Foregrounding the Amazonian Character against Androcentric Constructs: A Comparative Analysis of Selected Texts by Kopano Matlwa and Zakes Mda

Abstract

This article compares and contrasts Amazonian characters in Kopano Matlwa’s selected texts with what appears to be androcentric female characters in Zakes Mda’s selected texts. Feminist theory, with its variants, particularly Amazon feminism, undergirded the study. Amazonian characters are female characters constructed from an Amazonian perspective. In ancient Greece, Amazon feminism typified warrior women as symbols of feminist empowerment emphasising women’s agency and capacity to achieve gender equality. In constructing her female characters, Matlwa has adopted the Amazonian perspective that radically departs from the stereotypic, patriarchal and negative depiction of women that perpetuates patriarchy, whereas Mda has adopted the androcentric and patriarchal stance, which contrasts sharply with the tenets of Amazon feminism. The article contributes to the ongoing discourse on gender and equality by highlighting the essence of Amazonian characters as required agents towards women’s liberation and empowerment in the post-apartheid context.