Black Women’s Writing as Resistance to Silence: A Comparative Analysis Between Chimamanda Adichie’s "The Thing Around Your Neck" and Conceição Evaristo’s "Olhos D’água"

• In Event: Literature and Intersectionality

Abstract

This research examines the complexities of Black women’s writing by exploring the interplay of two collections of short stories: "Olhos D’água" (2014), from the Brazilian writer Conceição Evaristo, and "The Thing Around Your Neck" (2009), from the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie. To approach their narratives, Mae Henderson’s (2014) concept of a “simultaneity of discourse” is adopted, emphasizing the significance of analyzing how the intersections of race and gender structure their storytelling. Adichie's characters often navigate a diasporic movement, transitioning between Nigeria and America. In stories such as "Jumping Monkey Hill" and "The Arrangers of Marriage," the characters' voices are stifled by external forces, such as a white male literary critic or through an arranged marriage. This analysis aims to shed light on how Adichie's formal elements act as a resistance to silence, granting her characters agency amidst disempowering situations. In contrast, Conceição Evaristo rescues African cultural traits and places them in a Brazilian context, assuming a distinct diasporic characteristic. Focusing on stories like "Ana Davenga" and "Maria," this research investigates how Evaristo challenges stereotypes directed at Black women and highlights police brutality within the silence bias. By comparing and contrasting the literary techniques of these two Black women writers from different continents, this research aims to reveal the universality of their experiences while acknowledging the uniqueness of their narratives. The analysis will offer valuable insights into the ways in which Black women writers reclaim their voices and make use of storytelling to subvert silence.

Author

• Bruna Aoto Franco de Lima, San Francisco State University