The role of narrative stories in interpreting male dominance: Ndilunge ngoku ndingumabuy’ ekwendeni! (I’m better off as a divorcée!)

Abstract

This article focuses on how some women in a patriarchal and culture-bound community, after enduring different forms of abuse, decide to leave their husbands. This phenomenon is also reflected in isiXhosa oral literature and more specifically the folktale, which mirrors society. The article is about the relationship between language, culture and society in the context of gender-based violence (GBV). Examples from real-life narratives as well as a folktale are presented and analysed. These narratives have been collected from various research subjects who have experienced such violence and who have ended their relationships. The folktale that is analysed also presents a protest against patriarchy, male dominance, gender-based violence and abuse. The article then examines the theoretical framework by articulating the motivations and conditions of account-giving, and explores how the subjects have dealt with the conservative, patriarchal and burdensome cultural – as well as gendered – expectations imposed on them by their respective communities.