Abstract:
According to the postulations of various feminists, patriarchal hegemony has continued to
trample on their basic rights. Therefore, it was in this regard that this study examined how
Wangari Maathai and Phoebe Asiyo had put efforts into their two autobiographical literary
works, Unbowed and It is Possible, respectively, to subvert the many forms of patriarchy
that were supposedly responsible for their discrimination, oppression, stereotyping, and
objectification, which this study focused on. As a sub-genre, the autobiography accords the
writer space to tell the story of one’s life from a more intimate perspective, especially for
women writers. The specific objectives of this study were to analyze the subversion of
patriarchal aspects, examine the politics of gender, and examine the constructivist nature
of autobiographies and various elements of fictionality employed in the narration of
Unbowed and It is Possible, respectively. The study used an eclectic theoretical framework,
drawing on strands of feminist literary theory (1996) as propounded by Simone de
Beauvoir and Helene Cixous, whose main tenet posits that power hierarchies in domination
can be subverted and that the roles assigned to women by patriarchal society are both biased and unsustainable. This was combined with the Autobiography theory (2014) by Saint
Augustine of Hippo, whose main principle of subjectivity and objectivity states that autobiographers are selective when choosing what to write. The study used a descriptive research design because of its textual nature, which entailed close reading of the selected
texts, analysis, and interpretation of data. The choice of Maathai’s Unbowed and Asiyo’s
It is Possible was purposive since it invalidates the normative gender distinctiveness whose
establishment has a patriarchal propensity. This study established that women have been
suppressed through the dictates of patriarchy as they have been patronized, objectified,
stereotyped, sidelined from power, and their property disowned. It was also found that as
they narrated their life experiences from an intimate perspective, they upheld the
constructivist nature of autobiographies and various elements of fictionality to subvert the
marginalization. The outcomes of this research develop women’s autobiographies as
refined academic achievements, yield endowments, and complement gender standardization in patriarchal societies. Proportionally, the results are derivations of lessening disputes in patriarchal societies, bringing social peace where there was no peace before. This is remarkably so, as social disputes are a source of nightmares, denying the human race the serenity of existence in what is supposed to be a tranquil cosmos.
