PATRIARCHAL EXPRESSIONS IN MODERN SELECTED SESOTHO NOVELS: A 
FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE 
 
 
by 
Tseko Isaac Mosia 
 
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of 
 
Master’s Degree 
With specialization in African Languages 
in the 
African Languages Department 
 
 
of the 
 
Faculty of Humanities 
 
at the  
 
 
University of the Free State 
 
 
 
Supervisor  :  Mr Bahedile David Letlala 
Co-supervisor  : Dr Elias Nyefolo Malete 
 
 
 
 
(i) 
DECLARATION 
 
l, Tseko Isaac Mosia, honestly attest to the fact that this dissertation, which is titled: 
Patriarchal expressions in modern selected Sesotho novels: A feminist perspective, is 
my original, authentic and independent work and it has not been previously submitted 
at any institution of higher learning by me. 
All the sources that I have used have been indicated and acknowledged by 
means of proper referencing.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(ii) 
DEDICATION 
I dedicate this dissertation to my lovely wife, Matsediso Eaglet Mabesa, and my two 
sons, Motsotuwa Marcus and Bokang Maxwell Mosia. 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(III) 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
I would like to extol the Almighty God and His precious son, the Lord Jesus, for having 
given me the precious gift of life and having stood with me through the hectic time of 
my studies. During difficult times my God would whisper softly in my heart and say “Be 
still and know that I am God, I will be with you and carry you through”. 
Big thanks to my late parents, Stassen Pitso Mosia and Lettie Mantlere Mamorena 
Mokoena (Mosia), for having given birth to me and bringing me up well. 
Sincere gratitude to my sister, Mamotseko Sana Mosia (Dlamini), for her financial 
assistance and her husband, Alfred Dlamini, for his prayerful support. 
I am greatly indebted to my honourable supervisor, Bahedile David Letlala, for your 
patience. When it was tough, you expressed inspirational words which gave me the 
courage to soldier on. Because of your unrelenting support, I am a source of 
educational inspiration to young educators. 
Furthermore, I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to my co-
supervisor and Head of Department of African Languages at the University of the Free 
State (UFS), Dr Nyefolo Elias Malete, for having approved my application into this 
Master’s degree programme. I salute you. 
Last but not least, I would like to also extend my gratitude to my school principal, 
Mavovo Sam Nhlapo, for always granting me permission to attend classes at the 
university as well as my former learner, Mantefeleng Motaung, who did typing work for 
me.   
  
 (iv) 
ABSTRACT 
This research work entitled, Patriarchal expressions in modern selected Sesotho 
novels: A feminist perspective, is about the ill-treatment that women are subjected 
to in society through the system of patriarchy and some of the traditional cultural values 
which oppress them. Chapter one is an introduction that deals with the background of 
the study, research methodology, statement of the problem, review of literature, 
significance of the study as well as aims of the study. 
Chapter two presents a theoretical framework focusing on feminism, African feminism, 
gender, patriarchy, culture and characterisation. In this chapter, the study shows how 
patriarchy as a system that oppresses women, should be challenged. Feminism is 
discussed as an approach which is concerned with how women are treated in society. 
Feminists believe that society is subjected to a patriarchal culture which promotes men 
at the expense of women. As a result, feminists challenge the ills of patriarchy in 
society and the equality of men and women. Women should not be treated as second- 
class citizens but should have equal rights as men. African traditional cultural values 
which oppress women are strongly challenged by African feminists. 
The third chapter deals with how male and female characters are portrayed in the 
novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya. Female characters are portrayed in negative terms. 
Characters such as Lefulesele, Dilahlwane, Ntswaki and Mmakgotso are portrayed as 
evil, sex objects, powerless and submissive to their male counterparts. Male 
characters such as Kotleng and Matsekane are portrayed as powerful, leaders, 
manipulative and dominant over women. In the fourth chapter, the novel, Hei! Ke 
tsamaile, is analysed. Senganangana is authoritative and has no respect for his 
daughter, Sepapatlele, and considers her as weak, dumb and a failure. He does not 
encourage and support her, instead he demoralises her and treats her as a slave. He 
chases Sepapatlele away when he discusses his son’s academic achievement and 
tells her that she is a good-for-nothing person and will not reach the high academic 
standard of his son. Sepapatlele is used as a sex object by Snoeky and Bolokwe. 
When Sepapatlele realises that she is pregnant, she flees to KwaZulu-Natal out of fear 
of her father. She does not succeed there and goes back home. The last chapter is 
the conclusion and observations of the study.  
  
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
           PAGE 
CHAPTER ONE 
 
INTRODUCTION 1 
1. Introduction 1 
1.1 Background of the study 1 
1.2 Research problem and objectives 2 
1.3 Research methodology 2 
1.4 Review of literature  3 
1.5 Significance of the study 5 
1.6 Chapter breakdown 5 
1.7 Conclusion 5 
 
CHAPTER TWO 
 
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 
2. Introduction 7 
2.1 Feminism 7 
2.2 African feminism 9 
2.3 Gender 9 
2.4 Patriarchy 12 
2.5 Culture 13 
2.6 Characterisation 17 
2.7 Conclusion 20 
 
 
CHAPTER THREE  
 
ANALYSIS OF BOPHELO KE DIHAEYA 
3. Introduction 22 
3.1 Summary of Bophelo ke dihaeya 22 
 
3.2 Portrayal of male characters 23 
3.2.2 Kotleng 24 
3.2.3 Namodi 26 
3.2.4 Katisi 29 
3.2.5 Matsekane 30 
 
3.3 Portrayal of female characters 31 
3.3.1 Mmakgotso 31 
3.3.2 Mmalekwetje 32 
3.3.3 Lefulesele 33 
3.3.4 Dilahlwane 33 
3.3.5 Marike 35 
 
3.4 Patriarchal expressions in Bophelo ke dihaeya 36 
3.5 Conclusion 45 
 
CHAPTER FOUR 
 
ANALYSIS OF HEI! KE TSAMAILE 46 
4. Introduction 46 
4.1 Summary of Hei! Ke tsamaile 46 
 
4.2 Portrayal of male characters 47 
4.2.1 Nonyana 47 
4.2.2 Bolokwe 48 
4.2.3 Snoeky 50 
4.2.4 Senganangana 51 
4.2.5 Tswelopele 52 
 
4.3 Portrayal of female characters 53 
 
4.3.1 Sepapatlele 53 
4.3.2 Mmasepapatlele 59 
4.3.3 Pinki 61 
4.3.4 Palesa  62 
 
4.4 Patriarchal expressions in Hei! Ke tsamaile 63 
4.5 Conclusion 64 
 
CHAPTER FIVE 
 
CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY 66 
 
5. Introduction  66 
5.1 Summary and observations  66 
5.2 Conclusion 69 
 
REFERENCES 70 
 
          
CHAPTER ONE 
INTRODUCTION 
 
1.  Introduction 
1.1  Background of the study 
In most African societies, women are not regarded as significant human beings who 
have rights and have to be treated with dignity and respect they deserve. A patriarchal 
system and oppressive traditional African cultural values put women at a disadvantage 
where they become submissive, obedient, powerless and silent. In patriarchal 
societies, women are at the periphery while men occupy positions of authority and 
power. The ills of patriarchy and oppressive traditional African cultural values need to 
be challenged.  
Sifana (2018:1) holds that patriarchy is a social system where men inherently 
dominate everything, especially females. Under the system, women are considered 
biologically weaker, and have to be submissive and obedient to men. Sultana (2012:2) 
in quoting Bhasin (2006), maintains that the word patriarchy literally means the rule of 
the father or the patriarch, and it was originally used to describe a specific type of a 
male dominated family – the large household of the patriarch which included women, 
junior men, children, slaves and domestic servants all under the rule of this dominant 
male. Now it is used more generally to refer to male domination, to the power 
relationships by which men dominate women, and to characterise a system whereby 
women are kept subordinate in a number of ways.  
Practices of patriarchy are prevalent in most African literature in which women are 
portrayed in negative terms; male writers portray female characters as passive, inferior 
and powerless. Some of the patriarchal practices belittle women and oppress them.  
These practices stem from or are rooted in the diverse cultures that exist in different 
African societies.   
It is therefore the aim of this study to investigate patriarchal expressions in modern 
selected Sesotho novels, namely, Bophelo ke dihaeya (2005) by K.P.D Maphalla and 
Hei! Ke tsamaile (2008) by M.F. Tsephe. The reason for choosing these literary texts 
is because they manifest expressions of patriarchy and no scholar has done a study 
on these literary texts to show how issues of patriarchy are manifested in them.   
Consequenlty, the study intends to show how the selected texts might be utilised to 
challenge and address patriarchal practices in society. 
 
1 
 
1.2  Research problem and objectives 
Feminist criticism is a tool which reacts to patriarchal culture in society. According to 
Abrams (1996:88) behind feminism lies two centuries of struggle for the recognition of 
women’s social and political rights. What Abrams contends here is that feminism is a 
movement which aspires for the realisation of the rights of women which are trampled 
upon and denied by the male-dominated society.  Abrams (1996:88) further maintains 
that much of feminist literary criticism continues to be interrelated with the movement 
by political feminists for social, legal, cultural freedom and equality.  
The observation from the above statement is that the objective of feminism is to deal 
with the unjust treatment and the exclusion of women in a patriarchal culture aimed at 
promoting the interests of men at the peril of women.  
Even though research in Sesotho literature has been done on the portrayal of female 
characters, with most of it having been on older Sesotho texts, not enough research 
has been conducted on patriarchal expressions in modern Sesotho novels. Patriarchal 
expressions are prevalent in modern Sesotho novels such as Bophelo ke dihaeya 
(2005) and Hei! Ke tsamaile (2008) but not enough has been done to show how and 
to what extent these patriarchal expressions are manifested in these texts. The two 
novels have fine literary qualities and the patriarchal expressions prevalent in these 
texts have not been put under scrutiny. It is therefore the intention of this study to 
investigate patriarchal expressions in the modern selected Sesotho literary texts. 
Furthermore, the objectives of the study are to:  
(i) show how male and female characters are portrayed in the selected literary 
texts, 
(ii) show how male characters treat female characters and how female 
characters treat male characters in the selected literary texts, and  
(iii) find out how patriachal practices are manifested in the selected literary texts. 
Consequently, the study seeks to adress the following questions: 
(i) How patriarchy is expressed in the selected literary texts? 
(ii) How are female characters portrayed in the selected literary texts? 
(iii) Why is patriarchy prevalent in the selected literary texts?     
1.3 Research methodology  
This study assumed a critical discourse analysis approach. This type of approach falls 
under the category of qualitative research. The discourse analysis approach seeks a 
close textual reading of the texts under study. The selected literary texts were 
analysed and interpreted. Van Dijk (1995:17) is of the opinion that critical discourse 
analysis has become the general label for a special approach to the study of a text, 
that emerges from critical linguistics, critical semiotics and in general from a social-
2 
 
political conscious as well as the oppositional way of investigating language and 
discourse studies. It is, therefore, through a critical discourse analysis method that the 
contents and meaning of the selected Sesotho literary texts will be analysed and 
interpreted and to show how patriarchal expressions are manifested in the selected 
texts. Various sources on feminism and African feminism such as literature and 
feminism, Contemporary African literature and the politics of Gender to mention but a 
few were used in this study.  Relevant articles in journals of African literature were also 
consulted.      
 1.4 Review of literature 
This section gives a brief discussion on some of the previous studies conducted which 
are relevant to this study.  
Patriarchal practices are prevalent in most African societies. Patriachy is a system that 
advocates male domination in society.  These practices result in women suffering, 
abuse, oppression, marginalisation and ill-treament. In most African literature, women 
characters are portrayed negatively and treated badly by male characters. Female 
characters are often represented as evil, submissive, sex objects, child bearers and 
powerless in male-written texts.   
Most scholars across indigenous African languages literature in South Africa have 
done research on the representation of women in their various literary texts. Gumede 
(2002) conducted a research entitled, The portrayal of female characters in selected 
Zulu texts. He focused on how male authors portray female characters in these texts. 
His findings are that “African male authors often lack the depth of feelings to explore 
the psychology their women characters. As a consequence, women are often treated 
more as symbols than as living individuals” (Gumede, 2002:116). The general 
conclusion that Gumede (2002) makes in his study is that most women characters are 
portrayed negatively by male authors whereas some female authors seem to portray 
women somewhat positively.   
Nkuna (2001), in his Master of Arts (MA) dissertation entitled, Portrayal of women in 
siSwati Drama, reveals how women are portrayed negatively in real life due to cultural 
practices. Her findings and conclusions are that “Most women in siSwati drama are 
dominated by patriarchy. The state of culture makes women to be inferior and women 
are represented negatively and there is a need for changing this negative portrayal of 
women in siSwati drama” (Nkuna, 2001:132).  
Mawela (1994) also conducted a study entitled, The depiction of women characters in 
selected Venda novels. Her conclusions on the study are that all the male authors of 
the selected novels portray most female characters as obedient and submissive. 
There are a few female characters who do not subscribe to submissiveness and 
obedience and demand that men should respect them as much as they respect other 
men.  
3 
 
In Sesotho literature, research has also been conducted on the portrayal of women in 
Sesotho novels. For example, Moloi (2015) wrote her MA dissertation on The portrayal 
of female characters in Maake’s novel, Mme. The observation in this study is that some 
female characters seem to be represented somewhat differently, as strong and 
resilient, unlike in most of the Sesotho novels.  
Moloi (2015) ’s conclusions on her study are that the author of the novel, Mme, is 
different from other Sesotho authors who present female characters in negative terms 
as inferior and weak. Moloi further states that “male status of the author does not 
oppress women but liberates them.” The author, through his novel, Mme, tries to end 
the perception that women, because of their sexuality, must always be treated like 
irrational objects which often need men to help them in their thinking and reasoning 
(Moloi, 2015:70).      
Pienaar (2015) also conducted a research study entitled, A culture of women –
battering in Sefatsa’s dramatic text Pakiso: A feminist perspective. The findings of her 
study are that women experience ill-treatment, abuse and violence in society. Female 
characters are subject to abuse in the dramatic text, Pakiso. We observe in Pienaar’s 
work that female characters are subject to ill-treatment and gender-based violence is 
greatly perpetuated by male characters. Pienaar concludes that “women in Sefatsa’s 
dramatic text Pakiso, live by the rule imposed by traditionand patriarchal authority” 
(Pienaar, 2015:74).  
Mohatle (2015) in his Master of Technology (MTech) dissertation entitled, The 
portrayal of women in Sesotho literature with special reference to South African 
novels, poems and proverbs, observes that women in Sesotho novels such as 
Mehaladitwe ha e eketheha are portrayed as prostitutes and gold diggers. It is also 
clear from Mohatle’s work that the perception and manner in which women are 
perceived are negative. 
 Sebeho (1996), in her Master of Arts (MA) dissertation entitled, The portrayal of 
women in the selected novels of K.E Ntsane also observes how female characters are 
portrayed negatively in the selected novels of Ntsane. They are portrayed as weak, 
cruel, evil and cunning. Sebeho, in her study, shows that the author’s perception is 
negative towards women.  
The observation from the review of literature as outlined above is that the negative 
portrayal of female characters emanates from patriarchal practices and African 
traditional values and culture. Feminism, as a movement, challenges the culture of 
patriarchy in society. It challenges African traditional values and culture that seek to 
oppress, dominate, marginalise and abuse women. Feminists argue that male-written 
texts should be challenged and women must write to counteract the negative 
representations of women in such texts. There is also a clarion call on male writers to 
begin to write positively about women.   
4 
 
Moloi (2015) has shown in her study entitled, The portrayal of female characters in 
Maake’s novel, Mme, that the author is different from other Sesotho authors as his 
perspective about women is a positive one. Moloi maintains that “Men, just like 
women, can be in a position to fight for women’s rights and trying to show other men 
that women need to be respected and not be considered as objects of men” (Moloi, 
2015:67).  
From what has been learnt from the different scholars above, it is evident that despite 
the fact that these scholars have conducted studies on the representations of women 
in their various literary texts, especially with reference to Sesotho literature, not much 
has been done to study the expressions of patriarchy in modern Sesotho literary texts 
and to establish whether Sesotho male writers have changed their perspective about 
women or not.   
Consequently, this study illustrates with close reference to the modern selected  
Sesotho novels, how authors portray female characters in the selected literary texts.   
 
1.5 Significance of the study 
The study is significant to society and social structures in that it is an attempt to 
promote good behaviour and the fight against the ill-treatment and abuse of women in 
society.  Consequently, this study might change the negative mind-set and perceptions 
of men about women. 
  
