Who is a father? Deconstructing the machismo of fatherhood in Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen (2015)
Who is a father? Deconstructing the machismo of fatherhood in Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen (2015)
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2021-03-29
Authors
Ben -Daniel, Faith
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Literary & Cultural Studies
Abstract
This paper deconstructs the patriarchal institution of fatherhood
that tends to present fatherhood as a machismo that the family
must rely on for its sustenance and survival. The paper argues that
the patriarchal ideology of fatherhood which is backed by culture
obstructs the psyche of women and thereby affect their ability to
rise to the challenge of being sole care givers for their children
when the circumstance or situation calls for it, and by their actions
affect the children who are at the receiving end of parenting. The
study refers to Jacques Derrida’s theory of deconstruction to show
how the conflicting forces within the traditional concept of
fatherhood serve to dissipate its seeming definiteness and
undermine its presupposed priority in a model of parenthood. The
study builds its argument by relying on the aspect of the
deconstruction theory which posits that appearance is more
relevant than essence. (Stanford, 2006) This study is conducted
using Chigozie Obioma’s novel, The Fishermen, as the main
reference text. However, references are made to other texts
where necessary
Description
Keywords
Citation
Ben-Daniels, F. (2021). Who is a father? Deconstructing the machismo of fatherhood in Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen (2015). Hybrid Journal of Literary and Cultural Studies, 3(1).