Patriarchy in Oyinkan Braithwaite’s My Sister ; the serial killer

Abstract

The marginalization of women in literature reflects their marginalization in society as well. African male authors depicted women as passive and naïve characters, believing that women did not have a story to be praised. African feminist writers refused to bear this ill-treatment. So they decided to revolt against these misrepresentations, they make a space for themselves in literature by exhibiting strong female characters, and their works are acknowledged and appreciated on both scales, national and international. Oyinkan Braithwaite, as an African female writer used her creative talent to improve women’s position. In her novel My Sister; the Serial Killer (2018), she sheds light on a serious social issue represented in family abuse, and the oppression that women suffer from in their patriarchal societies, and also how it affects their psyches. This research aims to analyze how this writer tackles the subject of feminism, psychoanalysis, and women’s oppression by the patriarchy. Consequently, this research aims to examine the portrayal of women in the above-mentioned novel, and to investigate how this African writer succeeded in presenting powerful and independent female characters.