1.6 Chapter breakdown 
The study consists of five chapters. The first is the introduction, which includes the 
background of the study, research problem and objectives, research methodology, 
review of literature, significance of the study and chapter breakdown.  The second 
chapter is theoretical framework with focus on feminism, gender and African feminism, 
and patriarchy. Aspects such as culture and characterisation are also included in this 
chapter. The third chapter is an analysis of Maphalla’s novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya 
(2005), while the fourth analysises Tsephe’s novel, Hei! Ke tsamaile (2008). The fifth 
and last chapter is the conclusion and observations.  
1.7     Conclusion 
This chapter has outlined the structure and framework for the entire study. Among  
aspects that serve as central to the study are the problem statement and objectives, 
research methodology, and  review of literature. The scope of the study has also been 
5 
 
outlined in this chapter that the study will consist of five chapters. It has been explained 
in this chapter that the objective of the study is to investigate patriarchal expressions 
in modern selected Sesotho novels and to show how these patriarchal expressions 
manifest in the selected literary texts. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6 
 
 
CHAPTER TWO 
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 
2. Introduction 
The purpose of this chapter is to discuss feminist literary critcism as a theoretical 
framework. Feminism, gender and African feminism are discussed. Aspects such as 
patriachy and culture also receive attention.  Characterisation as a literary aspect that 
is significant in outlining how characters’ personalities are illustrated will also be 
highlited in this chapter.   
 
2.1 Feminism 
Feminism, as a movement, started in America in the 1960s as a women’s liberation 
movement. The objective of the movement was to fight against the oppression, 
marginalisation and gender inequality.  The history of the movement has been 
categorised into three waves by its proponents. For the purpose of this study, we shall 
not get into details as far as the history of feminism is concerned.  
According to Moris (1993:1) the concept feminism can be defined as a political idea 
which focuses on two important perspectives, firstly, that gender difference is the root 
of a structural inequality that exists between men and women, where women suffer 
systematic social injustice, and secondly, that the inequality between men and women 
does not emanate as a result of their biological make up but emanates as a result of 
the cultural manifestations of gender differences. Furthermore, Morris indicates that 
the objective of feminists is to reject and challenge the current gender difference that 
exists which sees men dominating women.  
Wilfred and Morgan (1992:182) hold that feminism is concerned about the 
marginalisation and the dominance of men over women.  
Ngwainmbi (2004:94) defines feminism as a complex set of political ideologies used 
by the women’s movement to advance the cause of women’s equality and put an end 
to sexist theory and practice of social oppression.  
Tong (2009) views feminism as a worldwide movement that seeks to raise women’s 
political, economic and social staus and fight for gender equality in all aspects of life 
in all societies. 
Mehrpouyan and Banehmir (2014:200) agree with Moris (1993), Wilfred and Morgan 
(1992) and Ngwainmbi (2004) in maintaining that feminism can be defined as a mode 
7 
 
of critical discourse which emphasises culturally-determined gender differences in the 
interpretation of literary works. Feminism is basically concerned with the oppression 
and dominance of men in various spheres of life. 
Feminism also refers to the challenges which women raise against the traditional and 
cultural oppression upon them. Eagleton (1996: 329) further maintains that on the 
other side of the hyphen, the adjective “feminist” points, among other things, to an 
important aspect of our practices or traditions. A major contribution of the women’s 
movement has been the organisational principle of collective work, for all women, the 
method of work within the group has been a departure from and a challenge to the 
isolated, individualistic ways in which women operate in academic spheres. Literature, 
in its polylogic structure and presentation, should draw on the continuing play of ideas 
and debate from within which women speak, and to challenge the monologic discourse 
of patriarchal literacy criticism. 
 The observation from the definitions of the concept feminism as espoused by the 
different scholars above, is that all of them see feminism as a movement that is against 
patriarchy which promotes the oppression, domination and margainalisation of 
women. These practices are discriminatory and exclusionary to women. 
Chukwuma (2006:1) holds that women’s rights and their being have always been 
taken for granted, nicely and safely tucked away under the bed of patriarchy. The 
proponents of the movement, feminists, strongly believe that patriarchy by definition 
is sexist and therefore promotes the notion that women are inferior and unequal to 
men.  
From different cultures and different societies, different forms of feminism can be 
identified. The following types of feminisms will be briefly explained to give an idea of 
what they are all about. For the purpose of this study, these types of feminisms will not 
be dealt with in detail:  
• British and American feminism is divided into first and second-wave feminism. 
• European feminism tends to be more Marxist and/or Existentialist than British 
and American feminism. 
• Islamic feminism focuses on the whole place of women in the Islam and 
generally contents that Islam gives moral and spiritual equality to men and 
women. 
The aforementioned forms of feminisms focus on the following: 
8 
 
 Sexual stereotyping. 
 Creation of a bigger place for women in the world. 
 Rejecting the view that women are inferior to men. 
 
 2.2 African feminism 
African feminism is explored in this study as it is relevant to African women. African 
feminism can be seen as a theoretical paradigm that aims to free women from 
patriarchy. It deals with the experiences of women who experience patriachal practices 
and aims to dismantle and alter the values of traditional societies which are oppressive   
As a women’s movement, African feminism can be described as a political pragmatic, 
reflexive and group-orientated form of feminism that is also referred to as The 
sisterhood of Africa. This form of feminism creates a space of independence and 
dignity out of a triple layer of oppressions namely, the oppression created by colonial, 
Western patriarchal and African patriarchal cultures. 
Ekpa (2000:29) as quoted by Nkealah (2006), observes that African feminism seeks 
to give a woman a sense of herself as a worthy, effectual and contributing being, while 
it rejects stereotypes of a woman that denies her a positive identity. African feminism 
is aimed at giving a clearer and fundamental explanation of the gender relations that 
exists between women and men of African origin.  
According to Makaudze (2014:128) the African womanist aspires for completeness 
and authenticity (cultural connection) in her life. He further maintains that to be 
complete, the African woman wants to have her home, family and career. 
Wang’ondu (2019) holds that the African female is vastly different from the Western 
female given the different socio-economic, political and cultural structures between 
them. Feminists and African feminists fight to have space. They strive to enter and 
venture into domains, responsibilities and positions normally believed to be under the 
domain of men and as such their enemy number one is the man whom they believe 
shuts doors to women’s emancipation (Makaudze, 2014:135).  
Feminists, in general, and African feminists, in particular, hope that the discriminatory 
and exclusionary practices perpetrated against women within all the sectors of society 
should be done away with and equality should prevail.  
 
2.3        Gender   
9 
 
Pilcher and Wheelehan (2004) as quoted by Kwatsha (2009:128) maintain that gender 
as a concept and as it is used currently, got its prominence early in the 1970s. The 
purpose of using the concept gender was to establish the biological sex differences 
that exist and the manner in which these sex differences are used to determine 
behaviours and competencies. These behaviours and competencies are referred to 
as masculine or feminine.  
According to Jackson and Scott (2002:31) gender has to do with femininity and 
masculinity. In most cases, gender is understood as a person’s sex, whether they are 
male or female. However, there are other components which are related to gender 
such as gender roles and gender identity. For the purpose of this study such 
components will not be discussed in this work. The purpose here is to understand 
gender as the division between male and female or man and woman. The study 
attempts to show that there is a division between men and women and this division 
results in gender inequality where men dominate women.    
However, one cannot discuss gender without making reference to feminism because 
the two are intertwined. Collier and Ryan (1990:191) maintain that feminist critics are 
women writers who write about criticism that challenge the conventions of academic 
style as well as content. Every insight and discovery that women who are feminist 
critics make about women’s writing and its relationship with a dominant tradition have 
transformed an early essay on Criticism and Language. 
A Marxist-feminism approach that focuses on gender as a significant determiner of 
literacy production can provide a better understanding of literature as a gender-
differentiated signifying practice. However, for the purpose of this study Marxist-
feminism will not be dwelt upon. 
PetaI (1989:196) gives a brief account on gender theory by maintaining that the latest 
and most rapidly growing mode of American feminist criticism is gender theory, which 
corresponds to Third World critics focusing on the issue of race. In terms of written 
feminist scholarship, the term gender refers to social, cultural and biological sexual 
difference. Unlike the emphasis on women’s writing that informs gynocritics, or on the 
signification of the feminine, in post-structuralism, gender theory explores the 
ideological inscription and the literary effect of the sex/gender system.   
10 
 
Scott (1986:1054) identifies three goals of gender theory, namely, to substitute the 
analysis of social constructs for biological determinism in the discussion of sexual 
differences, to introduce comparative studies of women and men into the specific 
disciplinary field, and to transform disciplinary paradigms by adding gender as an 
analytic category.  The aim of gender theory is to attempt to introduce the subject of 
masculinity into feminist criticism, and to bring men into the field as students, scholars, 
theorists and critics, but the politics of gender studies within feminist criticism are 
extremely controversial. 
Payne (1997:217) explains gender as a term denoting the attributes culturally ascribed 
to women and men. Differences are thus made between gender and sex, the latter 
being understood as the sum of the physical characteristics that make us biologically 
‘women’ and ‘men’. However, more recently, the sex gender opposition has begun to 
be questioned by theorists who argue that our perceptions of biology, nature, or indeed 
sex, are formed only within language and culture. Here, notions of sex as beyond 
culture and gender as within it are refused, since the concept of an innate biological 
sex is itself the product of, and thus ‘inside’ culture and history. 
Though gender has been a focus of attention across the human sciences, the main 
impetus for gender critique (as opposed to its supposed disinterested study) has come 
in the second half of the twentieth century from feminism. Feminists have argued for 
an understanding of feminity and masculinity as cultural constructs, since, if gender is 
culturally acquired, it then becomes open to change (Payne, 1997:217). 
Furthermore, Payne (1997:217) is of the opinion that there are clear differences 
among these three theoretical traditions. Writers influenced by structuralism have seen 
gender as the product of universal cultural laws and conventions, of the ‘grammar’, as 
it were, that frames linguistic and cultural expression. Thus, to take just one instance, 
structuralists accounts of gender and narrative might focus on the conventional 
positioning of the male hero as active subject and the heroines as passive object of 
narrative action. 
In poststructuralism, by contrast, the notion of universal cultural laws is jettisoned, and 
replaced with a vision of meaning and identities as the result of perpetual process of 
linguistic and cultural production. Thus, for instance, in Judith Butler’s Foucaultian   
11 
 
account, the emphasis shifts from gender as a given symbolic entity, to gendering as 
a practice that is historically productive of gender identities (Payne, 1997:218).  
The emphasis here is on the non-fixation of gender as explained above. Therefore, 
gender is perceived firstly as the product of a development at the infancy stage, that 
is related to Oedipus complex, where boys are said to be masculine and girls feminine. 
The idea that boys are active and girls are passive is a matter which brings inequality 
between boys and girls.  
Heise (2010:177) comments that repeated studies have revealed gender differences 
in sentiments. The differences arise for relatively few concepts and apart from this 
limited arena of differentiation, females and males have about the same sentiments. 
Thus, gender offers an example of subcultures. 
The research conducted by Heise (2010) on gender shows how females view things 
differently as opposed to men. Naturally, females would condemn violence (gunfight, 
hurting, clubbing, slaughterhouse, slugging) and unrestrained sexuality (whorehouse, 
following, peeping at) while approving more of femaleness (female, feminist, feminine), 
female concerns (boyfriend, beauty salon) and an idea which relates to companionship 
(roommate, relative). Amongst other characteristics which females demonstrate are 
that they are intolerant of self-consciousness but tolerant of gentleness. Females 
perceive a sexual predator (rapist) as more dangerous than their counterparts do 
(Heise, 2010:177).  
Lastly, females perceive the characteristics of being modest as more significant than 
their counterparts do. It is natural that females would perceive a salon as more 
important than their counterparts would. Furthermore, most females who are figures 
of authority (head nurse and foster mother), view an underdog as more passive than 
males do. The characteristics of self-consciousness and clumsiness are also regarded 
to be more passive by females than by males. The issue of gender differences in 
sentiments largely exist in the class American culture. 
 
2.4   Patriarchy  
12 
 
Ngwagbara (2013:225) shares his views on the concept of patriarchy and holds that 
the world of Chinua Achebe’s fiction deals with the portrayal of women as second- 
class citizens or the second sex. It is interesting to note that the manner in which the 
portrayal of female and what womanhood signifies in Achebe’s world is maintained by 
the ideology of patriarchy that owes its origins and existence to the stereotyped 
provenance of the African traditional values and customs. 
This patriarchal culture has enforced a leadership style that relegates women to the 
background. However, Achebe’s novels advocate for the fall of patriarchy, and a 
renewed perception of women by men. From Things Fall Apart (1958) to Anthills of 
the Savannah (1987), Achebe is concerned with change in a leadership style which is 
dominated by men (Ngwagbara, 2013:225). 
Patriarchy is further observed as a system that subjugates women. It is a system that 
undermines and regards women as objects that are powerless, submissive, weak and 
inferior. 
As a testimony to the prevalence of gender biasness in Africa, Tromp (2017:3) 
contends that the major obstacle which women find themselves faced with is the 
‘limiting attitudes’ towards them as espoused by men. For many of the women who 
ascent to the highest ranks of business, the experience is isolating because they do 
not behave like they are there yet.  
Luvalo (2019:2) argues that the notion patriarchy has been there for many centuries 
and has prevailed in many societies and communities. However, different views exist 
with regards to the notion of patriarchy. Some of the views are that this concept is 
more prevalent in African societies whilst other views hold that this notion emanates 
from the developed and civilised world.  
According to Luvalo (2019:1) partriarchy has its roots in Western society, especially 
the so-called liberal countries. In most cases, the domination of men is displayed by 
power over women and children. This domination sometimes leads to the violation of 
the rights of children and women.   
According to Sifana (2018:19) through patriarchal practices, women “experience 
discrimination, subordination, violence, exploitation and oppression by men.”  
13 
 
Therefore, this work will demonstrate how patriarchal expressions are illustrated in the 
selected Sesotho literary texts and how women in these texts are portrayed.  
  
 
2.5  Culture 
According to Payne (1997:1) the concept culture is commonly used by biologists, but  
was applied to the historical and social organisation of human beings in Germany until 
the mid-eighteenth century.  
Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952:284) hold that the adoption of the term culture in 
Romance languages and English was delayed by the currency of civilisation; also a 
Latinate term (from civis, civilis, civitas, civilitas); where the reference is to the life of 
the citizens in politically sophisticated urban states; in contrast to the rural, barbaric or 
pastoral life of the tribesman.  
As the concept of culture slowly began to eclipse that of civilisation from the mid- 
eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century it came to signify a set of attributes and 
products of human societies and therewith of mankind, which are extrasomatic and 
transmissible by mechanisms other than biological heredity and are as essentially 
lacking in sub human species as they are characteristic of human species as it is 
aggregated in its societies. 
Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952:281) give some stability to the term and clarity to its 
definitions: culture, or civilisation is that complex whole which includes knowledge, 
belief, art, law, morals, custom and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man 
as a member of society.  
Culture has a great impact on the writer’s presentation and characterization of the 
characters in a literary work.  If an author is a male person, there is a likelihood that 
his cultural belief system might influence him into presenting women characters in 
negative terms.  
Brooks and Browne (2012) opine that culture enables literary interpretations of texts. 
The researcher begins with a brief overview of the reader response field. From there 
14 
 
he introduces the theory and provides illustrative participant data examples. These 
data examples illustrate the four cultural positions middle grade students in the 
research assumed who responding to silent textural features embedded in African 
American children’s novels. The theory suggests that because a range of cultural 
positions factors into students meaning making; text should mine text more carefully 
for cultural milieu as well as find acceptance with a broader range of literacy. 
The dominance of men over women is also as a result of culture. There are some 
African communities whose culture oppreses women. Culture is not inherited but has 
to do with practices, customs and traditions which are learnt by different communities 
across the world. 
Austen (2015:214) speaks of ‘Bildungsroman’ and mentions that the term 
‘Bildungsroman’ (novel of formation, cultivation and development) has, since the 
1980s, come into wide use among critics of African, but more generally postcolonial 
literature, although usually in very critical terms.  
The genre in its classical European forms is alleged to put forth a modal of individualist 
development and ultimate socio-political interpretation that is minimal to both the 
collectivist values of Africans and their understanding of both themselves and their 
position within modern order of nation states and global capitalism. The African 
bildungsroman is not anything more than its European predecessors, an ideological 
instrument either for or against a specific form of modernity but rather a reflection on 
possibilities of self-formation, through inherited culture, formal education and more 
autonomous Bildung within a specific set of historical contexts (Austen, 2015:214). 
 In the community of the Basotho, the Basotho go beyond distinguishing people in 
terms of whether they are a male or a female when it comes to gender, instead, they 
include ascribing different roles to males and females. In this case, culture, traditions 
and customs have an impact in assigning roles to males and females. In most cases, 
males are seen as strong and assume more challenging roles like hunting and 
ploughing the fields whereas females who are perceived as weak, are assigned less 
challenging roles like cooking, fetching water and cleaning the house. 
 
