Women as Capable of Claiming Their Rightful Place in Society: A Critical Reading of Margaret Ogola’s The River and The Source

Abstract

The present study aims at examining the Feminist aspect in Margaret Ogola’s The River and The Source. It is a critique of African Feminism as a new form of Feminism that is concerned with improving the situation of women in general and the African woman in particular. The main argument of the study is that, through presenting her African feminist vision of a new Kenyan society, Margaret Ogola wants to refute the different traditional forms of Feminism through portraying both male and female characters that are capable of making changes together for the wellbeing of both the family and the society. Of primary concern to the study is the way Ogola sketches different male and female characters throughout four successive generations to reinforce her vision. The study further examines the different types of the cultures, traditions and experiences over successive periods and the way the author presents her characters in responding to them. Through a close textual analysis the study also investigates the different visionary forms of integration and solidarity and complementarity between the two genders presented by the author to reinforce her vision of a new integrated society through employing a variety of techniques, namely: symbols, foreshadowing and characterization, as tools in presenting the theme of her novel.