African Women, Tradition and Change in Cheikh Hamidou Kane's Ambiguous Adventure and Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter (Critical Essay)

In a 1995 article about the representations of African women in African literature entitled "Francophone African Women Writers: African Feminism and Womanhood," Professor Ojo-Ade warns literary critics about analyzing African novels from a western feminist perspective. According to him, such approach distorts the message that African characters or authors convey. He also states that in order to interpret female characters in African novels, one must know and respect the culture they come from. Thus, in his views, not taking into account African women's cultural backgrounds is equivalent to misinterpreting those literary productions. (1) Therefore, it seems important not to underscore the role African women play in their cultural contexts and their place in their families and communities. Ojo-Ade reminds us that any analysis of African women's past, present and future challenges needs to be put in the context of their ancestral African values.