role that, Fama is unable to fill, thus Kourouma alludes to his weakness as a man by referring to sterility. It is clear, then, that Kourouma largely disagrees that post-colonial states were largely based on prior gender relations, as he gives the power to succeed in the future to Salimanta. It can be argued therefore, that Kourouma’s representation of Salimanta is a plea to the reader to embrace modernity and that the traditional gender structures of men and women are in a period of transition with regard to negritude. Sartre eloquently defines this in the preface to a collection of poems compiled by Senghor as, « La Négritude apparaît comme le temps faible d’une progression dialectique...les noirs...savent qu’il vise à préparer la synthèse ou réalisation de l’humain dans une société sans races. Ainsi la Négritude est pour se détruire. »25 The Marxist and communist principles that are evoked by Sartre in the above quote are exactly what Kourouma intends to evoke through the representation of Salimanta as a dominant woman. Therefore, the female gender is used to pass on an important political message about Kourouma’s own feelings on negritude and dictatorships. Kourouma elaborates on these notions in an interview with Stephen Gray26 during which he explains that he felt obliged as a writer to express his opinion in fictional form about an independence, which did not offer a solution for negritude As a result Kourouma has rearranged gender role in his novel in order to put this point across successfully. The notion of passing on important message through female characters is also an important aspect in Chraïbi’s novel. Rausch explains that, “the majority of Moroccan women have a very limited involvement in political life, women’s participation, in whatever form, still only involves a small elite.”27 In Chraïbi’s novel, his female protagonist gradually learns about involvement and participation within society. He presents the mother as highlighting the contrast of existence and progress and as it has already been suggested that the female protagonist is a silhouette of Moroccco, it is clear then that she is representative of the female nation. As a result, Chraïbi’s account of the female race in Morocco diverges from Rausch’s statement on women in Morocco. This is proved as the first section of the novel is entitled ‘Être’, a very simple verb which would be learnt at school when learning French. Without even having read a word of the text, the notion of progress is evoked via the French schooling system, and this novel is in fact about education, but not in the traditional patriarchal sense. This idea becomes clearer when the reader learns more about the mother and her education; the verb Être literally means ‘to be’ or in this case ‘to exist’. In the first part of the novel, the mother is a passive character, who conforms to her traditional Islamic role as a woman, which is not to question others and to tend to the family as a main role. On closer reading, the mother gradually questions what it is like to have an opinion on the outside world and what liberty is, and « Toutes ses questions...toutes ses angoisses aboutissaient à la même interrogation : pourquoi ? Elle ne cherchait pas à savoir mais à comprendre, à être et non à avoir ou posséder. »28  This quote proves that être is a state, where the mother is searching to understand, and that this is an introspective and reflexive process. Nevertheless, Chraïbi sets the foundations for the development of the mother as a character, because even at this early stage in the novel she begins to experiment with her place in society and what it means to be well informed. In this way the revolutionary aspect of progression is present from the very beginning and her education begins. Savage remarks that « Il convient de souligner que nous avons affaire ici à une famille exceptionnelle. Non seulement dans la personne de la mère, mais aussi dans celle du père qui est capable d’évoluer graduellement sous l’influence de sa femme. »29 It can be argued therefore, that Chraïbi wishes to demonstrate a social evolution with regard to the female race, as her husband is not actively against her learning new skills and technologies. Bouraoui states that « Il existe en effet un écho sartrien de ‘L’Etre et le Néant’. »30 In this sense, the mother’s character develops from practically nothing into a personality and represents a realistic persona, which corresponds to the technological advancements of the 20th century, which enthuse her husband so much. In gaining this conscience she also gradually acquires liberty and responsibility alongside materialistic possession. It is possible to deduce therefore that Chraïbi believes that ‘Savoir’ and ‘Avoir’ are interlinked. However, Chraïbi’s portrayal of the female gender gradually acquiring power and knowledge, shows an overall evolution not only of the female sex, but also of the male gender, as her husband slowly accepts his wife’s emancipation within society. Kourouma on the other hand, presents Salimanta as an independent woman in the absolute sense. She has very little support from her husband who clings to tradition for an identity. In this respect, Kourouma uses the two genders to compare modernity and tradition and point out the positives and negatives of both of these entities according to each gender, respectively. Overall, it can be deduced that neither tradition nor modernity offer solutions to satisfy both the female and male sexes. Independence emasculates and cripples Fama and he finds that he has no place in society now as a dominant male figure within the Malinke tribe. This masculine struggle is representative of Kouroma’s portrayal of negritude, as its failings are clearly shown through Fama in this case. Chraïbi on the other hand, uses his female protagonists to show some positive aspects of European influence. However it is still clear to the reader that the assimilation policy is still problematic despite his representation of the female race as being resourceful in this case. Furthermore, Chraïbi presents tradition as a restrictive notion, which is dominated mainly by men. The lack of knowledge that women possess and male hierarchical values, such as Fama’s tribal position, suggest that each individual culture is incompatible with another. As a result, specific problems arise according to status and gender. However, both authors do embrace modernity through the representation of women. Chraïbi presents this notion through a learning process that his female protagonist undergoes and, as a result, her husband learns more about respecting the opposite sex. In Kourouma’s novel, Salimanta is representative of the future as she an independent and successful woman. Therefore, both novels present gender as a process, which is evolving, according to a changing environment. This has had both positive and negative effects on tradition and a similar pattern can be observed for societal norms. It can be deduced therefore, that both authors do not intend to offer a solution for each individual sex, they simply intend to point out specific difficulties according to gender and political circumstances. However, both novels attempt to offer a compromise by redressing the balance of gender power. In so doing, an opinionated process of evolution is presented within the two novels, both of which aim to give the reader a realistic insight into the previous and present set of circumstances with regard to gender relations in specific geographical locations. Read More