Portraits de femmes au Biafra: Étude comparée de Chinua Achebe et Leslie Ofoegbu

Abstract

This study explores the impact of the Nigerian Civil War on the daily lives and interpersonal relationships of Biafrans as they are depicted in Chinua Achebe’s Femmes en guerre et autres nouvelles and Leslie Ofoegbu’s Blow the Fire. Achebe, whose work has been translated into several languages, was the first writer to expose the Igbo country to the international scene. Ofoegbu is a Scottish woman married to a Nigerian who lived in Biafra during the war years. Beyond their differences, both authors offer insider testimonies on the conflict which tore the country apart from 1967 to 1970. Femmes en guerre et autres nouvelles is a collection of short stories, three of which are directly inspired by the conflict. Blow the Fire is an autobiographical novel which bears witness to the authors’ and her family’s daily lives at the time. This article highlights traditional values and changes of behaviour in the face of uprooting, exodus, danger and the omnipresence of death. It also reveals the crucial role played by women as the “guardians of life” in the encircled area