Redefining Womanhood in Igbo Fiction: A Feminist Re-reading of Gender, Identity, and Resistance

Abstract

This study interrogates the evolving representation of womanhood in Igbo fiction through a feminist lens, with particular attention to how female characters negotiate identity, agency, and resistance within patriarchal structures. Drawing on selected works of Igbo and Nigerian writers, the paper examines how traditional constructions of womanhood often defined by submission, domesticity, and silence, are challenged and redefined in contemporary narratives. The study adopts a feminist theoretical framework, incorporating strands of African feminism and womanism, to analyze how literature becomes a site for contesting gender norms and reconstructing female subjectivity. Findings reveal that while earlier portrayals of women in Igbo fiction often reinforce patriarchal expectations, more recent texts present women as active agents who resist oppression, assert autonomy, and redefine societal roles. The paper argues that Igbo fiction not only reflects cultural realities but also participates in reshaping them by offering alternative visions of womanhood. The study contributes to ongoing scholarly discourse on gender, literature, and African identity by foregrounding the dynamic and transformative roles of women in Igbo literary imagination.