The distressed body in Niketche: a history of polygamy, by Paulina Chiziane

Abstract

This article presents a reading of the female body, in Niketche: uma história de poligamia, by Paulina Chiziane. This body, driven by anguish, moves and comes into contact with different spaces, taking us to know Mozambique from North to South. In this sense, we sought to analyse how the subservience marks and stereotypes are reflected in the protagonist's body and also discuss the character's own view of her body, which is influenced by the culture and social practices of the location where it is inserted. For such discussions, we will use Simone de Beauvoir's The second sex, which analyses how the woman's body is shaped from childhood to be seen as an object and how the woman's destiny is linked to her body. Stuart Hall's Culture and representation will assist us in analysing the stereotypes that are imposed on female bodies. The book Ain’t I a woman ?, by bell hooks brings the image of the black female body in the colonial period and tells how the slaved black woman had her body sexualized and exploited in so many ways.