This document provides information about female characters in four African literary works: - Alu and Desala are traditional and materialistic women characters respectively in Wole Soyinka's play "The Swamp Dweller". - Mumbi is a beloved village woman who makes mistakes with Karanja in Ngugi Wa Thiongo's "Grain of Wheat". - The unnamed "Barbarian Girl" is a strong yet silent tortured character in J.M. Coetzee's "Waiting for the Barbarians". - Ekwefi and Ojiugo are Okonkwo's second and third wives in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart".

1. Topic: Women characters in African Literature
Paper: The African Literature
Prepared by: Chudasama Pratipalsinh V
Roll NO: 13
Sem: 4
Email id: chudasamapratipal@gmail.com
Submitted to:
smt.S.B.Gardi
Dept. Of English
Maharaja krishnkumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.
(Gujarat-India)

2. The Swamp Dweller : - Wole Soyinka
(1)Alu:
- Alu is the wife of Makuri.
- Mother of Igwezu and Awuchike.
- Believes in the custom of the swamps.
- she has more concern for Awuchike, who is in the city.
- She is traditionalist women.
- Alu’s understanding of the worlds is very limited.
- Alu is a loving and loveable mother.
(2) Desala:
- Desala does not appear in the play as a character.
- Her character has materialistic attitude.
- Desala marries Igwezu, later Igwezu become poor
owing to bad, Desala leaves Igwezu and marries
Awuchike.
- It shows how city life has become morally void.

3. Grain of Wheat : - Ngugi Wa Thiongo
(1) Mumbi:
- One of the Beautiful women in the village. She is Kihika’s
sister. Mumbi admired by Many of men in the village and
particularly by Karanja and Gikoniyo.
- Marry with Gikoniyo.
- Gikoniyo left, Mumbi take responsibility of house and his
mother.
- In moment when she heard that Gikoniyo come back, she
over joyed and made mistake to have a physical relation with
Karanja.
- Mumbi and Gikoniyo depart from each other and create a
wall between them.

4. Waiting For The Barbarians: - J M Coetzee.
(1) Barbarian Girl:
- The narrator described her as having a stocky little body
with disfigured feet from torture.
- Narrator say “ the girl is incomplete!”
He does not view her as he views other women.
- In chapter two she is introduced to reader.
- The girl’s silence shows her strength and is her one from of
resistance.

5. Things Fall Apart: - Chinua Achebe
(1)Ekwefi:
- Okonkwo’s second wife.
- Ekwefi runaway from her first husband to live with
Okonkwo.
(2) Ojiugo:
- Okonkwo’s third and youngest wife.