A Gynocritical Study of Selected Women-Authored Amharic  Novels

Habtam, Fikru Mekoya

dc.contributor.author	Habtam, Fikru Mekoya
dc.date.accessioned	2026-09-22T11:01:31Z
dc.date.available	2026-09-22T11:01:31Z
dc.date.issued	2026-06
dc.identifier.uri	http://ir.bdu.edu.et/handle/123456789/17361
dc.description.abstract	This study explores the distinct female subjectivities represented in four selected Amharic novels written by women: Lidia Tesfaye‘s Wӓdӓ Hwala (Reclaiming the Self, 2020), Yordanos Guesh‘s Lïbusӓ-Ťїla (The Unconscious Mind, 2020), Tsehay Melaku‘s Yӓnïsïha Šӓngo (Penitence Council, 2011), and Eneye Shibeshi‘s Yӓgӓbo Fïre (The Unprotected Fruit, 2010). Addressing a gap in Ethiopian literary scholarship regarding elements of gynocriticism, this study examines female subjectivities across four dimensions: biological experiences, psychological identity formation, gendered linguistic patterns, and socio-political perceptions. Ultimately, it offers a nuanced understanding of how women articulate their subjective experiences within the Ethiopian literary context. To achieve this, the study employs a qualitative research approach, a descriptive research design, and a purposive sampling technique to select the primary texts. Data collection involved a close reading of the novels, analyzed through the theoretical framework of gynocriticism. Through close textual analysis, the study dissects female subjective lived experiences. The study also demonstrates how key elements of gynocriticism manifest linguistically. The language reflects a socio-cultural struggle over who may speak, how, and with what authority. Through dialogue, introspection, symbolism, and narrative voice, the language in these novels dismantle patriarchal prejudice, interrogate gender dynamics, and reconstruct female identity. Culturally, these novels reflect women‘s struggles and triumphs through self-awareness, solidarity, intellectual aspiration, and cultural resistance—offering alternative female identities designed to confront patriarchal domination and reclaim agency. Examined through a biological lens, gynocritical elements highlight profoundly embodied female experiences, including menstruation, puberty, pregnancy, childbirth, and menopause. Here, menstruation is depicted as a social taboo, and puberty reflects the tension between empowerment and vulnerability. Pregnancy exposes struggles over reproductive autonomy, while childbirth underscores both the heavy cultural expectations placed on women and their resilience in transforming personal sacrifice into social productivity, continuity, and nation-building. Conversely, menopause is portrayed as a phase where a woman's social status—historically tied to her reproductive value—declines in the eyes of society and herself, exposing her to isolation, stress, and regret. Through a psychological lens, the novels expose the inner lives of female characters in relation to their identity, emotional depth, interpersonal relationships, and the impact of patriarchal structures. The characters undergo psychological maturation, transforming from a state of suffering and silence to active inquiry and emotional authenticity. By unraveling these female subjectivities, this study highlights how Ethiopian women in literature have transitioned from being passive subjects of depiction to active producers of textual meaning and self expression. To expand on these findings, future research should explore a broader diversity of Ethiopian women‘s literature—encompassing various genres, regions, and languages—using integrated, interdisciplinary approaches to shed further light on women‘s narrative strategies and thematic concerns. The findings reveal how female authors produce textual meaning regarding their lived realities. In these novels, socio-political representation is not merely a reflection of lived experience but a site of critique and transformation. The female voices challenge patriarchal norms by fostering consciousness and resistance against imposed gender roles. Furthermore, the representation of identity and sexuality serves as a direct challenge to patriarchy, allowing female characters to assert autonomy, while sexuality is depicted as a site of both empowerment and struggle.	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	English Language and Literature	en_US
dc.title	A Gynocritical Study of Selected Women-Authored Amharic Novels	en_US
dc.type	Dissartation	en_US