ABSTRACT
In recognition of the fact that critics of Francophone literature have accepted the reality of amplification of narrative innovation in Black Africa (since the publication of Labou Tansi’s La Vie et demie, in1979), the objective of this research is to determine and appreciate the scope of structural creativity (thematic and esthetic) in the Francophone novel published between 1979 and 2000.
Thus, we examined nine novels by authors from different parts of Francophone Black Africa. The analyses of these texts include the study of narrative components (language, theme, characterisation, plot, space and time frames). This was with a view to sorting out the extent of scriptural innovation by these Francophone writers who were inspired by the need to sever all ties with the old African narrative tradition. They also needed to liberate themselves from the constraints imposed by the use of the French language of France as the language of narration.
On the notion of language, our study extensively examined the aspects of ‘‘africanisation’’ or ‘‘negrification’’ of the narrative discourse, by the nine novelists. Neologism, linguistic transposition and transliteration, for example, were thus given adequate attention in this thesis. The modifications in the presentation and in the role of characters of the novel as conceived by writers of the New African narration, were equally studied.
We remarked that these narrative innovations were achieved mainly through the quest for an African literary authenticity. Our authors wanted to create an authentic African literature, which is not an imitation of French literature neither through its themes nor through its style.
Through our study, we were able to deduce that the new Francophone writing challenged the classical traditions of narrative prose writing. The writers thus invented new ways of prose writing, which they intended should be different.
Our analyses also revealed that in their quest for originality and authenticity, the Francophone writers drew inspiration largely from African oral tradition. This inspiration was very much in evidence in the studied texts, in the language of narration as well as in the narrative structure. Our writers displayed their awareness of their oral cultural heritage, right from the adoption of the griot narrative, to the transposition of indigenous languages within the French discourse. These end-of-century Francophone authors extensively exploited the
two dimensions of African oral tradition (oral literature and conversational discourse of the people). Nevertheless, we deduced from our study that the Francophone novelist of the new creative writing who sought after literary authenticity at all costs, at times committed aberrations in his presentation of the socio-cultural reality of Africa. He achieved his authenticity at the expense of verisimilitude.
We concluded that the writers of the new Francophone novel of the 20th century, made great efforts to pull out the Francophone novel from a prepared, fixed and monotonous mould. Linguistic innovations as well as diversity of form broke down the wall of monotony of reading which was confronting the literary reading public. And the research also affirmed the first public of the Francophone novel of the end of the century is the African.
The writers’ amplifications of new narrative forms marked a new literary era in the history of African literature.
