Asenath bole Odaga's vision of gender relations in endless road

Abstract

This is a study of the authorial vision of gender relations in Asenath Bole Odaga's Endless Road. The study assumes that the story has a unique literary value, which it investigates through the thematic analysis. The study employs Cheri Register's Prescriptive Criticism, which is a feminist approach, and the sociological approach as main theoretical frameworks to analyse the literary works. In order to appreciate the distinctive nature of the author's vision in the novel, other female writings are reviewed. The focal point of the overview is the descriptions of the gender relations in the female writings in favour of the main purpose of the study. This operation reveals some characteristics of Kenyan female writings and identifies the idiosyncratic position of Endless Road on the literary map in terms of the treatment of gender relations. The study further offers a comparative analysis between Endless Road and the author's other works. It discloses the developments of the author's treatment of the gender issues. It is illustrated that the vision of gender relations in Endless Road is the author's most advanced view on the matter. The study analyses the author's progressive and humane vision in detail. Furthermore, the approaches which effect the positive change of the gender relations in the story are examined. This reveals that the peouliardty; . of the author's vision lies in the consistency between the vision and the process to it. It is demonstrated that the integrity of the vision is very illuminative to the literary discussion of gender issues in Kenya.