BETWEEN MEMORY AND METAMORPHOSIS: THE EVOLUTION OF GENDER REPRESENTATIONS IN THINGS FALL APART AND THE JOYS OF MOTHERHOOD

Abstract: This article examines the evolution of gender representations (gender, understood here as socially constructed roles, behaviors, and expectations associated with masculinity and femininity) through the interplay of tradition and modernity in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta. Through a comparative approach, it explores how gender norms are transmitted, challenged, and transformed in response to social, economic, and political changes. The analysis highlights how collective memory reinforces rigid gender roles, with masculinity associated with strength and authority in Things Fall Apart and femininity linked to motherhood in The Joys of Motherhood. However, these norms are disrupted as characters navigate colonialism, urbanization, and shifting economic realities. The study further examines the tensions between generations and the redefinition of gender identities in a rapidly changing society. Finally, it explores the symbolic representations of gender, including fire and yams in Things Fall Apart and water and entrapment metaphors in The Joys of Motherhood, to illustrate how literature interrogates traditional gender expectations. By highlighting the fluidity of gender roles, these novels offer a critical reflection on the negotiation of identity in African societies. Keywords: Gender, Tradition, Modernity, African Literature