 
15 
 
Boys will at a particular age stay in their own hut. This hut is called thakana.  Mabille 
and Dieterten (2000:443) define thakana as a hut where all the boys of the village 
sleep in. Basotho also have lebollo which is an initiation school. Boys are initiated 
differently from girls.  
According to Bereng (2010:33) the initiation for girls is different from that of boys in the 
sense that in the huts made out of reed, the girls are initiated into womanhood. 
Instructors are those who have gone through the rites themselves before. It is a serious 
matter for the girls to protect the secrets that they learn there. The training is personal 
and cannot be passed from mother to daughter. Each girl has to go to the river by 
herself to search for the secrets of the deep river and meet the mystic trainer of the 
woman type, Motanyane. 
The above statement emphasises the fact that, according to the Basotho culture, the 
role of a woman is to stay at home, cook and fetch water.   
Bereng (2010:33) further maintains that when one sees young women on their way to 
fetch water for household use, other young girls must join them. These young girls 
learn to do things that women do as their chores. They learn to carry buckets of water 
on their heads, without holding the buckets with their hands. 
According to Lesitsi (1990:111) the teachings of Lithupelo which the girls receive at 
the initiation school are as follows: 
Ba rutoa ho boloka makunutu. Pinyane ha e senye motse. 
 (They are being taught to keep secrets).  
Ba rutoa ho ngalla motsheo ha mathata a le teng.  
(They are being taught not to quit in their marriages when they encounter difficulties). 
Ho mamella mathata a bophelo.  
 (To endure the hardship of life). 
The training of boys is different from that of girls. 
Bereng (2010:32) says that men are trained to serve the land and the people. They 
are trained to be citizens and patriots, to reflect on responsibilities of growth and to 
16 
 
withstand difficulties and that will make a young boy to ultimately say, “I am now a 
man.” 
The boys or new initiates each wait for their turn to declare to their village that now 
they are men and have given up the things of childhood. Boys are being given tough 
and difficult responsibilities after having been initiated. 
Bereng (2010:77) further holds that boys spend the whole day in the country without 
food, and are told not to cry, for a man’s life is full of hardships. They learn from a 
tender age what manhood is all about. 
Lesitsi (1990:95) outlines the teachings that boys receive at the initiation school in the 
following manner: 
Ho boloka makunutu.  
(To keep secrets). 
Lerato la naha, ho e sireletsa le ho e shoela nakong tsa mathata.  
(The love of one’s country, and to protect and even die for it during difficult times). 
Ba rutoa ho bua le ho bua khomo.  
(They are being taught how to skin a cow). 
Ba rutoa ho iketsetsa lihlomo tsa ntoa. Mosebetsi o moholo ke oa ho thula tsepe ho 
etsa marumo, likoakoa, lithupa le mehoma ea ho lema.  
(They are being taught how to make war weapons. The major work is to develop iron 
into spears, shields, sticks and hoes for planting). 
The above is an indication of how boys and girls in the Basotho community are raised 
or brought up. It is the argument of this study that it is through this cultural upbringing 
as indicated above that gives boys some sense of power and dominance over women. 
That is how patriarchal practices emanate through traditional cultural practices.  
 
2.6 Characterisation 
17 
 
The aspect of characterisation is included in this chapter since it is the dialogue that 
takes place between characters whcih indicates or reveals the character’s personality. 
A brief discussion on how various authors define and explain the concept of 
characterisation is hereby presented.  
According to Shaw (1972:71) in narrative literature, fictional persons through 
characterisation become so incredible that they exist for the reader as a real people. 
Cohen (1973:37) is of the view that the art of creating fictional characters in words 
gives the human identity. 
Character delineation or the portrayal of a character refers to the description and the 
illustration of the personality of a character. Characters are those people whom we 
read about in the novel or short story.  There are two kinds of characters in a narrative 
text, namely, round and flat characters. Round characters are those who change and 
develop as the story develops. Flat characters are stereotypes. They stay the same 
throughout the story.  
 When dealing with character delineation, we will not only be looking at the names of 
those chracters who appear in the novel but will also be focusing on their behaviour 
and personality and whether they exude patriarchal tendencies or not. 
Moleleki (1993:133) elaborates in the following manner about this issue of character 
delineation: 
Lebaka la hore re bue ka semelo sa baphetwa tlasa sehlooho sa sebopeho sa 
pale, ke hobane semelo sa baphetwa se utullwa le ho hlakiswa ke diketsahalo 
tse bopang moralo (karolo ya sebopeho) wa pale. Diketso tsa baphetwa ebile 
ke tsona tse hodisang, tse rarahanyang tse isang pale sehlohlolong le 
mothipolohong esitana le hona phethelong / tharollong.  
(The reason why we should talk about the personality of characters under the 
topic of the development of a novel is that the nature of the character is revealed 
by the events that form part of the novel. The characters’ actions are the ones 
that develop, entangle and lead the novel to the climax and turning point as well 
as the conclusion).   
 Moleleki further holds that:  
18 
 
Semelo sa baphetwa, maemong a fapafapaneng, se ka boela sa etsa hore ba 
arolwe mafapha a mabedi. Ho teng baphetwa bao semelo sa bona se 
fetofetohang ho ya ka maemo a ditaba, bao maikutlo a bona a kgemang le 
maemo le dinako, baphetwa bao le ka mohlomong le ha re ne re ka ba tseba 
ba ena le semelo se itseng (mohlomong se lokileng) ba ka nnang ba bontsha 
ho kgohlahala le bokgopo maemong a mang a fapaneng le ao re teanang le 
bona ho ona pele. Baphetwa ba tjena ke bao ho thweng ke ba tjhitja (round 
characters). Ba tjhitja hobane ha ba sekamele nqa e le nngwe ka nako tsohle, 
ba kgema le dinako le maemo. Baphetwa ba sa fetofetoheng le dinako le 
maemo bona ho thwe ba sepapetlwa (flat) hobane ba dula ba le jwalo ho ya ho 
ile. Ha a le kgopo o kgopo ho ya ho ile. Le teng ha a le bonolo o bonolo molebe 
(Moleleki,1993:133). 
(The personality of the characters, in different situations can further be divided into two 
categories. There are those characters whose personality changes depending on the 
circumstances in which they find themselves and whose feelings are controlled by 
circumstances and time, such characters even if we know them as having certain 
personalities (maybe good personality) can still display some bad behaviour even evil 
in some different circumstances in which we found them earlier and such characters 
are called round characters. They are round because they are not always one-sided, 
they move with the changing times and circumstances. Those characters who do not 
change with the times and circumstances are called flat characters, because they 
always stay the same. If they are evil, they will always remain evil and if thet are 
humble they will always remain humble). 
 Moleleki concludes by saying that:  
Diketso le seabo sa baphetwa paleng di boela di arola baphetwa ho ya ka mafapha a 
itseng. Ya nang le ditabatabelo tse itseng le teng e le tseo re bonang ekare di ntle o 
bitswa molwantshuwa (protagonist). Enwa ke yena mophetwa wa sehlooho paleng. 
Ya mo sitisang le hona ho thisisa tseo a di labalabelang ho thwe ke molwantshi 
(antagonist). Eo ebang o leka ho thea kgotso pakeng tsa bana babedi ke monamodi 
(tritagonist). Empa ka nako e nngwe yena mophetwa enwa wa boraro e ka nna ya eba 
mohlohleletsi bakeng sa hore e be monamodi. Tabataba ya bohlokwa ke hore e mong 
19 
 
le e mong wa baphetwa bana ba ka welang mafapheng ana a ka nna a ba le 
batshehetsi (Moleleki, 1993:134). 
The actions and roles of the characters in the novel make them to be further divided 
into other categories. The one with particular ambitions, and which we see to be good, 
is called the protagonist. This one is the main character in the novel. The one who 
hinders him and thwarts his ambitions is called the antagonist. The one who tries to 
build peace between the two is called the tritagonist. But sometimes the same this 
same third character can be an instigator instead of being a mediator. The main issue 
is that each and everyone of these characters who can fall in these categories can 
have supporters). 
Indeed, it is through character delineation, the actions and their speeches that we are 
able to depict the character and personality traits of characters in a narrative text. This 
aspect will assist in determining how characters in the novel exepress patricahal 
tendencies. 
 
2.7  Conclusion 
This chapter has discussed feminism, African feminism, gender, patriarchy, culture 
and characterisation. Feminism has been explained as a movement that rejects the 
marginalization, ill-treatment and the subordination of women by men. In most male- 
written texts, female characters are subjected to negative portrayal and 
representations. Feminism champions the rights of women and fights for equality 
between women and men. 
 African feminism challenges the negative representations of women in male written 
texts.  Some of the African female writers such as Tsitsi Dangarembga, Buchi 
Emecheta, Flora Nwapa and Mariama Bȃ have written their literary texts where female 
characters develop and emerge from the world of patriarchy. In this chapter, the issue 
of gender has also been discussed. Gender inequality is mostly perpetrated under the 
patriachal system which advocates gender inequality.  
Patriachy has also been discussed in this chapter. It is a system that promotes male 
domination and the subdugation of women. This system is prevalent in most African 
20 
 
societies where women are dominated by men. It is a system that sees women as 
weak, and as child bearers and sex objects.   
The aspect of culture also received attention. Culture refers to the believes, customs 
and traditions of a society or particular community. Culture has been discussed in this 
chapter since patriarchal practices, particularly in some African communities, promote 
patriarchy and the dominance of men over women. It has been observed that in African 
societies some of the African traditional values and customs have a negative impact 
on women.  Some of the customs and traditions oppress women. It has also been 
shown in this chapter that feminism, gender and patriarchy are concepts that are 
interrelated.  
The literary aspect of characterisation was briefly discussed in this chapter. There 
cannot be a story without characters and their behaviour and personalities are 
understood through their actions and speeches. It has been shown that for a better 
understanding of the behaviour of characters, it is through character delineation that 
the expressions of partriachal practices in a novel could be revealed, hence the 
significance of characterization in this study.   
The following chapter will be an analysis of the novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21 
 
CHAPTER THREE 
ANALYSIS OF BOPHELO KE DIHAEYA 
3. Introduction 
The aim of this chapter is to analyse the novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya (2005), authored 
by K.P.D Maphalla. The purpose of analysing this novel is to highlight patriarchal 
expressions as they manifest in this novel. In this chapter there will be a discussion of 
male and female characters in the novel with the intention to show how male 
characters treat female characters in the novel. The portrayal of both male and female 
characters will be discussed to illustrate how patriarchal tendencies manifest in the 
novel. As mentioned above, the novel is authored by Maphalla, a male writer. It is 
therefore worth mentioning that not only does the study attempt to find out how 
partriachal tendencies manifest in the novel, but also to find out if these tendencies 
manifest because the novel is written by a male author or not. 
3.1 Summary of Bophelo ke dihaeya 
Pastor Motswahole, the main character, is a young married man. He and his wife, 
Mmakgotso, are new residents at Boikgutsong. Seeing that the pastor is still young, 
most women of his congregation come with evil and malicious intentions of seducing 
him. These women include, Moheanyane and Lefulesele. The name Lefulesele implies 
plague or a terrible disease. Her actions are as evil as her name. Mmakgotso fights 
tooth and nail to protect her husband from these evil women. 
Pastor Motswahole’s ambition is to instil good morals and values in sociey through the 
word of God. However, these women stand in his way. 
Pastor Motswahole’s first wife dies in a car accident. After the death of his wife, 
Lefulesele makes him drunk and allows Dilahlwane to sleep with him. Pastor 
Motswahole does not give in to the evil intentions of Lefulesele, Dilahlwane and 
Moheanyane. He marries a white lady, Marike, known as Mmamosa, at the end. 
3.2 Portrayal of male characters 
 This section aims to discuss the personality traits of male characters in the novel and 
their attitude towards female characters.  
22 
 
3.2.1  Pastor Mohau Motswahole 
In the novel, the main character is Pastor Motswahole. His first name, Mohau means 
mercy. He is the protagonist because most of the events in the novel are centred 
around him. The word, dihaeya, refers to something which is amazingly horrible and 
shocking. Bad things happen to him which are caused by women with malicious and 
evil intentions of denting his image and integrity. He has to engage himself vehemently 
in psychological and spiritual wars that are directed at him. Pastor Motswahole fights 
tooth and nail against all the plots and evil schemes organised against him. 
 As his first name denotes, Pastor Motswahole is a very humble and merciful person 
to such an extent that he can hardly notice people who are dangerous to him. 
According to Skosana (2013:227) there is a Sesotho idiomatic expression that goes, 
Nonyana kahlamela mmolai, which means a person who is not vigilant is exposed to 
danger. This expression refers Pastor Motswahole.  
A church elder, Mr Namodi, tries to warn the pastor about dangerous people like 
Kotleng. However, it becomes difficult for Pastor Motswahole to take his advice, 
because of the trust and love the pastor has for members of his congregation. This is 
what Namodi says to him:  
“Ha o sa tsebe Kotleng ha o tsebe motho, ho rialo Namodi. Kotleng ha se motho 
ke selalome. A ka o harola a ntse a o tshehisa. Ke maja a itlhakola. Maloma –
a-fodisa hantle!” (Maphalla, 2005: 63). 
(“If you don’t know Kotleng, you know nothing. says Namodi. “Kotleng is not a 
human being, he is a beast. He can tear you apart, whilst smiling. He is a 
hypocrite- a real pretender”). 
The pastor seems to be doubtful about what Namodi says and responds thus:  
“Empa nna bobe bono boo le bo boledisang hakaalo ha ke eso bo bone” 
(Maphalla, 2005:64). 
(“But I have not noticed the wickedness that you so greatly talk about”).  
Pastor Motswahole is a flat character, he never changes and forgives people such as 
Dilahlwane, who defame and dehumanize him. 
23 
 
His main objective is to guide people in the right path of God so that they may become 
disciplined and upright in their behaviour. However, there are people who thwart his 
intentions of fulfilling his good intentions. 
Among his enemies, are people such as Kotleng and Matsekane. These male 
characters are members of his congregation who are very corrupt. 
The word Matsekane is derived from the verb, tseka, which means to lay a dispute. 
The Sesotho idiom, bitso lebe ke seromo means a person’s name sometimes 
resembles his actions. Matsekane just like what his name denotes, disputes almost all 
the plans of Pastor Motswahole. Pastor Motswahole’s wife passes on and Pastor 
Motswahole invites Pastor Metsing to come and bury his wife. However, Matsekane 
opposes his idea and the narrator says: 
Moruti ya memilweng ho tla boloka mohatsa moruti Mohau Motswahole, ke 
moruti Metsing, ya tswang kwana Kapa. Monnamoholo Matsekana o ne a hlile 
a hana hore ho latwe moruti wa hole kwana ho tla pata mohatsa moruti. O ne 
a itse e mong wa basadi ba seaparo o tla etsa thapelo feela ebe ho fedile 
(Maphalla, 2005:2).  
(The pastor who was invited to come and bury the wife of Pastor Motswahole, 
is Pastor Metsing, who hails from the Cape. Matsekane, the old man, was 
opposed to the idea of inviting a pastor from far away to come and bury the wife 
of the pastor. He suggested that one of the leading women in the church would 
just make a prayer and that would have been the end). 
3.2.2 Kotleng 
Kotleng is a very treacherous and deceitfull person. He is full of malice. His bad 
behaviour and untolerable personality drives him into derailing Pastor Motswahole 
from his path of righteousness. Besides being a deceitfull person, Kotleng is also 
pompous. He is very rich and drives smart cars. Some members of the congregation 
warn Pastor Motswahole not to ride in Kotleng’s cars, because they are stolen. Kotleng 
says that those people are jealous of him. 
The narrator says the following about Kotleng:  
 
Kotleng o ye a ithaope ho palamisa moruti koloing ya hae, empa yena a lebohe, 
24 
 
a bolelle Kotleng hore ha a ye hole, etswe mosebetsi wa hae e le ho kena ntlo 
le ntlo, ho lekola phutheho. Banna ba lekgotla la kereke ba eleditse moruti hore 
a se ke a ba a palama koloi ya Kotleng. Ba re koloi tseo tsa hae ke tsa boshodu. 
Kotleng o a tseba hore batho ba mona Boikgutsong ha ba mo ratesise. O re le 
leng la mabaka a etsang hore ba se ke ba mo rata ke borui ba hae. Ke yena 
feela monna motseng ona ya nang le selakga le lebenkele la dijo. Ke yena feela 
monna motseng mona ya nang le dikoloi tse tharo, dithelevishene tse nne le 
disatalaete tse tharo. O se a le haufi le ho reka sefofane (Maphalla, 2005:60). 
 
(Kotleng would sometimes offer the pastor a lift voluntarily but the pastor would 
refuse, saying that he is not going far, and despite that, it is his duty to take care 
of the members of the congregation. Men of the church council have advised 
the pastor not to ride in Kotleng’s car. They say Kotleng owns stolen cars. 
Kotleng knows that people in his community dislike him. He says one of the 
reasons for their hatred towards him is because he is wealthy. He is the only 
man in his community who owns a butchery and a supermarket. He is the only 
one in his community who has three cars, four television sets and three satellite 
dishes. He is about to buy an aeroplane).  
 
Pastor Motswahole goes to the bookshop to buy some books. At the bookstore he 
meets with Kotleng who voluntarily purchases a book for the pastor. The book is titled, 
Thobalano e bolokehileng (Safe sex). 
It is normally expected that when a pastor buys a book, he would choose one that is 
biblically inclined, so as to empower himself spiritually and also to edify the members 
of his congregation. If the pastor buys a book that contains sexually-related matters, 
it might be regarded as taboo by most of the members of his congregation. 
 
