Rebeka Njau's social vision

Abstract

This study examines Rebeka Njau's published literary works, name 1y: Ripples in the Pool, The Scar, and The Hypocrite both thematically and stylistically in order to reveal her social vision. This thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter One discusses Njau's social vision in the short story form, The Hypocrite. Chapter Two discusses the writer's social vision in the short play The Scar within the framework of the tragic form. Here there is preoccupation with one dominating theme 'The Heroine and Iconoclasm; the African woman and Tradition'. The chapter examines the tragedy and predicament of women in a society where there exists suppressive Patriarchal customs and traditions to which a woman is expected to adhere. Chapter Three entails a discussion of Njau's social vision in tragic situations in the novel Ripples in the Pool. Four themes have been analyzed in relation to the novel, that is: 'The Heroine and Iconoclasm; the African woman and Tradition', 'The plight of women under the male gender', 'Love for money, power and the concomitant iniquities' and 'The deities and their potency'. Like chapter Two, the execution of all these themes has been done against the backcloth of tragic realism. This thesis concludes by arguing that Rebeka Njau is one writer who believes in art with social relevance. She presents herself as a teacher and a social critic who endeavours to unearth the sufferings of men, identifies the cause and bestows upon her readers implied solutions; in a nutshell, Njau is concerned with how society can be ameliorated.