“Can the Subalterns Speak?” : A Post Feminist Study of The River And the Source

Abstract

This study explores post-feminism in the context of Margaret A. Ogola’s novel The River and the Source through the lens of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's seminal question, "Can the Subaltern Speak?" By focusing on the experiences and narratives of female characters in the novel, this analysis seeks to examine how Ogola’s work articulates the voices of women within a postfeminist framework and the extent to which these voices challenge or reinforce existing power structures. The River and the Source chronicles the lives of several generations of women in a fictional African society, highlighting their struggles, resilience, and agency. This study employs a post-feminist perspective to assess how these women navigate and resist patriarchal and colonialist constraints. Through a close reading of the novel, it evaluates how the characters' experiences reflect broader themes of identity, autonomy, and resistance. The study critically engages Patricia Hill Collins as its primary theorist with Spivak's concept of the subaltern and examines how Ogola's narrative either provides a platform for these subaltern voices or inadvertently silences them. By exploring the complex interplay between gender, colonialism, and post-colonialism in Ogola’s portrayal of female characters, this study sheds light on the challenges and possibilities of feminist and post-feminist discourses in postcolonial literature.