Society and Gender Identity in African Fiction: Re-Evaluating Women's Identity in Sefi Atta's everything Good will Come

One emerging reality in African literature, especially the African fiction is the redefinition and/or re-presentation of women's identity and sensibility. This is painted against the backdrop of various societal schisms that seek to perpetually keep the status quo of the enslaved female and the lionized male in the continent's literature. The female character in African fiction has been portrayed as submissive, culturally handicapped against certain social behaviour, subservient and a second fiddle to the dominant male. This is the kind of picture we find in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, Elechi Amadi's The Concubine, and even Cyprian Ekwensi's Jagua Nana. However, the advent of serious women writings, and also the influx of western - oriented ideologies such like feminism mark the beginning of the redefinition of the personality and identity of women. In this paper, using Sefi Atta's Everything Good Will Come, we attempt to examine society's perception of gender identity as it affects women, particularly in Africa where the novels are set. We conclude by asserting that the redefinition of the female gender in African fiction is a timely endeavour as women in real life experiences are continually breaking out from their neglected corners to contribute to society's development.