This is what Kotleng says when he buys the book for the pastor:  
 
“Nka ena moruti, ho rialo Kotleng ho moruti. “Ke o rekela yona. Ke a tseba hore 
o ntse o le mosebetsing o moholo wa ho ruta batjha. Le nna ke se ke ntse ke 
kenya letsoho” (Maphalla, 2005:61). 
(“Take this one pastor, says Kotleng to the pastor.” I am buying it for you. I know 
that you have a great task of teaching the youth. I am also making my 
25 
 
contribution”). 
 
Kotleng is a hypocrite. It is as if he purchases the book out of goodwill and good spirit, 
but he does this out of malice to ruin the pastor’s integrity.  
Some women describe Kotleng as the devil. This is what Mmatshaba says to her 
friends about him: 
“O se ke wa mpotsa ka Satane eno, ho rialo Mmatshaba ho metswalle ya hae 
e mmotsang ka Kotleng. “Ha ke batle le ho mmona ka ntlha ya leihlo la ka. “Ha 
se motho, ke dihele feela!” (Maphalla,2005:62). 
(“Don’t ask me about that Satan, says Mmatshaba to her friends who ask her 
about Kotleng. “I don’t want to see him at all. He is not a human being, he is 
just hell!”). 
 
3.2.3 Namodi 
Namodi is an old man. The name Namodi is derived from the verb namola which 
means to intervene or to mediate. Namodi is a tritagonist in the story who stands for 
Pastor Motswahole’s ambitions. He supports and advises the pastor and is a very 
compassionate and sympathetic person towards people who are well behaved and 
disciplined yet very much untolerable towards people with bad behavior. 
 
Namodi meets with Pastor Motswahole when he is on his way home from the 
bookstore. Their conversation starts in a friendly way: 
 
“Di reng tse ntjha, wa kgale?” ho botsa moruti ha a fihla a dumedisa moholo, 
a bile a mo tshwara ka letsoho. “Na ke tse monate kapa ke tse bohloko?” 
“Kgotso moruti wa ka,” ke moholo Namodi eo ha a amohela moruti. “Ha ho 
sana tse monate matsatsing ana ke dihaeya feela, moruti” (Maphalla, 
2005:62-63). 
 
(“What is the current news, old man?” asks the pastor when greeting the elder 
and shaking his hand. “Is it good or bad?” “Hello my pastor, says Namodi, the 
elder, when welcoming the pastor. “There is no good news nowadays it’s 
disgusting news only, Pastor”). 
 
26 
 
Namodi is talking politely with the pastor, but his tone changes as the pastor mentions 
the name of Kotleng in their conversation. This change of tone is indicative of 
Namodi’s character which is not stable but changes everytime. He would change due 
to the situations and circumstances he finds himself in. He does not want Pastor 
Motswahole to befriend Kotleng because Kotleng is an ill-mannered person. 
Namodi shows his disapproval of Kotleng in his conversation with the pastor: 
  
“O bua mantswe a builweng ke molekgotla Kotleng”, ho rialo moruti. “O ne a 
mpolelle hore e ne e le setho sa mokgatlo wa dipolotiki, empa a tswa ha a 
elellwa hore o a hlekefetswa.”  
“O bua ka Kotleng ofe?” a botsa.  
“Yena molekgotla Kotleng”, ho arabela moruti. “Molekgotla wa lona”. “O 
ntheketse buka hona kajeno lena”. 
 “Buka ya eng?”  
“Buka e balwang”, ho arabela moruti, a bile a tsheha. “Athe buka e nngwe ke 
ya eng na ntate Namodi. Nna ke tseba buka e balwa”.  
“O ntse o nkutlwa hore ke reng moruti”, ho rialo moholo Namodi. “Ke a tseba 
hore o nkutlwa hantle. O mpa o sa rate ho nkaraba. Ke a kgolwa hore Kotleng 
o be a o reketse buka ya manyampetla a mona a hae. Hobaneng o sa rate ho 
mpolella hore o o reketse buka ya mofuta ofe? Hobaneng?” 
“Ke ena buka eo ke e reketsweng ke molekgotla Kotleng,” ho rialo moruti ha a 
ntsha buka eo mokotlaneng wa bakana ya hae. “Ke yona buka eo ke buang ka 
yona”.  
“Ke tjholo!” Namodi a hoeletsa, a bile a kgutlisetsa buka ho moruti ka potlako. 
“Ke tsebile hore o be a o reketse makatakati ana a hae!  
“Makatikati a eng, Ntate Namodi?” ho botsa moruti. “Na taba tsena ke 
makatikati?” 
“Tjhee, kwana tsona ha se bile ha se makatikati,” ho rialo moholo Namodi ha a 
boela a kokobela. “Empa motho ya o reketseng yona ke leqitolo.” 
“Ha ke utlwisise moholo,” ho rialo moruti. “Ekare e le leqitolo a rekela moruti 
buka?”   
“Ha o sa tsebe Kotleng ha o tsebe motho,” ho rialo Namodi. “Kotleng ha se 
motho ke selalome. A ka o harola a ntse a o tshehisa. Ke maja-a-itlhakola. 
Maloma-a-fodisa hantle. Dihaeya tseo a di etsang motseng mona ha ho motho 
27 
 
ya sa di tsebeng. Manyampetla!” (Maphalla, 2005:63). 
 
(“You are saying the words that were spoken by the council member, Kotleng, 
says the pastor. “He told me that he was a member of a political party, but he 
left when he realised that he was being abused.  
“Which Kotleng are you talking about?” he asked.  
The same council member, Kotleng,” answered the pastor. “Your council 
member. He purchased me a book today.”  
“What book?”  
“A book that is read,” answers the pastor, laughing. What is a book for, Mr 
Namodi. I know that a book is for reading.”  
“Do you hear what I am saying, Pastor,” says elder Namodi. “I know that you 
hear me very well. It’s just that you don’t want to answer me.  I believe that 
Kotleng has bought you these disgusting books of his. Why are you not willing 
to tell me what kind of a book has he bought you? Why?” 
“Here is the book that the council member, Mr Kotleng has bought me,” said 
the pastor, as he took the book out of the small pocket of his jacket.“ 
“This is the book I am talking about.”  
“I said it!” Namodi shouting, and quickly returning the book to the pastor.  
“I knew that he has bought you these disgusting books of his!”  
 
“What is disgusting, Mr Namodi?” asks the pastor. “Are these issues 
disgusting?” 
 
“No, in fact they are not disgusting,” says elder Namodi when he calmed down.   
 
“But the person who bought you this book, he is a scoundrel.  
 
“I don’t understand elder,” says the pastor. “If he is a scoundrel can he buy a 
book for a pastor?” 
 
“If you don’t know Kotleng, you don’t know a human being,” said Namodi.  
 
“Kotleng is not a human being, he is a wild beast. He can tear you apart whilst 
laughing. He is a real hypocrite. People know all the disgusting things that he 
is doing in the community. Nonsense!). 
 
Namodi acts as a tritagonist or a mediator in the novel, to protect those good 
aspirations and ambitions of pastor Mohau Motswahole. The ambitions of remaining 
28 
 
an upright person and being a man of integrity. He protects the pastor against the 
malicious acts of Kotleng who wants to defile his good reputation. 
Namodi can be described as a very kind and mercifull person to people who are well 
behaved, but very stern and harsh to arrogant and pompous people such as Kotleng. 
 
3.2.4 Katisi  
Katisi is a boy who stays with the pastor and his wife at the mission house. He is the 
church pianist. Katisi is initially a disciplined and well-behaved boy but as time goes 
he changes and becomes an adulterer. As a result of his antisocial behaviour, he ends 
up engaging in a secret love affair with pastor Mohau Motswahole’s wife, Mmakgotso. 
The narrator says:  
 
Ke Katisi ya bintshang sehlopha sa dibini. Na ngwana enwa ke kgalala! Hoja 
ebe e ne e se ka makatikati ana a hae, Katisi o ne a tla ya hole ka mmino. Hoja 
ebe o ne a se tjee, o ne a tla qetella e le ngaka ka mmino, a bintsha dihlopha 
tsa lefatshe. Empa Katisi o ne a ntse a se tjena. O qadile mekgwa ena ya hae 
hoba kgarebe yane ya hae e mo etsetse makatikati. Matsatsing ana ditaba tsa 
Kgahliso ha di sa hlakisisa hantle. Sena se ferekanya Katisi haholo, hoo ho 
seng ho utlwahala hore o se a bonwa le dibakeng disele. Le ha ho le jwalo o 
ntse a bintsha sehlopha. Ha e le kajeno lena teng, o haketse (Maphalla, 
2005:20-21). 
 
(It is Katisi, who is the choir conductor. This child is a gem! If it was not because 
of his disgusting things, Katisi would go very far with music. If he was not like 
this, he would end up being a doctor of music, conducting choirs of the world. 
But Katisi was not like this. He started this behaviour of his after his girlfriend 
did disgusting things to him This upsets Katisi very much, to such an extent that 
it is being said that nowadays Katisi is seen in strange places. However, he is 
still conducting the choir. As for today, he is excellent). 
 
 
 
 
 
29 
 
3.2.5 Matsekane 
  
Matsekane is a character who is out to humiliate the pastor. He is evil and schemes 
with women to destroy the good name of Pastor Motswahole.  After the incident at 
Lefulesele’s place, he calls the pastor to humiliate him. He says: 
 
“Dumela moruti, hlokomela hore borikgwana boo bo ka hare ha se ba hao. Ba 
hao ke bona ho nna. O a bo batla?” Moruti a itlhahloba. Banna! Ha eka o tenne 
borikgwana ba basadi tjee! Ho etsahetse jwang? Meholo ke dinoha!  (Maphalla, 
2005:106-107). 
(Hello Pastor, take notice of the underwear that you are wearing, it is not yours. 
Yours is here with me, do you want it? The pastor looked at himself. Man! Why 
is it like he is wearing women’s underwear! How did it happen? Miracles never 
end!). 
  
Matsekane derives pleasure from humiliating Pastor Motswahole. He uses one of 
the girls at Lefulesele’s place, Dilahlwane, to achieve his motives. Matsekane is 
ambitious and does not like Pastor Motswahole. After calling Pastor Motswahole he 
says the following to his wife: 
“Ditaba ho fihla moo di nnatefelang jwalo ka dikuku tsa mokete wa lenyalo,” ke 
Matsekane eo ha a fihla ha hae a tsamaela hodimo, a leletse, dimpa tsena a di 
behile mane. Jwale ho tla hlakisisa hantle hore banna ke bafe, ha bashanyana 
e le bafe (Maphalla, 2005:108). 
  
(I am beginning to enjoy the news like the cakes of a wedding party,” that is 
Matsekane who arrived at home in a hurry, with his head up, his tummy 
bulging. It will be clear now who are men and who are boys). 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30 
 
3.3  Portrayal of female characters 
 
3.3.1 Mmakgotso  
Mmakgotso was the first wife Pastor Motswahole. She passed on in a car accident. 
The name Mmakgotso means a peaceful woman. She is very protective of her 
husband. 
Mmakgotso can be regarded as a round character because the good things about her 
life but the negative things also. After her death disgusting secrets about her are 
revealed. It is said that she had a secret love affair with the boy who stayed with them 
at the mission house. There is also a rumour that when she passed on, she was 
pregnant but not with Pastor Motswahole’s child. She is portrayed as an adulteress in 
the novel.  
Mmakgotso is a very jealous woman and does not want other women visiting her 
husband, Pastor Motswahole. She says the following to the women who want to see 
the pastor: 
“Ntate moruti o teng. Empa maipolelo a dibe le ho kopa tshwarelo tsona ha di 
etswe ho yena, di etswa ho Modimo. Ke Modimo feela ya ka tshwarelang motho 
dibe le melato.  Moruti ke motho jwalo ka ba bang. Ha a na matla” (Maphalla, 
2005:39-40). 
(“The pastor is here. But as for the confessions of sins and the forgiveness 
thereof, they are not done to him, they can only be done to God. God is the only 
one who can forgive people their sins and transgressions. A pastor is a human 
being like others. He has no powers”). 
 
Besides being jealous, Mmakgotso is also portrayed in the novel as an unfaithfull 
woman because she falls in love with a boy who serves in the church as a choir 
conductor. The name of the boy is Katisi. The unfaithfulness of Mmakgotso is revealed 
in the novel as follows: 
 
“Ho thwe kamano eo ngwetsi ya hao le moshanyana eno ya neng a dula le 
bona mono ba neng ba ena le yona, e ne e hlile e belaetsa haholo,” ho rialo 
Mmamohau ho monna wa hae. “Ho thwe e se e le makgetlo a mangata 
31 
 
Mmabatho a ba kgaoletsa ka phaposing ya ho robala, Mohau a le siyo. Ho bile 
ho thwe le yena ngwana eo ngwetsi ya hao e neng e mo lebelletse, e ne e se 
wa Mohau. Menyenyetsi e rialo!” (Maphalla,2005:39-40). 
(It is said that, the relationship between your daughter-in-law and the boy who 
stayed with them was very suspicious,” says Mmamohau to her husband. “It is 
said that on several occasions Mmabatho had caught them unexpectedly in the 
bedroom in the absence of Mohau. It is further said that even the child whom 
your daughter-in-law was expecting, was not Mohau’s child. Rumours say so!”).  
 
3.3.2 Mmalekwetje   
Mmalekwetje is a staunch member of Motswahole’s congregation. However, she is a 
hypocrite because she does not abide by the principles and doctrines of Christianity. 
She is a shebeen owner, and there are prostitutes at her place whom she uses to 
make money. She is a round character as she later comes to her senses, makes up 
her mind and repents after the pastor pays him a visit and talks with her about the 
evilness of her business. The narrator says the following about Pastor Motswahole’s 
visit to Mmalekwetje: 
Moruti o ile a boela a ipha sebaka sa ho ya buisana le Mmalekwetje ka taba 
ena ya hae ya ho rekisetsa le bana ba masea jwala. A hla a mo toba, a se ke 
a mo tshaba jwalo ka banna ba bang lekgotleng la kereke, ba mo 
thothomellang.  
“Kgetho ke ya hao, mmarona,” ke yena moruti eo, ha a phethela ditaba tsa 
hae. “Empa o tla lokela ho tseba hore o tla lokela ho ikarabela ho Modimo ka 
tsatsi le leng ka baka la kgetho e nngwe le e nngwe eo o e etsang.” Ho tloha 
tsatsing leo ho ile ha bonahala phethoho moo ha Mmalekwetje. Le marata a 
ne a batla a fokotseha (Maphalla, 2005:118). 
(The pastor once more gave himself a chance to talk to Mmalekwetje about 
this matter of selling liquor to young children. He faced her, he did not fear her 
like other men of the church council, who were afraid of her.  
“The choice is yours, our mother,” says the pastor, as he concluded his 
conversation. But you must know that you will account to God for whatever 
32 
 
choice that you are going to make. From that day there seemed to be a change 
at Mmalekwetje’s place. Even the noise subsided).  
3.3.3 Lefulesele  
Lefulesele is a merciless and malicious woman. She defames Pastor Motswahole’s 
good and noble character. Just like Mmalekwetje, she is also the owner of a shebeen. 
She also uses prostitutes at her place to make money. Pastor Motswahole pays her a 
visit and she mixes cold-drink with beer and gIve it to him. 
When the pastor becomes drunk, she gives orders to one of the prostitutes by the 
name of Dilahlwane to undress and seduce him.  
The name Lefulesele means a dreadful or terrible disease or plaque. There is a 
Sesotho idiomatic expression that goes, Bitso lebe ke seromo. This expression means 
that if a person has a name with a bad meaning, that person’s actions will be as bad 
as their name. Lefulesele’s actions resemble her name. Just like Mmalekwetje, 
Lefulesele is also a round character because at a later stage in the novel, she shows 
signs of remorse and repents. 
Lefulesele’s repentance is illustrated as follows:  
Ho se ho utlwahetse hore diphaposi tsa Lefulesele di kwetswe esale hoba 
Dilahlwane a nye matsete. O tshepisitswe hore ha a ka boela a pheta, o tla 
kwallwa tjhankaneng nako e telele. Yena a tshepisa hore ha ho sa tla etsahala 
manyampetla ano a bolelwang a etswa moo. O bakile (Maphalla, 2005:117). 
(It is being said that Lefulesele’s rooms have been closed, after Dilahlwane 
disclosed all the prostitution that happened at her place. She has been 
promised that should it happen again, she wiil be locked in jail for a long period. 
She promised that the horrible things that happened at her place will not happen 
again. She said that she has repented). 
 
