The Representation of Identity: The Intersection of Womanhood and Postcolonial Identity in Adichie’s Works

Abstract

Following from Crenshaw’s intersectionalitiy theory and Butler’s performativity theory, we know that there is no universal experience of womanhood. This is an important aspect of the perspective from which Adichie writes. This thesis will focus on the intersection between how female characters in Adichie’s works constitute their gender identity and how they constitute their postcolonial identity in three of Adichie’s works, namely Americanah, Half of a Yellow Sun, and The Thing Around Your Neck. This thesis will be operating under Butler’s performativity theory, Crenshaw’s intersectionality theory, and Bhabha’s The Location of Culture with a focus on concepts such as mimicry, hybridity and the Other, as its main methodological framework with which the novels will be analyzed.