Woman, wife and (m)other: post-colonial metaphors for negation

An examination will be carried out into different aspects of possession and exploitation of the female within a colonial/postcolonial context. This thesis will be constructed in 'parts' that highlight the influences that construct, define, subvert [and shape] female identity in colonial/post-colonial literature. For women at least, negation, fragmentation and alienation continue long after the physical process of colorusation has ended. It is from this background that women have to rise in order to assert their independence. Women writers like Atwood, Steinem and Munro write with sensitivity of woman's wrongful possession and manipulation by men whilst making the point that woman's journey towards self-definition doesn't automatically have to lead to man's downfall. Male writers like Rushdie and Murnane acknowledge gender inequities that pervert human relationships.