3.3.4 Dilahlwane  
Dilahlwane is a prostitute at Lefulesele’s place. The name Dilahlwane, is derived from 
the verb lahla which means to throw away. Because of her name, Dilahlwane lives like 
33 
 
an outcast or someone who is being thrown away. She sleeps with different men 
without realising that she is putting her life at risk. She gives pastor Motswahole a cold- 
drink mixed with alcohol and when he was heavily intoxicated, she undresses him on  
the instructions of Lefulesele.This is the greatest embarrassment on the side of Pastor 
Motswahole. This incident dented Motswahole’s reputation. 
Dilahlwane is a round character because she shows the signs of remorse and goes to 
Pastor Motswahole to ask for forgiveness:  
Moruti Mohau o ne a ntse a tshwarane le dipampiri tsa hae ha a tla bolellwa ke 
Mmabatho hore ho na le mmenyana ya kopang ho tla mmona. Moruti o ile a re 
eo a kene ka ofising ya hae. Ha kena mang? O ke ke wa dumela. Dilahlwane! 
E, yena Dilahlwane ka sebele. Moruti a batla a nyaronyaroha, empa ka ha e se 
e le nakwana a sebetsana le makatikati, a se ke a tshoha haholo. Ke bophelo, 
bo tjena. “Moruti taba ya ka kajeno e nngwe feela e ntlisitseng mona,” ke yena 
Dilahlwane eo, ho ba ho dumedisanwe, ho be ho botsanwe le maphelo jwalo 
ka tlwaelo. “Ke tlile ho kopa tshwarelo ho wena.” A dula fatshe Dilahlwane 
(Maphalla, 2005:114). 
(Pastor Mohau was still busy with his paperwork when Mmabatho told him that 
there is a young woman who wants to see him. The pastor said that person 
must come in his office. Who entered? You will not believe it. Dilahlwane! Yes, 
Dilahlwane personally. The pastor almost became startled, but because it was 
quite a long time that he had been dealing with disgusting things, he was not 
too scared. It is life, it is like that. “Pastor, there is only one thing that brought 
me here today,” that was Dilahlwane after exchanging greetings as usual. “I am 
here to ask for forgiveness.” She sat down). 
Dilahlwane realises that she has made a mistake by allowing people like Kotleng and 
Matsekane to manipulate her into humiliating Pastor Motswahole. Pastor Motswahole 
accepts her forgiveness but warns her that she has to make a choice and she must 
know that whatever choice she makes she will be accountable before God for making 
such a choice. 
 
 
34 
 
3.3.5 Marikie  
In the novel, Marike is a white lady who falls in love with Motswahole after the death 
of his wife, Mmakgotso. She is a friendly person. A person with unconditional love 
towards Motswahole. She is without racial prejudice because even though she is a 
white person, she marries a black man.   She can also speak Sesotho fluently.  
Mohau and Marikie’s meeting is described by the narrator as follows:  
Mantsibuya ona ao Moruti o ile a fumana mohala o tswang ho mofumahadi 
Odendaal, o mo memelang polasing moo kajeno. Ha se yena feela moeti 
kajeno mona polasing. Moeti e mong ke mosetsana e mosweu, Marikie.  
“Marikie o tseba Sesotho le ho mphetha,” ho rialo mofumahadi Odendaal ha a 
mo tsebisa mosetsana eo. “O tseba ka polasi ho mpheta. Lebitso la hae la 
Sesotho ke Mmamosa. Ha e le yena o hlahetse teng, a ba a holela ho na moo 
polasing.” Mohau le Marikie ba hla ba thabela ho tsebana. Ha hla ha hlaka hore 
mofumahadi Odendaal o ne a sa swase, ha a ne a re enwa motho o tseba 
Sesotho, le ho tseba ka polasi ho mo feta. Mmamosa a tsebisa Mohau ka 
mohlankana wa hae wa ho hlokahala kotsing ya sefofane. Mohau yena a mo 
tsebisa ka mohatsae wa ho hlokahala kotsing ya koloi.  
“Ho tla be ho loke,” ho rialo Mmamosa a behile letsoho la hae hodima lehetla 
la mohau. “Tse ntle di tla qetella di hlola tse mpe. Ha ho ka moo botle bo ka 
hlolwang ke bobe ha tsohle di se di phethilwe, Modimo o moholo!” 
“Kgabareng, ke nnete, tse ratwang ke Modimo ke tsona tse tla hlola.” Ba akana 
(Maphalla, 2005:81-82). 
(That very same night, the pastor received a phone call from Mrs Odendaal, 
inviting him to the farm. He is not the only visitor today at the farm. The other 
visitor is a white lady, Marikie.  
“Marikie can speak Sesotho better than me,” said Mrs Odendaal as she 
introduced the lady to him. “She knows more about farming than me. Her 
Sesotho name is Mmamosa. As for her, she was born and bred on that farm. 
Mohau and Marikie were happy to know each other. It became clear that Mrs 
Odendaal was not joking when she said Marikie is fluent in speaking Sesotho, 
35 
 
and that she knows more about farming than her. Mmamosa told Mohau about 
her boyfriend who died in an aeroplane crash. Mohau, in return, told her about 
his wife who died in a car accident. “Things will be fine,” said Marikie with her 
hand on Mohau’s shoulder.  “Good things will ultimately overcome evil ones. 
Whe all is said and done, there is no way that good can be defeated by evil. 
God is great,”  
“Finally, it is true that that which God loves will triumph.”  They kissed each 
other). 
 
 
3.4 Patriarchal expressions in Bophelo ke dihaeya. 
 
Most of the female characters in the novel, which include Moheanyane, Lefulesele 
Dilahlwane and Mmalekwetje are members of Pastor Motswahole’s congregation. 
However, they are very corrupt and perverse in their behaviour. They visit the mission 
house not with good intentions of getting spiritual support from the pastor and his wife, 
but with the evil and malicious intentions of enticing the pastor into falling in love with 
them. Their treacherous schemes are described by the narrator as follows:  
 
Jwale ha tla Moheanyane le Lefulesele mmoho. Mmakgotso o tsebile ha morao 
hore hantlentle Lefulesele e ne e se e le kgale a sa tle kerekeng ka baka la ho 
qabana le moruti Nyepetsi ka diketso tsa hae. E se e le ntho e tsejwang hore 
mono ha Lefulesele ho etsahala disala letsatsi le tjhabang le le dikelang. Ho na 
le banana ba dulang moo ha hae, mme ho se ho tumme hore nengneng ba 
rekisa mmele. Mapolesa a lekile ho fuputsa taba ena, empa e hana ho hla e 
hlakisisa hantle. Kajeno Lefulesele o tlile ka baka la metswalle ya hae 
Moheanyane le Mmatshaba ya ileng a ya bolella hore moruti e motjha ke 
leseisane la mohlankana, eo tshintshi e sa duleng lephekgeng la baki ya hae 
le motshetsheng wa borikgwe ba hae. Yena o mona ka tseo.  
“Re tlilo bona ntate,” ho rialo Lefulesele ntle le ho potoloha, ha Mmakgotso a 
ba amohela monyako. “Re tlo ipolela dibe le ho kopa tshwarelo. 
“Kgotsong bomme,” ho arabela Mmakgotso ka boikokobetso. “Ntate moruti o 
teng empa maipolelo a dibe le ho kopa tswarelo tsona ha di etswe ho yena, di 
36 
 
etswa ho Modimo. Ke Modimo feela ya ka tshwarelang motho dibe tsa le 
melato. Moruti ke motho jwalo ka ba bang. Ha a na matla.”  
“Tjhee, moo teng o a bolela mme,” ho rialo Lefulesele, empa ka pelong a ntse 
a re, “tlohela ho rera, mosadi towe! Ha se wena moruti nnake. Ha re a tla ho 
wena mona re tlile ho monnao. O bua nnete ha o re moruti ke motho. Le yena 
ke monna jwalo ka ba bang” (Maphalla, 2005:25-26). 
(Then came Moheanyane and Lefulesele. Mmakgotso discovered after some 
time that it has been a while that Lefulesele has not been coming to church 
because of her clash with Pastor Nyepetsi due to her actions. It is known that 
on a daily basis, disgusting things are happening at Lefulesele’s place. There 
are girls who stay at her place, and it is well known that at times they sell their 
bodies. The police tried to investigate this matter, but it is diificult to get at the 
bottom of it. Today Lefulesele has come because of her friends, Moheanyane 
and Mmatshaba who told them that the new pastor is a very handsome young 
man, whom even a fly cannot sit on his jacket or on the edge of his ironed 
trousers. She is only there for that.  
“We are here to see the pastor,” says Lefulesele without hesitation, when 
Mmakgotso welcomes them at the door.  “We are here to confess our sins and 
ask for forgiveness.”  
“Greetings ladies,” answers Mmakgotso humbly. “The pastor is here. But as for 
the confessions of sins and the forgiveness thereof, they are not done to him, 
they can only be done to God. God is the only one who can forgive people their 
sins and transgressions. A pastor is a human being like others. He has no 
powers”). 
“No, it is true ma’am,” says Lefulesele, but deep down in her heart she was 
saying. “Stop preaching, you woman! You are not the pastor my sister. We have 
not come to you here, we have come to your husband.  You are telling the truth 
when you say the pastor is a human being. He is also a man like the others.” 
 
It is clear from the excerpt above that Lefulesele and her friends have other motives 
than to genuinely see the pastor. They are disrespectful to Mmakgotso, the wife of the 
pastor. Lefusele’s intentions are evil as she wants to snatch Mmakgotso’s husband. 
Mmakgotso seem to be aware of her evil intentions, that is why she is telling them that 
they should ask for forgiveness from God and that the pastor is not the one who 
37 
 
forgives and listen to people’s confessions. Lefulesele is not ashamed to tell 
Mmakgotso that she is right when she says that the pastor is a human being and adds 
by saying that he is also like other men. The implication here is that the pastor also 
has weaknesses like other men. 
 
Mmakgotso, out of love and humanity, gives them a chance to see the pastor. They 
talk to him and discuss how handsome he is after they left.  The narrator says: 
 
Moruti a hlaha. Mohlang oo o ne a bile a tenne borikgwe bo bokgutshwanyane, 
ditlhafu tsena tse benyang di le kantle. Lefulesele le Moheanyane ba tona 
mahlo, ba ba ba shebana ka mahlong. Enwa he ke motho, ha se sebapallwa. 
Enwa o fapane hole le monnamoholo Nyepetsi ya neng a se a ba otsedisa. 
Mona teng ha ho mosadi ya tla otsela! “Enwa he ke moruti, eseng ngwanabo, 
ho rialo Lefulesele ha ba le tseleng e kgutlelang malapeng. “Na o e bone hantle 
tlhafu eo? O reng ka sephaka seo? Ha se ka o nanabela sa o re qhau! Jo! Ba 
tsheha, ba keketeha basadi (Maphalla, 2005:25-26). 
(The pastor appeared. On that day he had put on shorts, his shining legs laid 
bare. Lefulesele and Moheanyane stuck out their eyes, they looked at each 
other in the eyes. This one is a real man, not something to play with. This one 
is far different from the old man Nyepetsi who made us to fall asleep. With this 
one no woman is going to fall asleep!  
“This one is a real pastor, not his sibling,” says Lefulesele when they were on 
their way back home. “Did you clearly see that leg? What about that arm? If it 
can grab and hold you tight! Wow!”  The women laughed joyfully). 
 
The conversation between Lefulesele and her friends as indicated above, shows that 
they fantasize about the pastor. They are portrayed as homewreckers and evil. 
These women further plot against pastor Mohau Motswahole. They want to destroy 
his good reputation. As the members of his congregation, he innocently pays them a 
visit at Lefulesele’s place and it is where he is disgraced and dehumanized. He is given 
a cold drink, mixed with alcohol. This event is described by the narrator as follows:  
  
Lefulesele a bolellwa hore moruti o mo etetse, a bososela haholo, mme a re a 
iswe phaposing e ikgethang. A hla a re a iswe ka number4 le hara diphaposi di 
38 
 
le teng. Ba etsa jwalo. Moruti a iphumana a dutse a le mong ka phaposing eo 
e kgabisitsweng ka mokgwa wa yona. Maboteng mona ke ditshwantsho tsa 
batho ba batlang ba le feela (Maphalla, 2005:104). 
  
(Lefulesele was told that the pastor has visited her, she smiled profoundly and 
said that they should send him to a special room. She ordered them to send 
him to number4 even when there were other rooms. They did so. 
The pastor found himself sitting alone in that room which was decorated in its 
own way. On the walls there were pictures of people who were almost naked). 
 
Lefulesele is evil. She is happy that pastor Motswahole has visited her. This gives her 
a chance to execute her evil intentions. A lady by the name of Dilahlwane is sent to 
the room where the pastor is sitting. Clearly, the intention is to seduce the pastor. 
Dilahlwane goes to the room where the pastor is waiting:  
 
“Kgotso ntate moruti,” ke Dilahlwane eo, ha a kena ka phaposing ya hae, mme 
a fumana moruti a ntse a lekolana le mabota. “Na le wena o re etetse kajeno?” 
“Dumela kgaitsedi,” ho rialo moruti ka ho makala. O ne a lebelletse Lefulesele, 
empa ke mona ho kena Dilahlwane, a apere feela jwalo ka batho bano ba 
ditshwantshong tse leboteng. “Ke ne ke tlilo hlola mme Lefulesele ka ditaba tsa 
kereke, ho itswe ke mo emele hona mona.” 
“Tjhee, ke a utlwa,” ho rialo kgaitsedi ka lebososelo le leholo. “Mme Lefulesele 
o sa ntse a le maphathaphathe. O itse ke tlo o tlosa bodutu. Na nka o tshella 
senomaphodi? 
“Tjhee, kgaitsedi,” ho latola moruti. “Ha ke hlile ha ke tlo dula. Ke lakatsa ho 
tshohla taba e kgutswane feela le mme, ke nto ikela. O se ke wa ikgathatsa. 
“Ha se ho ikgathatsa, ntate moruti,” ke Dilahlwane eo, a se a ntse a qhatsetsa 
moruti senomaphodi. “Ho phomosetsa moeti ha se ho ikgathatsa, ke botho. Ke 
toka ho hlokomela moeti ka tshwanelo.”   
Dilahlwane a neheletsa moruti kgalase, mme eo a e nanabela ka lesisitheho le 
leholo. A moma. Dilahlwane le yena a iqapiletsa ka kgalaseng ya hae. Le yena 
a momamoma. Bobedi ba momamoma. “Motswakonyana ekaka o teng ka 
mona ka hara senomaphodi.” 
 “Motswako wa eng?”  
39 
 
“Ha ho utlwahale hantle, feela motswako ona o teng.”  
“Senomaphodi sena se monate haholo.”  (Maphalla, 2005: 104-105). 
 
(“Good day Pastor,” that is Dilahlwane, when she enters her room, and finding 
the pastor looking at the walls. “Have you also visited us today?” 
“Good day sister,” says the pastor in surprise. He was expecting Lefulesele, but 
here comes Dilahlawane, wearing exactly the same as the people in the 
pictures on the wall. “I came to visit Miss Lefulesele about the church matters. 
I was told to wait for her right here.”  
“No, I hear,” says the sister with a big smile. “Miss Lefulesele is still busy. She 
said I must come and entertain you whilst she is busy finishing the work she is 
doing. Can I serve you cold drink?”  
“No, my sister,” the pastor refused. “In fact I am not here to stay. I just want to 
have a brief discussion with her about something and then leave. Don’t bother 
yourself.”  
“It’s not bothering myself,” said Dilahlwane who was already beginning to serve 
the cold drink to the pastor. “Serving a visitor is not bothering oneself, its 
humanity. It is the right thing to take care of a visitor in a proper manner.” 
Dilahlwane handed over a glass to the pastor, and he took it with great doubt. 
He took a sip. Dilahlwane also poured some in her glass. And she also took a 
sip. They both took sips. “It’s like there is some mixture in this cold drink.”  
 “What mixture?”  
“It is not clear, but there is a mixture.”  
“This cold drink is very nice.”). 
  
Finally, the pastor becomes drunk and Dilahlwane undresses him. This is what 
Lefulesele says to Dilahlwane when she realises that the pastor is intoxicated: 
 
“Etsa mosebetsi wa hao ngwanana, kapa oo lebetse?”  
“Tjhe le ho leka,” ke Dilahlwane eo a hlobodisa moruti (Maphalla, 2005:106). 
(“Do your work girl, or have you forgotten?”  
“Not at all,” says Dilahlwane as she udresses the pastor). 
 
Dilahlwane, after doing all the bad things to Pastor Motswahole, she pretends to be 
40 
 
remorseful and goes to him to ask for forgiveness. She says the following in her 
repentance: 
 
“Moruti, taba ya ka kajeno e nngwe feela, e ntlisitseng mona,” ke yena 
Dilahlwane eo, hoba ho dumedisanwe, ho be ho botsanwe le maphelo jwalo ka 
tlwaelo. “Ke tlile ho kopa tshwarelo ho wena.” A dula fatshe Dilahlwane. A 
bolela ka moo moya wa hae le maikutlo a hae a lwebehlaneng ka teng ha a 
utlwa dillo tsa dikgutsana tse bakilweng ke diketso tsa hae. A bolela 
manyampetla a etsahalang mane ha Lefulesele! dikgoba! maswabisa! 
“Taba tsena e se e le tsa molao,” ho rialo moruti. “O lokela ho etsa bopaki bona 
molaong. Nna ke o tshwaretse.  Ho setse molao.” 
“Moruti, a ko mpholose, hle, ke kgaitsedi ya hao,” a fetoha ka mahlong, a 
tlerefala jwalo ka lehapu la hwetla (Maphalla, 2005:114-115). 
 
