Marginal Sexual Confrontations in Priscillia Manjoh’s Snare

Abstract

Prior to the 21^st century, female sexuality was veiled in customary beliefs and practices that sought to make women abashed of their sexuality. Priscillia Manjoh’s presentation of her heroine constitutes the struggle for sexual freedom, opportunities and sexual expression. This paper seeks to explore female sexuality as the woman’s awareness of her sexual desire and her strive to satisfy it. The writer presents the heroine’s active and independent personality who has recognized her potentiality and is not afraid to express herself sexually. The paper therefore, develops from the premise that female sexuality as a theme has received minimal critical and creative attention in African literature, implying that an important aspect of womanhood has been overlooked or deliberately ignored in much of African literature. This work thus, examines the treatment of female sexuality by Manjoh in Snare as a way of establishing the viability of this theme in post-colonial era. This write-up adopts post-colonial feminist approach to depict the extent to which female sexuality is constantly overlooked. Above all, the paper suggests that in spite of the marginalization of the sexuality of women, Manjoh still bids her heroine with the opportunity to break away from stereotypical ideologies that confines her as a woman.