Representation of Gender in Fiction: A Reading of the Novels of D.O. Fagunwa

Most Yoruba female critics have accused early Yoruba male writers including D.O. Fagunwa, a Yorùbá literary legend, of condoning patriarchy and that male writers are deeply entrenched in one dimensional, minimalized presentation of women in their novels which ignites and perpetrates hegemonic patriarchal discourse in Yoruba literary criticism. This paper attempts a re-analysis of the representation of gender from the lenses of literary narratives of D.O. Fagunwa. The five novels of the novelist namely: Ogboju Ode, Igbo Olodumare, ìreke Oníbudo, ìrinkerindo, and àdiitu Olodumare constitute the sources of data for the analysis. The paper concludes that Fagunwa's works show evidence of an existing stereotypical image of the sexes both in personality traits, and occupation among others, yet, his literary works negate marginalization of women and reject the peripheral roles assigned to women folk in the Post-colonial Yoruba society.