(“Pastor, there is only one thing that brings me here today. That is Dilahlwane 
after greeting each other as usual. “Pastor, there is only one thing that brought 
me here today,” that was Dilahlwane after greeting each other, as usual. I am 
here to ask for forgiveness. She sat down. 
 She confessed how her spirit and emotions are troubled when she hears the 
cries of the orphans caused by her evil deeds. She mentioned the evil things 
that happen at Lefulesele’s place! terrible things! shameful things!  
“These matters belong to the court of law,” says the pastor. “You have to testify 
this in the court of law. I have forgiven you. What is left is for the law to take its 
course.”  
“Pastor save me please, I am your sister,” her face changed and became as 
red as an autumn’s watermelon). 
 
 There are other female characters that are portyrayed negatively in the novel, 
Bophelo ke dihaeya. Characters such as Mmabatho and Ntswaki have a negative 
influence on other characters.  Ntswaki as one of the subsidiary characters in the 
novel, works at the bookshop. Ntswaki is portrayed as an unfaithful and a loose 
person. She is unmarried, and falls in love with married men. The narrator says: 
 
Mmamohau o tlohile Boikgutsong mokotla wa hae wa ditaba o sasametse. 
41 
 
hara tse ding, o ne a tseba hore Kotleng o na le bana ba bararo kapa ba bane 
motseng mona, ntle le ho ba hae ba tsheletseng kapa ba supileng. O ne a bile 
a bolelletswe hore Ntswaki o ne a le mmeleng ka baka la Kotleng, empa a etsa 
diaba. O ne a bile a bolelletswe hore banana ba moo ke mahare, ba itlhatswa 
bokantle, athe kahare ke dibodu (Maphalla, 2005:36-37). 
 
(When Mmamohau left Boikgutsong she had plenty of news. Amomgst them, 
she knew that Kotleng had three or four children in the community, besides his 
six or seven children. She was even told that Ntswaki was pregnant because 
of Kotleng, but she aborted. She was even told that the girls there are evil, they 
clean themselves from outside, but inside they are rotten).  
 
Ntswaki is further portrayed as an opportunist. After the death of Mmakgotso, the wife 
of Pastor Motswahole, she comes closer to the pastor with evil intentions of enticing 
him. The narrator says the following about Ntswaki’s evil intentions: 
 
Ha ba bang ba ntse ba thetsa ba bang mehaleng, ba ipuela leshano ba re ba 
ntse ba hlatswa dijana, ho na le ba hlileng ba etsang mosebetsi oo. Ba hlatswa 
dijana, ba a pepeaka ha ba na sebaka. Ba ntse ba akgela leihlo ho moruti ha a 
ntse a feta mane a tsietswe. Ba a ipotsa hore na ebe o a ba bona na, le hore 
na ebe o a elellwa hore tsietsi ya hae e ka monyela ka nako le motsotso ha a 
ka ikatametsa, mme a akgela lentswe le le leng feela le seng le ntse le 
lebelletswe ka tshepo. Ba theohetse banana, ha ba na kgefutso. Ba kgelelletse 
dikgororo. Hara bona re bona Ntswaki. Ke yena ya ka sehloohong. Ho bonahala 
a hlile a ipehile molaodi wa makgotla. Yena ho bonahala a ikemiseditse ho 
phumola Mohau menyepetsi ka puo le diketso. Mekgwa e mengata ya ho 
phumola motho dikeledi (Maphalla, 2005:35). 
(When others lie to the others on the telephones, telling lies that they are busy 
washing dishes, there are others who are really doing that work. They are up 
and down, busy washing dishes, they don’t find any rest. They now and then 
cast their eyes on the pastor as he passes by, in his wilderness. They ask 
themselves whether he has an eye for them, and whether he is aware that his 
problems can disappear in no time if he can come closer to them, and utter just 
one word which they positively anticipate. Girls are working, they don’t have 
42 
 
rest. They are sweating excessively. Amongst them, we see Ntswaki. She is at 
the at top. Seemingly she has put herself at the forefront. She seems to be 
ready to wipe off the pastor’s tears, verbally as well as by the actions. There 
are many ways to wipe a person’s tears). 
 
 Another character who is a subsidiary character in the novel is Mmantswaki. Just like 
her daughter, Ntswaki, Mmantswaki is an opportunist. She sees the passing of Pastor 
Motswahole’s wife as an opportunity for Ntswaki to get married. She wants her to lure 
the pastor into a love affair so that he may ultimately marry her. This is what she says 
to her daughter:  
“Moruti a ka sokola mosadi le ntse le le teng, Ntswaki?” ho botsa Mmantswaki 
a tonetse Ntswaki mahlo. “Athe banana ba kajeno le jwang?Basadi! “(Maphalla, 
2005: 57). 
(“How can the the pastor struggle to find a wife, whilst you are there, Ntswaki?” 
asks Mmantswaki, looking at Ntswaki with her eyes wide open. “Girls of today, 
why are you like this? Wow!”). 
 
Ntswaki is a hypocrite because she pretends as if she is not interested in the pastor 
and her reponse to her mother is as follows: 
 
Ke mang ya itseng moruti o hloka mosadi, mme?” ho botsa Ntswaki ka ho 
itshena le ho bososela ho ho hoholo. “Moruti ha a hloke mosadi. Taba e se e le 
hore o tla nyala neng. Athe ha o tsebe?” (Maphalla, 2005 :57). 
(“Who said the pastor needs a wife, mother?” asks Ntswaki shyly with a big 
smile. “The pastor does not need a wife. The issue is when is he getting 
married.  Don’t you know?”). 
 
Patriachy is a form of male dominance over women as explained earlier in this work. 
It is a system that perceives women in negative terms. In a literary text, female 
characters may be perceived or portrayed by the author or other characters as weak, 
dangerous, malicious, conniving and so forth. It is evident from the analysis of the 
novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya, that both male and female characters treat each other 
differently. Female characters are portrayed negatively. They are portrayed as 
malicious, treacherous, conniving, opportunistic and evil.  
43 
 
Most female characters in the novel, such as Lefulesele, Moheanyane, Mmalekwetje 
and Dilahlwane, are being depicted as ill-disciplined and ill-mannered. The novel 
presents these female characters as hypocrites because they are staunch church 
members, but their behaviour is contrary to what they are supposed to do and be.   
 
Furthermore, the names of female characters in the novel reveal much about their 
character traits.  Most of them have degrading names. The name Lefulesele refers to 
a plague, which is a terrible and infectious disease. Her actions and deeds resemble 
her name.  The name Dilahlwane is derived from the verb lahla which means to throw 
or to cast away. She behaves like an outcast and a person who does not care. She is 
being used as a prostitute by Lefulesele to dehumanise and humiliate pastor 
Motswahole. 
Mmalekwetje is a shebeen owner. Terrible and evil things happen at her place.  
Mmakgotso, the first wife to Pastor Motswahole is also presented negatively in the 
novel. She becomes a sugar mommy to Katisi, the boy who stays with them, and who 
is the church pianist. Her unfaithfulness is shocking. 
Women in the novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya are being used and dominated by men. 
Matsekane influences Lefulesele and Dilahlwane to humiliate Pastor Motswahole. 
Kotleng abuses Ntswaki sexually and impregnates her.  
 
Unlike female characters in the novel who are portrayed negatively, most male 
characters are working and are living lives of high standards which are opposite to 
female characters, who are mere caricatures. Kotleng is a counsellor and drives smart 
cars. Matsekane is a politician who, in most cases, contests with Kotleng for council 
leadership positons.  
 
The researcher therefore deduces from the anaylsis of the novel that men are elevated 
to high positions whereas women are presented as unfaithful and sex objects, 
considering the likes of Ntswaki and Mmakgotso. He further deduces from the analysis 
of the novel that the issue of portraying women negatively in male-written texts is 
manifest in the modern novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya.  
 
 
 
44 
 
3.5  Conclusion 
 
In this chapter, different male and female characters in the novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya, 
have been analysed.  Patriarchal expressions, as they manifest in the novel, have 
been touched on. Female characters are depicted negatively in the sense that they do 
evil things to men whereas some male characters are presented in a positive light, 
driving smart cars and occupying high positions in society.  
 
Female characters are unfaithful, sex objects, conniving, untrustworthy and evil. The 
portrayal of female characters in the novel, is an indication of the culture of patriarchy 
which sees men as better than women. Female characters  do not break the patriachal 
tendencies. They are still trapped under the patriachal culture which sees the 
dominance of men over women. Kotleng and Matsekane are male characters that 
manipulate and drive female characters into doing evil things. Mmalekwetje and 
Lefulesele use their places as brothels. It is also interesting to note that the girls of 
Boikgutsong are clean outside, but rotten inside.    
  
The following chapter will deal with the analysis of the novel, Hei! ke tsamaile. 
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
45 
 
CHAPTER FOUR 
ANALYSIS OF HEI! KE TSAMAILE 
 
4.  Introduction  
 
In this chapter, the analysis of the novel, Hei! Ke tsamaile authored by Tsephe (2008), 
is made. The purpose of this analysis is to highlight patriarchal tendencies as they 
manifest in the novel. The researcher shall discuss male and female characters with 
the intention to show how male characters treat female characters. As mentioned 
above, the novel is authored by Tsephe, a female author.  And it is again, as was the 
case with the analysis of Bophelo ke dihaeya, worth mentioning that not only does the 
researcher attempts to find out how partriachal tendencies manifest in the novel, but 
it is also important to see if they manifest because the novel is written by a female 
author or not. The novel is narrated from a first person perspective. 
 4.1 Summary of Hei! Ke tsamaile  
Sepapatlele is the main character in this novel and is struggling academically. She is 
the first-born child at home. However, her younger sister and brother, Palesa and 
Tswelopele perform better than her academically. Palesa is about to finish her matric 
when people from one of Bapedi tribes visit her family to pay lobola for her. This does 
not sit well with Sepapatlele because her father always makes reference to Palesa 
when reprimanding her, telling her that Palesa is young and is smarter than her. 
Sepapatlele becomes frustrated by her father’s attitude towards her. Her father does 
not support her in whatever she does. He sees her as weak, good for nothing and dull. 
As a result, in order to get comfort she ends up living a careless life of engaging in 
love affairs with different men. She also induges in alcohol. 
She falls in love with Bolokwe who does not genuinely love her but uses her as a sex 
object and later dumps her. 
Pinki, a friend to Sepapatlele, encourages her to lure Snoeky into falling in love with 
her.  
46 
 
Snoeky is a married man who also uses Sepapatlele as a sex object. And he also 
dumps her after Sepapatlele informs her that she is pregnant with his child.  
Sepapatlele, upon realising that she is pregnant, flees to KwaZulu-Natal out of fear of 
her father. There, she lives a very miserable life. She is attacked by criminals who 
steal her money and cellphone. She decides to go back home and ask for forgiveness 
from her father. On her arrival she finds out that her father had long passed on.  
 4.2 Portrayal of male characters 
4.2.1 Nonyana  
Mr Nonyana is Sepapatlele’s teacher. He is a respectful person and  is also a man of 
integrity. Sepapatlele wants to entice him into falling in love with her but he resists and 
maintains his high moral standards. He is not weak. He knows what he wants in life and 
is not easily deceived. The narrator explains how Sepapatlele tries her luck in enticing 
him: 
Ko ko ko, ke nna eo ke se ke kokota ha mosuwe Nonyana.  “Ke mang?” ho botsa 
yena a le ka tlung. Yare moo a ntseng a botsa ka be ke se ke ikakgetse ka hare 
nna moradia Bataung. “Hao mosuwe Nonyana ke nna hle ke ne ke re ke tlo o 
thusa ka ho re ke o hlwekisetse ka tlung ka mona” ke nna eo ke ntse ke qala ke 
phuthaphutha dijana ke qala ho di hlatswa.  Ke apere mose o mokgutshwanyane, 
sqepezana ntho eo e reng ha ke tonosa ho nne ho hlahe ditshwinyetso le nna he 
ka hla ka pekotsa ke ntse ke tonosetsa ka ho yena ka mona (Tsephe, 2008:17) 
(Knock knock knock, that is me knocking at teacher Nonyana’s place. “Who is it?”  
it is him asking from inside the house. Whilst he was still asking I had already 
entered the house, me the Bataung daughter. “Teacher Nonyana please it is me,  
I am here to help you clean the house.” That is me starting to gather the dishes 
and washing them. I was wearing a short dress, a mini skirt something which 
would expose my behind when I bend and I was proud to be twerking in his 
direction). 
Mr Nonyana is not impressed by Sepapetlele’s behaviour and  says the following to her: 
“Tsamaya o ye hae moithuti mohlomong mme Mmasenganangana o ntse a 
47 
 
ipotsa hore na o nyametse kae.”  “E seng ke o aenele diaparo tsa hao tseo o tla 
di apara hosane sekolong abuti?”  “Sepapatlele ha ke abuti ho wena le ha o le 
haka mona ke ntse ke le mosuwe wa hao, na re a utlwana?” (Tsephe, 2008:18). 
(“Go home learner, maybe Mrs Senganangana is wondering as to where have 
you disappeared to.”  “Don’t you think that I should iron your clothes which you 
will wear tomorrow when you go to school brother?”  “Sepapatlele I am not your 
brother even when you are here at my place I am still your teacher, do we 
understand each other?” 
Nonyana’s response clearly indicates that he is a man of intergrity and could notice the 
intentions of Sepapetle and he politely dismisses her. Sepapatlele is shamelss to do the 
things that she is doing to her teacher. She lacks morals and values to stoop so low with 
the intentions of enticing her teacher. Her actions reveal her as a loose girl who does not 
hesitate to fall in love with her elders. 
4.2.2 Bolokwe  
Bolokwe is a young man who falls in love with Sepapatlele. The name Bolokwe when 
loosely translated, means animal dung. This young man’s name resembles his actions 
and behaviour, and there is nothing good that he does in the novel. There is a Sesotho 
idiomatic expression that goes, Bitso lebe ke seromo. This expression means that if a 
person has a name that denotes something bad, there is a likelihood that his or her 
actions will be as bad as the name. 
Bolokwe is a very irresponsible and selfish man who thinks only about what is good and 
beneficial to him. He does not care what repercussions his actions might have on others. 
He falls in love with Sepapatlele with the purpose of satisfying his lust. He is selfish self-
centered and does not care about the future of Sepapatlele. He allows Sepapatlele to 
stay at his place without going to school. Sepapatlele says the following about her 
relationship with Bolokwe: 
E ne e se e re ha ke tlameha ho ya sekolong ke ikele ha Bolokwe ke itulele teng 
letsheare lohle, etlare ha sekolo se etswa le nna ke lebe hae. Ntho ena e nkile 
dikgwedi di se kae ke ntse ke tsoha hoseng ke leba ha Bolokwe. Ha Bolokwe a 
kena motsheare ke itulele sepotong ha Mmamatswele. Bolokwe ke mohlankana 
48 
 
wa ka eo ke ntseng ke bonyetsana le yena. Ka mosebetsi ke molebedi. Ka letsatsi 
le leng ha re ntse re dutse le Bolokwe ke ha a se a mpotsa hore na athe sekolong 
ke tla ya neng ha ke ntse ke duletse ho shebana le yena ka mahlong tjena. “O 
reng Bolokwe? O kgathetse ke nna jwale ha o sa tseba hore o ka reng? Ha o se 
o sa nthate o bolele nna ke tla hata kosene yane hona jwale tjena” (Tsephe, 
2008:30). 
(When I had to go to school, I would instead go to Bolokwe’s place and spend the 
whole day there. After school I would go back home. This thing of waking up in 
the morning and going to Bolokwe’s place lasted for some months. When 
Bolokwe was on a day shift I would go and stay at Mmamatswele’s tavern. 
Bolokwe is my boyfriend with whom I am flirting. He works as a security guard. 
One day as we were sitting together Bolokwe asked me as to when will I go to 
school because I am always with him staring him in the eye. “What are you saying, 
Bolokwe?  Are you tired of me now, and you no longer know what to say? If you 
no longer love me you must say it, and I will leave right now”).  
Bolokwe is shocked at how Sepapatlele reacts when he asks her about school. On the 
one hand, one can say that he shows some sense of responsibility in this regard, while  
on the other hand,  he seems fed up with her and wants to get rid of her by asking her 
about school. However, he does not want to show Sepapatlele openly that he is fed up 
with her and he says the following to her:   
“Butle hle Sepapatlele nna ke bua jwalo hobane le nna ke ntse ke ithuta ka 
ngollano le bana ba Yunivesithi ya Afrika Borwa (UNISA) (Tsephe, 2008:30). 
(Please wait Sepapatlele, I am saying this because I am also studying at the 
University of South Africa (UNISA). 
Bolokwe knows very well that when he mentions the issue of education, Sepapatlele will 
not like it. She is not interested in education and that is why every morning instead of 
going to school she comes to him and if he is working day shift she goes to pass time at 
the tavern. She has no direction in life and does not care about her own future. She flirts 
with different men. 
 
