Writing Against the Grain: Expressions of Resistance in the Postcolonial Novel of Equatorial Guinea
Abstract
This thesis examines the extent to which selected postcolonial narratives of Equatorial Guinea express resistance at the social, religious and political levels. Three postcolonial texts, namely Los poderes de la tempestad (1997), El párroco de Niefang (1996) and Arde el monte de noche (2009) emit various discourses of resistance. These works which rehash the Spanish colonial legacy are also concerned with the social degeneration brought on by the first postcolonial presidency, often referred to as Nguemism. In response to these events, the writings of these authors show a refusal to be absorbed by both the colonial rhetoric and nguemist ideologies. Through their exploration of the nation’s history, religion and culture, these texts denounce hegemonic conceptualizations of their identity which results in a pursuit of freedom from these powers.
This study uses a postcolonial theoretical approach to discuss articulations of resistance. In postcolonial theory, resistance signifies any opposition to, or any acts intended to subvert authority. This thesis discusses how these novels challenge institutions — both colonial and post-independence — which continue to perpetuate political, social or cultural oppression in Equatorial Guinea. These novels contest institutionalized histories of the country, historically and postcolonially, and revise them using the collective experiences of the citizenry. They also construct diverse identities that defy homogenic perceptions emanating from colonial discourse and from Nguemism. This dissertation shows that articulations of resistance within the post-independence narrative of Equatorial Guinea are not monolithic, but diverse and engage with the various challenges the nation faces currently. Together, this corpus of texts articulates the desire to rethink and reformulate the ideological parameters that continue to be sources of oppression for the national community.