Domestic matters: representations of home in the writings of Mariama B, Calixthe Beyala and Aminata Sow Fall

Abstract

Beginning with Mariama B's Une si longue lettre [So long a letter], this article examines representations of domestic space in francophone African women's fiction. In B's text, woman's subjectivity is inextricably linked to domestic space and domesticity is valued as both a refuge and a site of rebellion. The study continues with an analysis of two texts that are bolder and more aggressive in their struggle against patriarchy than B's novel: Calixthe Beyala's C'est le soleil qui m'a brle [The Sun hath looked upon me] and Aminata Sow Fall's Douceurs du bercail [Comforts of the fold]. Beyala counters B's nurturing mother figure and warm hearth with a cold house and no maternal presence. Sow Fall depicts a female protagonist who, refusing the limitations imposed upon the housewife, devotes her energies to a social project that will aid her community in Senegal. If home space functions as refuge (B), haunted house (Beyala), transitional space (Sow Fall), it is above all a subversive space where rebellion begins and often explodes. Thus, domestic space plays a crucial role in the female protagonist's empowerment.