49 
 
4.2.3 Snoeky   
Snoeky is also one of Sepapatlele’s boyfriends. He is a greedy and unfaithful person 
because he has his own wife yet falls in love with a school girl. Just like in the case of 
Bolokwe, his intentions of falling in love with Sepapatlele are to satisfy his lust.  He falls 
in love with Sepapatlele only to dump her at a later stage. 
The love affair between Snoeky and Sepapatlele started this way: 
Ra hla ra dumellana mme Pinki a hla nkeletsa ka thata a re ke kgaohane le 
Radibuka ke bone hore ke tswa le jwang. “Etswe Snoeky kgale a o batla le wena 
mmannyeo o duletse ho shebana le tsheretshere ena ya hao. “Phautshethe eno 
ha ke sa batla le ho e bona ka leihlo feela.” Ra tsheha hamonate ya ba ke ho 
kgaohana ha ka le Bolokwe mme ka nkana le Snoeky, monna wa lelapa la hae 
ya bileng a benyang lesale la kgauta monwaneng wa bobedi letsohong le 
letshehadi ke a o bolella (Tsephe, 2008:31). 
(We then agreed and Pinki strongly advised me to dump the bookworm, and think 
of another alternative.  “Snoeky has long showed that he wants you yet you are 
still stuck to this idiot of yours.”  “I no longer want to see that idiot. We laughed 
joyfully and that was the end of me and Bolokwe and I fell in love with Snoeky, a 
family man with a shining gold wedding ring on the finger of his left hand. I am 
telling you). 
Their love affair does not end well. Sepapatlele becomes pregnant by Snoeky and when 
she reports the pregnancy to him, he denies that it is his child and dumps Sepapatlele. 
Sepapatlele later goes back to him crying, as advised by Pinki, and she says: 
Pinki o ile a nkeletsa hore ke boele ho Snoeky ke fihle ke lle hore ya boi a tjhetjhe, 
empa mang na? Ke llile hore ho fele meokgo empa ha nna ha tshwana feela, ka 
qetella ke bone hore mona teng ke teile kalala (Tsephe, 2008:32). 
(Pinki advised me to go back to Snoeky and cry endlessly, but to whom? I cried 
until my tears went dry, but it was all in vain. I realised that I have utterly failed). 
 
50 
 
4.2.4 Senganangana  
Senganangana is Sepapatlele’s father. He is cruel, merciless and irresponsible. He 
tortures and harasses his elder daughter, Sepapatlele, emotionally and physically. He 
refers to her as baehlotse, a word which refers to a child with a very bad behaviour. 
Senganangana says that Sepapatlele takes after her aunt, Molelekeng, who was very ill-
mannered:  
Le rakgadi Molelekeng yane eo ke neng ke hlola ke utlwa mme le ntate ba bua 
ka yena ha ke tsebe hore na o dula hokae. Etswe e ne e re le ha ho buuwa ka 
yena ho ne ho se ntho e ntle eo ho neng ho buuwa ka yona ka yena. Ntate o ne 
a mmitsa ka hore ke baehlotse. Ha a na boitshwaro. Ntate o ne a bua ka yena ha 
a nkgalemela kapa ha a hopotse ho nthohaka a mpolella hore nna ke tshwana le 
Molelekeng. Ntate o ne a hlola a bolela hore moya wa rona o tla tshaba ho ya 
diheleng hobane o tla be o tshaba ho tjha, empa le Modimo o tla o tebela hobane 
le yena o tla be a sa o batle o hanne ho mo sebeletsa o sa le lefatsheng (Tsephe, 
2008:54). 
(And aunt Molelekeng the one I would always hear my mother and father talk 
about I don’t know where she stays. Even when they talked about her there was 
nothing good they mentioned about her. My father used to say that she was good 
for nothing. My father used to talk about her when reprimanding me or when he 
wanted to insult me telling me that I am like Molelekeng. My father used to say 
that our soul would not like to go to hell, because it will be afraid of been burnt, 
but God also will refuse to accept this soul because it never served him whilst on 
earth). 
Senganangana’s cruelty towards Sepapatlele is further illustrated thus:   
Jwaloka ha ke se ke boletse nna ntate o ne a sa batle le ho mpona moo ke 
hatileng teng, ke ne ke mo nkgela athe le nna ke mo tshaba lebekebeke. E ne e 
re ha a kena a fapane le nna monyako, ke ne ke sa emele le hore a mpone. Ke 
ne ke se ke sa jelle le tafoleng ke jella ka kitjheneng, feela hona ho ne ho nthusa 
hobane e ne e re ha ba ile le kgongwana hodimo ba re ke ka kamoreng athe kgale 
ke nyolosa ke theosa boithabisong. Bosiu bo esa tshekge ke le tlong ya thitelo, 
51 
 
ke se ke le lehlapelwa (Tsephe, 2008:21). 
(As I have already mentioned, my father hated me very much, it was as if I had a 
very bad smell for him and  I also feared him very much. Every time he enters 
through the door, I would not even wait for him to see me. I did not eat at the 
dinner table but in the kitchen, this was helped me because when they thought I 
was in the bedroom I would then be enjoying myself at the places of 
entertainment. I would spend the whole night at the tavern until morning, I was 
already a drunkard).  
Sepapatlele is not doing well at school and her father fails to give her the necessary 
fatherly love and support. He always demoralises, mocks and beats her for poor 
performance at school. His behaviour drives Sepapatlele into doing bad things. Trying to 
appease her soul and spirit, she becomes a drunkard and falls in love with different men. 
She ends up being pregnant and because of her fear of her abusive father, she flees to 
KwaZulu-Natal. To show that Senganangana is a very irresponsible father, he never 
bothers to go out and search for his daughter. 
4.2.5 Tswelopele  
Tswelopele is the younger brother to Sepapatlele. He is a well-behaved boy and just like 
Palesa, highly loved by his parents. The name Tswelopelo means success. His actions 
resemble his name because he does very well at school and has a musical talent as 
well. He passes matric and gets a bursary to study music abroad. His father is proud of 
him. Upon receiving the good news about the bursary, he calls him to share the news 
with him: 
 “Mmasenganangana, Tswelopele o kae?” Ke ntate eo. “Ke kgolwa hore o ile poratising 
mane kerekeng, akere kajeno ke lona letsatsi leo ba binang ka lona.” Ke mme eo. 
Kgaitsedi ya ka ha e bine e a tsanyaola, ha a phokola pina mane kerekeng maqheku le 
maqhekwana a itshela ka dikgapha. “Sepapatlele matha o mmitse.” Ka utlwa ntate a 
bolella Tswelopele hore o thotse tsheetso ya tjhelete ya hore a tsamaye a ye mose ho 
mawatle ba ke ba ilo mo rupella ka mmino, mme o ne a duletse ho itshela ka dikgapha, 
a lla meokgo ya thabo (Tsephe, 2008:23-24). 
52 
 
(“Mmasenganangana, where is Tswelopele?” That is my father. “I suppose he has gone 
to the practice at the church, it is the day on which they sing.” That is my mother. My 
brother is such an excellent singer. When he starts a song at church the elderly people 
would burst into tears. “Sepapatlele run quickly and call him.” I heard my father telling 
Tswelopele that he has been granted financial assistance to go and study music abroad, 
and my mother was continuously shedding the tears of joy). 
A discussion on the portrayal of female characters in the novel follows.  
 4.3 Portrayal of female characters  
 
4.3.1 Sepapatlele 
  
It is a belief in most African communities that if a parent gives a bad name to a child, that 
child will take after the name. His or her actions will be as the name denotes. The name 
Sepapatlele is derived from the verb papatlela which means wondering aimlessly 
everywhere. She flees from home because of the the cruel treatment she receives from 
her abusive father. 
She is struggling academically and her father does not give her emotional support. 
Instead, he demoralises and belittles her. These are Sepapatlele’e words when her father 
prepares to give her a hiding for failing the examinations: 
Ka utlwa ke sewa ke mala e ka nka potlakela ka ntlwaneng, ka ha ke ne ke tseba 
hore e bua disele feela. Selei se kgitlile lejwe. Jo nna Modimo wee ka le bona la 
moepa molelle monyolosa thaba. Tsatsing leo ke shapuwe hore ke be moputswa 
jwalo ka masumu wa dithako. Yare hake itekola ka iphumana ke le mehwabadi, 
kele mengwapongwapo, ke le mahwashe, eka ke mangweshepe wa mafika, ka 
tswa ka ipoqanya kantle thotobolong (Tsephe, 2008:13-14). 
(I felt my stomach running and I felt like I could rush to the toilet, as I knew that my 
school report was bad. Things are very difficult. Oh, my God, I am in great trouble. 
On that day, I was severely beaten up and looked grey like a cobra that stays in the 
ruins. When I looked at myself I was full of slight wounds, scratches and was rough 
like a lizard, that stays in the rocks, I went out and rolled myself up on the ash–
53 
 
heap). 
Sepapatlele is a rude and vengeful child. She is also greedy because she is not satisfied 
about the support she gets at home, particularly from her loving and caring mother. She 
is an attention seeker who falls in love with old and married men due to lack of parental 
love and support from her father. She fails several times at school as a result of her 
treacherous and cunning behaviour. She and her other friends arrive after break at 
school. When she finds the school gates locked she creeps through the hole that they 
have made into the school yard.  
She says the following about her treacherous behavior and that of her friends: 
Selei se kgitlile lejwe. A ke re nna le metswalle ya ka re ne re se re fihla sekolong 
ka nako ya kgefutso. Ha mesuwe le mesuwetsana e duletse ho di hehla ka mane 
ka phaposing ya bona (staff room) rona re ne re ikenela le terateng e tswe re ne 
re ile ra e phunya lesoba nako e sa le teng. E tla re ha mosuwe Phindela a botsa 
ka ha e le yena maratahelelamatswakotsi e be ke mmotsa hore na nka kena le 
ho kae athe heke e kwetswe e notletswe ho bile ho beilwe le molebedi ho yona. 
E be o tla thola a re tu monna wa letebele etswe e hlile ke otseotse tjena (Tsephe, 
2008:12-13). 
(It is difficult. Me and my friends used to arrive during break at school. When the 
teachers were busy talking in their staff room we would creep into the school yard 
through the hole that we had ealier made through the fence. If teacher Phindela 
asked us as he was an inquisitive person, I would then ask him as to where does 
he think I can enter the school yard as the gates were locked and even the security 
guard was there. He would just be dead quiet the Ndebele man for he was such 
an idiot). 
Besides being a rude child, Sepapatlele is also a thief. Her father is a pastor and she 
steals the offerings and spends it on beer with her friends. This behaviour is captured 
thus in the novel:  
Ka hopola matsatsi ane ao ke neng ke ipha tjhelete ya koleke ntle le ditumellano  
le ntate, e le hore nna le metswalle ya ka re tle re se ke ra ya sekolong re tsamaye 
re ilo re tjhwa tse batang mane tameneng ha Mmamatswele. Ntate a batanya 
54 
 
phafa le lefatshe ka itshwarella ka lebota, ka phahloha ho ja ke sa labella ka re: 
Jo nna Modimo wee ka le bona la moepa molelle monyolosa thaba (Tsephe, 
2008:13-14).  
(I remember that day when I embezzled the offerings  without my father’s consent. 
I took the money so that me and my friends could not go to school but instead go 
to Mmamatswele’s tavern to buy some cold beers. My father hit his whip on the 
ground and I had to hold myself against the wall. I cried loudly and said, “Alas! My 
God I am in big trouble now”).  
Sepapatlele is also treacherous and loves older men. She tries to lure Mr Nonyana, her 
teacher, into falling in love with her. She confesses her underlying love for him as follows:  
Atjhe mono teng motho wa heso ke ne ke sa ipatle, ke shwa ke ikepela. Ke ipona 
hantle ha ke se ke le mofumahadi Nonyana etswe le ho nyala o ne a eso nyale. 
Pelo e ja serati ka hla ka bona hore a sa nyale tjena o emetse nna moradia 
Senganangana (Tsephe, 2008:16). 
(I really loved him. I imagined myself being Mrs Nonyana, because he was not 
married yet. I loved him so dearly that I always thought about him. I thought that 
the reason why he is not yet married was because he was still waiting for me  
Senganangana’s daughter). 
  
Sepapatlele tries to seduce her teacher, Mr Nonyana but she does not succeed. She 
does all the dirty tricks to entice him with the hope that he will fall for her but all her 
intentions fail. She says: 
Ke apere mose o mokgutshwanyane, sqepezana ntho eo e reng ha ke tonosa ho 
nne ho hlahe ditshwinyetso le nna he ka hla ka pekotsa ke ntse ke tonosetsa ka 
ho yena ka mona (Tsephe, 2008:17). 
(I was wearing a short dress, a mini skirt something that would expose my behind 
when I bend and I also made it worse twerking in his direction).  
When Sepapatlele realises that Mr Nonyana is not interested in her, she quits. Due to 
frustration, Sepapatlele ends up absconding from school. She falls in love with a man 
55 
 
called Bolokwe, a security guard. Her affair with Bolokwe does not last. She dumps him 
and later falls in love with Snoeky, a married man. She says: 
Ya ba ke ho kgaohana ha ka le Bolokwe mme ke nkana le Snoeky, monna wa 
lelapa la hae ya bileng a benyang lesale la kgauta monwaneng wa bobedi 
letsohong le letshehadi. Ke a o bolella. Ha e le Snoeky yena o ne a sa reke o ne 
a nka ntho fatshe. Mona teng ka se ke ka ba letahwa, empa ka ba lehlapelwa. 
(Tsephe, 2008:30). 
(I parted with Bolokwe and fell in love with Snoeky, a married man with a shining 
goldern ring on his left second finger. I am telling you, Snoeky was buying a lot of 
beer. In this relationship, I didn’t become a drunkard but an alcoholic). 
Snoeky ends up impregnating her and Sepapatlele is shocked to realise that she is 
pregnant: 
Ka letsatsi le leng ha ke re ke a tsoha ka utlwa ke hlile ke sa ikutlwe hantle, ehlile 
nka hla ka re e ne e se e hlile e le matsatsinyana ntho ena e ntse e etsahala, e re 
jwalo hoseng ha ke tsoha ke ikutlwe ke nyekelwa ke pelo eka nka hlatsa. Pinki ha 
a utlwa taba tsena a ntshupa bookelong. Ao tsa lla ditshepe! Ke mmeleng mme 
dikgwedi di se di bile di le tharo ke tshwere ya bone (Tsephe, 2008:32). 
(One day as I woke up I could feel that there was something wrong with me. It 
was a few days that this has been happening for a few days. Every day as I woke 
up early in the morning I felt like vomiting. When Pinky heard about this she 
encouraged me to go to the hospital. Alas! The stethoscope indicated that I was 
pregnant. The tests confirmed that I was three months pregnant and was in the 
fourth month). 
When she realises that she is pregnant, and knowing very well that her father will react 
in a bad way, she steals money from the church coffers and flees to KwaZulu-Natal. In 
that strange land she does not have a place to sleep. She struggles to switch on her 
father’s cellphone which she stole when she left home. A boy sees her struggling with 
the cellphone and pretends to be a kind person and offers her help. He asks Sepapatlele 
to give him the cellphone so that he may go and buy her a new SIM card with a PUK  
number. The boy disappeares for a long time and when he comes back he is 
56 
 
accompanied by other criminals and they assault her: 
Ke sa ntse ke eme jwalo ka bona ho ena le monna e mong ya tlang a nsetse 
morao a ntse a tsamaya a sirela. Ka hlokomela hore motho enwa ha a mong o 
tsamaya le ba bang ba babedi. Ha ke ntse ke mo ya ka mahlo jwalo ka hlokomela 
hore ke moshemane yane ya nkileng mohala waka a re o ilo nthekela puk 
number. Ba nkgakgatha hore ke utlwe ke nyorilwe ka ba kopa metsi, empa ba se 
ke ba nnatsa le ho nnatsa ba tswela pele ka ditebele, dieta. Ntate o ne a ntshapa, 
empa ha a eso ka ba a ntjhapa tjena. (Tsephe, 2008:66-73). 
(Whilst I was standing like that I saw a man following me and he kept on hiding. I 
noticed that this person is not alone he is accompanied by the other two. As I was 
looking at him like that I noticed that it was that boy who took my phone saying 
that he was going to buy me the puk number. They assaulted me to the extent 
that I became so thirsty and asked them for water, but they did not listen to me 
and continued with fists and the kicking. My father used to beat me up, but he has 
never beaten me up like this).  
  Sepapatlele does not become successful in KwaZulu-Natal and decides to go back 
home. When she arrives at home, it is difficult for people and her own mother to 
recognise her. She looks very old. She says:  
Pompong o ne a se a sa ntsebe, empa re ne re hola kaofela re bile re bala 
sehlopha se le seng. Jwale tjena o se a mpitsa nkgono. Ha ke kena le mme a 
ntswalang o ile a hana ho dumela hore ke nna haholo hobane le lentswe laka le 
ne le se le tjhentjhile le thothomela ha ke bua. Ha mme a hlokomela hore ke nna  
a itshela ka dikgapha. Ka morao ho moo ka bolellwa hore ntate o se a ne a ikele 
boya batho. Ka nyahama ka ha ke ne ke se ke qetile le pelo yaka hore ke tlilo 
itshwela mokgubu ka pele ho ntate (Tsephe, 2008:195).  
(Pompong did not know me, yet we grew up together and we did the same grade 
at school. She now calls me granny. When I arrived at home even my mother who 
gave birth to me refused to believe that it was me, more especially because my 
voice had even changed, it was vibrating when I spoke. When my mom realised 
that it was me she burst into tears. She later told me that my father had passed 
57 
 
