The Rape of Shavi: An Analysis from an Intercultural Point of View
The Rape of Shavi-An Analysis from an Intercultural Point of View
Buchi Emecheta is a Nigerian-born writer. She was born in Lagos in 1944 and since 1962, she has been living in England. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and for a while, she worked as a sociologist. A writer, a lecturer, a college teacher and a sociologist, Emecheta is considered one of the most important African feminist writers.
As far as her career as a writer is concerned, she is the recipient of numerous awards. Among her most famous novels, the following ones are worth mentioning: In the Ditch (1972), Second-Class Citizen (1975), The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977) and The Rape of Shavi (1985).
In this presentation, we are going to focus our attention on her 1985 novel, namely The Rape of Shavi. The title of the novel is deliberately ambiguous and, at first sight, it foregrounds the idea of physical abuse. However, another level of interpretation surfaces after a complete reading and an in-depth analysis of the novel: the entire novel revolves around the idea of cultural despoilment, of stripping a nation of its cultural values. The novel itself can be read as an allegorical story, a parable emphasising the harmful effects engendered by the cultural encounter between Self and Other. Here, the Self is represented by an ethnic group named the Shavis, located in an imaginary sub-Saharian country, while the Other is represented by a group of Western European people who left their country, fearing a nuclear explosion. The moral of this parable stands out conspicuously: people should preserve their cultural identity, they should not let themselves be driven by the will to power, they should keep intact their ethnic, linguistic, psycho-behavioural peculiarities, otherwise, their demise is imminent and uncontrollable. The intercultural exchange proved detrimental to Self and beneficial to the Other. Therefore, while the ‘albino’ people learned a new way of living, of
Buchi Emecheta is a Nigerian-born writer. She was born in Lagos in 1944 and since 1962, she has been living in England. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and for a while, she worked as a sociologist. A writer, a lecturer, a college teacher and a sociologist, Emecheta is considered one of the most important African feminist writers.
As far as her career as a writer is concerned, she is the recipient of numerous awards. Among her most famous novels, the following ones are worth mentioning: In the Ditch (1972), Second-Class Citizen (1975), The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977) and The Rape of Shavi (1985).
In this presentation, we are going to focus our attention on her 1985 novel, namely The Rape of Shavi. The title of the novel is deliberately ambiguous and, at first sight, it foregrounds the idea of physical abuse. However, another level of interpretation surfaces after a complete reading and an in-depth analysis of the novel: the entire novel revolves around the idea of cultural despoilment, of stripping a nation of its cultural values. The novel itself can be read as an allegorical story, a parable emphasising the harmful effects engendered by the cultural encounter between Self and Other. Here, the Self is represented by an ethnic group named the Shavis, located in an imaginary sub-Saharian country, while the Other is represented by a group of Western European people who left their country, fearing a nuclear explosion. The moral of this parable stands out conspicuously: people should preserve their cultural identity, they should not let themselves be driven by the will to power, they should keep intact their ethnic, linguistic, psycho-behavioural peculiarities, otherwise, their demise is imminent and uncontrollable. The intercultural exchange proved detrimental to Self and beneficial to the Other. Therefore, while the ‘albino’ people learned a new way of living, of