on. I became so disheartened as I was prepared to ask for forgiveness from him). 
The prodigal “daughter”, Sepapatlele, comes home a changed person and finds out that 
everything has changed and her father is no more. Perhaps if her father had showed 
parental love and support for her, the situation could have been different. But her father 
was blinded by patriarchal tendencies, looking down on her, as a woman, and perceiving 
her as weak and useless. 
4.3.2 Mmasepapatlele 
Mmasepapatlele is the mother of Sepapatlele and she is the mediator between 
Sepapatlele and her father, Senganangana. When Senganangana harasses and 
torments Sepapatlele physically and emotionally, she supports her and speaks with 
Senganangana on her behalf. 
This is what Mmasepapatlele says in trying to calm Senganangana down and also to 
make him change his attitude towards his daughter:  
“Ntate moruti ke kgathatsehile haholo ka Sepapatlele, motsheareng ona re ile ra 
ka ra bua…. Ntate ngwana o ile a mphetlela sefuba sa hae, ka nako e nngwe re 
hloleha ho ipha nako ya ho mamela le hona ho dula fatshe re buwe le bana ba 
rona. Ka nnete ntate Sepapatlele o ntse a ikemiseditse ka sekolo o mpa a feidiswa 
ke hlooho bothata” (Tsephe, 2008:28). 
(“Pastor, I am very much concerned about Sepapatlele, during the day we had a 
conversation… My husband, the child told me everything that troubles her, at 
times we fail to make time to sit down and talk with our children. It is true my 
husband, Sepapatlele is prepared to go to school but performs poorly there and 
fails because she is hard headed). 
Mmasepapatlele is a very patient woman. She humbles herself even though she is aware 
that Senganangana treats her child in an inhumane manner. Instead of acting out of 
anger and arrogance, she speaks with him in a very humble and polite manner. 
She is courteous and polite, as she mediates on behalf of Sepapatlele. She does not 
only support Sepapatlele but reprimands and scolds her when she is does wrong things. 
58 
 
She says the following to Sepapatlele reprimanding her:  
“Sepapatlele molato ke eng ka wena?” Ke mme eo. Ka utlwa ke shatjwa ke 
letswalo, mangole a kgwehla eka nka dula fatshe. “Ke re o tswa kae?”   
“Sekolong.”  “Sekolong sefe athe sekolo kgale se tswile bana ba bang kgale ba 
kgutlile. Sepapatlele ke manyampetla a eng ao ke a utlwang ka wena?” O bua 
jwalo o se a nkakgetse hodima bethe kwana. “Mme.”  “O re mmao, o ne o ntse o 
re mmaommao kwa ha mosadi eo o hlolang o ipolaisa kgera ha hae? O ne o ilo 
etsang ha Mmamatswele? Kga! Sies! Ntho e mpe e a tshwelwa” (Tsephe, 
2008:35-39). 
(“Sepapatlele, what is wrong with you?” That was my mother. I felt very much 
petrified, my knees trembled as if I could sit down. “I say where do you come 
from?”  “From school.”  “From which school because the school has been out a 
long time ago and other children have arrived at home long time ago. Sepapatlele, 
what nonsense do I hear about you?” She spoke like that already having thrown 
me on the bed. “Mother.”  “You say your mother, were you saying your mother 
mother at that woman’s place where you always drown youself in alcohol?” What 
were you doing at Mmamatswele? Shame! Sies! A bad thing has to be spat at”). 
As a result of the bad treatment from her father, Sepapatlele, instead of coming back to 
her senses and mending her crooked ways she becomes worse. She ends up becoming 
a cunning and treacherous person. Her younger sister, Palesa and the younger brother, 
Tswelopele, are their father’s favourites. One day her father, Senganangana, enters the 
house with a letter in his hand. Her instructs her to rush and call for her younger brother, 
Tswelopele. She is very curious and wants to hear the contents of the letter. However, 
she is not allowed to do so. The incident unfolds as follows:  
“Mmasenganangana, Tswelopele o kae?” Ke ntate eo. “Ke kgolwa hore o ile 
poratising mane kerekeng, akere kajeno ke lona letsatsi leo ba binang ka lona.” 
Ke mme eo. Kgaitsedi ya ka ha e bina e a tsanyaola, ha a phokola pina mane 
kerekeng maqheku le maqhekwana a itshela ka dikgapha. “Sepapatlele matha o 
mmitse.”  Ao le ha ke ne ke lakatsa ho utlwa tsa lengolo le tshwerweng ke ntate 
ke ile ka tlameha ho kgelekgetha ke ilo bitsa kgaitsedi. Ka fela ka mo fumana 
kerekeng a eme kamorao ho maekerofounu a tsanyaola. Ka kgutla le yena. Eitse 
59 
 
re sa tla le hona ke eso kene ka utlwa… “Sepapatlele hlo hate kosene o tswe ha 
ke batle le ho o bona ha ke bua taba tsa lengolo lena.” Ka menahana le mehlala 
ka tswela kantle, empa ka se ke ka ya hole le nna ke ne ke nyoretswe taba tsa 
lengolo lena, tsena tse thabisitseng ntate hakaana. Ka hona he ka feta mona 
fensetereng hore a mpone hore ke tsamaile, moo a ileng le kgongwana hodimo 
ka kgukguna tlasa fensetere mona ka iphaphatha ka lebota ka ba ka fihla ka ema 
pela monyako. Ka fumana hore monyako o kwetswe ka manama ka ona ka beha 
tsebe lesobeng la senotlolo. Ka utlwa ntate a bolella Tswelopele hore o thotse 
tsheetso ya tjhelete ya hore a tsamaye a ye mose ho mawatle ba ke ba ilo mo 
rupella ka mmino, mme o ne a duletse ho itshela ka dikgapha, a lla meokgo ya 
thabo (Tsephe, 2008:23-24).  
(“Mmasenganangana, where is Tswelopele?” That was my father. “I hope he is 
attending the choir practice. This is the day on which they sing.”  That was my 
mother. My brother was an excellent singer. When he starts a song at church,  
elderly people burst into tears. “Sepapatlele, hurry up and call him.” Alas! even 
though I wanted to hear the contents of the letter, which was in my father’s hand, 
I had to run and call my brother. I found him at the church with a microphone in 
his hand singing. I returned with him. Whilst we were on our way, even before I 
entered the house, I heard, “Sepapatlele step outside, I don’t want to see you 
when I speak about the contents of this letter.”  I retreated and went outside, but 
I did not go too far, for I also had a desire to hear the contents of this letter which 
so greatly made my father happy. I walked past the window, so that he could not 
see that I had left. When he thought that I was gone, I crawled under the window, 
moving against the wall and stood near the door. I then placed my ear against the 
key hole. I heard my father telling Tswelopele that he had been granted financial 
assistance to go and study music abroad. My mother was continuously shedding  
tears of joy). 
Mmasepapatlele has a contrary character to that of women of the olden days. According 
to Khathide (2000:35), the general picture of the women in the first-century world was 
not particularly a positive one. Although there were many positive remarks in the Old 
Testament of the Bible, first –century Jews believed that a wife was inferior to her 
husband and that men were by nature women’s superiors. There was a popular belief 
60 
 
that women had caused the fall of human beings and so they were regarded as craftier, 
more vain and materialistic than men. 
Khathide (2000:35) further holds that although the picture of classical Greek women has 
been over-drawn, their sphere was definitely the home. The Greeks thought very little of 
women and treated them largely as cattle. Women had no place in public life. The 
purpose of a wife was the production of legitimate offsprings. The degree of the 
confinement of women resulted from the importance of not allowing any suspicion to fall 
on young girls or wives in order to protect the legitimacy of children.  
A separate part of a house was designated “women’s quarters” and was off-limits to 
others. Women managed the household, and in that sphere, they were supreme. The 
description of the place of women in the pastoral epistle matches very closely to the 
Greek conception (Khathide, 2000:35). 
Even though the preceding statements are related to the Biblical Greek cultural practice, 
it is still relevant in the Sesotho culture. Mmasepapatlele does not vehemently voice out 
her dissatisfaction about the manner in which her husband, Senganangana, treats their 
daughter, Sepapatlele. This testifies the fact that Mmasepapatlele, as a woman, has very 
limited authority in her family. Senganangana dominates the family and above all, has 
no confidence in his daughter. He regards her as a weakling with no brains. 
 4.3.3 Pinki  
Pinki is a friend to Sepapatlele. She knows that her friend, Sepapatlele, is at loggerheads 
with her father. However, she fails to encourage her friend to mend her crooked ways, 
so that she may regain her father’s love and trust. 
Pinki also knows that Sepapatlele wants to entice her teacher into falling in love with her 
but she does not make her aware of the repercussions thereof. She does not advise 
Sepapatlele when she does wrong things. When Sepapatlele’s mother gives her money 
to pay for school fees, Pinki takes her to the tavern to spend it on alcohol. Sepapatlele 
says the following: 
Eitse moo ke seng ke tetse mme thoso a nneha tjhelete a re ke ilo ingodisa 
sekolong. Ka nkella ho leba hona teng. Moo ke kgelelletseng dikhororo ke re ke 
61 
 
leba sekolong ptjangptjang le Pinki, ao dintho tsa qala ho senyeha jwale. Hona 
hukung mono thinkgwi ke rona bale re potela ka kwana. Ha Mmamatswele re 
fihlile ra bitsa botlolo ya meokgo ya Mmisisi le biri tse pedi. (Tsephe, 2008:29). 
(When I had given up all hope of returning to school, out of nowhere, my mother 
gave me money to go to school and register. I rushed there. I was sweating due 
to the high speed at which I was running. Suddenly Pinki appeared, and that was 
the moment when all things went wrong. We just changed the direction and 
disappeared around the corner. At Mmamatswele we ordered wine and two 
bottles of beer). 
Pinky’s friendship worsens Sepapatlele’s miserable life. She is not a good friend who 
advises her when she does bad things. She encourages her to fall in love with married 
men Snoeky and Bolokwe, a security guard. She has no regard for Sepapatlele’s future. 
Pinky is portrayed negatively in the novel, as a destroyer and a good-for-nothing friend. 
4.3.4 Palesa  
Palesa is the younger sister to Sepapatlele. She is a very brilliant girl, and she is 
disciplined. Her actions and successes resemble her name, Palesa, which means a rose.  
Palesa is beautiful both outwardly and inside. Her parents love her more than 
Sepapatlele. This is particularly because of her outstanding school performance. She 
passes her matric and is about to get married. The narrator says: 
Matsatsing a etellang pele ho keresemese ke ha ho fihla baeti ba tswang kwana 
Polokwane ha Mohale ba tlilo aha sekgotsi le ba ha Senganangana. Ba ne ba tlilo 
qela mohope wa metsi. Ba bone ngwaneso ya ntlhahlamang, Palesa. Ba tla ba 
nyala he Bapedi bao ke hore ba nyala hore ya boi a tjhetjhe. Le ha Palesa a ne a 
sa le monyane hakaalo dilemong ntate o ile a dumela ka yena ka ha ba ne ba bile 
ba tshepisa hore batla mo ruta, batla mo isa yunvesithing. Se neng se le bohloko 
ke hobane ntate o ne a sa phetse ho bolela hore nna ke ba hlotse, ke ntho feela 
e sa tlo ba le tswelopele bophelong. O ne o ka utlwa a re, “bona Palesa o 
monyane ho wena empa o se a pasitse sehlopha sa leshome wena o sa ntse o 
poqana le sehlopa sa botshelela (Tsephe, 2008:21-22). 
(Few days before Christmas day, there arrived visitors from Polokwane, from Ha- 
62 
 
Mohale. The purpose of the visit was to establish friendship with the 
Senganangana family. They were there to ask for a daughter-in-law. They were 
interested in my younger sister, Palesa. The Bapedi paid a lot of lobola without 
any doubt. Even though Palesa was still young, my father allowed her to get 
married especially because they promised to help her to further her studies at  
university. What was painful was that my father never stopped telling me that I 
was very much ill-disciplined, just a useless thing that would never succeed in life. 
You could hear him say, “Palesa is younger than you but she has already passed 
standard ten, but you are still struggling to pass standard six”). 
Sepapatlele’s father allows Palesa to get married at a young age, just after completing 
matric. As indicated earlier, in this study culture is one of the factors that promotes 
patriarchal tendencies in society. In most African cultures, and not excluding the Basotho 
culture in this case, it is not wrong for a young girl to be married at a young age. In most 
cases even if the young girl or the mother does not want that to happen, they would keep 
silent and let the patriarchal culture take its course. 
4.4 Patriarchal expressions in Hei! Ke tsamaile 
Most female characters in this novel are dominated by male characters. Two such  
characters, Sepapatlele and Pinki are  portrayed negatively. Male characters like 
Bolokwe and Snoeky are dominant and have power over female characters and both 
exploit Sepapatlele. Pinki does not advise Sepapatlele as a true friend should. She 
exposes her to Bolokwe, a security guard, who keeps her at his house and does not care 
much about her schooling. He later dumps her. Snoeky is a married man and 
impregnates Sepapatlele. She is negatively portrayed by male characters in the novel 
as a sex object and weakling that is useless and brainless.  
Senganangana ill-treats his daughter and does not bother when Sepapatlele flees from 
home to KwaZulu-Natal. He is cold and insensitive towards his daughter. He neglects 
his own flesh and blood and lacks proper parental guidance. Instead of talking politely 
with his daughter, he always resorts to violence and uses bitter and abusive words 
towards her. Senganangana’s behaviour towards her daughter is a clear indication of 
patriarchal tendencies. He shows his dominance and that he is in charge. He has no 
regard for his daughter as a female child who needs guidance and protection from a 
63 
 
father.  
Mmasenganangana is subjected to traditional and cultural values and customs where a 
man is the head of the family and a woman has no authority in the affairs of the family. 
She is obedient and submissive. Although she shows dissatisfaction about the manner 
in which her husband treats their daughter, Sepapatlele, she is not listened to. She has 
to adhere to what the head of the family says. Palesa is married at a young age according 
to the Basotho culture. She cannot refuse because her father is a traditionalist a 
patriarch. Whatever he says goes. Tswelopele, as a male character, is portrayed as 
intelligent as compared to Sepapatlele, a female character. Sepapatlele’s decision to 
leave home is because of the treatment that she receives from her father. Her father 
compares her with her aunt, Molelekeng whom her father regards as good-for-nothing 
and useless.    
When Sepapatlele is in KwaZulu-Natal, she is robbed and beaten up by some male 
thugs. She cannot fight them. They treat her with disrespect.  Patriarchal tendencies are 
prevalent in the novel as it has been shown how female characters are treated by male 
characters. Although the writer of the novel is a female, her female characters do not 
develop and triumph over patriarchal practices. The writer portrays female characters 
negatively whilst male characters are portrayed positively. Feminists advocate that 
female writers must represent female characters positively in their texts as opposed to 
male writers who portray female characters negatively.   
4.5 Conclusion 
In this chapter, the novel, He! Ke tsamaile, was analysed. Male and female characters 
were discussed and also analysed. Sengangana, the father to Sepapatlele, ill-treats his 
child and calls her names. He portrays patriarchal practices in the sense that he sees his 
daughter as powerless, stupid and useless. It has also been noticed in the novel that 
Mmasengangana is powerless and does not say anything about her husband’s ill-
treatment of their daughter. She finds herself in a patriarchal environment where her 
husband is the head of the family with absolute authority.  
Other female characters are also represented negatively, such as Pinki, who does not 
advise Sepapatlele when she does wrong things, instead she encourages her to do bad 
64 
 
things. The researcher has shown in this chapter that male characters are dominant and 
manipulate female characters. Characters such as Bolokwe and Snoeky use 
Sepapatlele as a sex object. In the novel, female characters do not challenge male 
domination instead they succumb and submit to it.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
65 
 
CHAPTER FIVE 
CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY 
 
5. Introduction  
This chapter is a conclusion of the study where a brief summary of each chapter is 
made and observations of the study and recommendations for further reseach are 
presented. 
5.1 Summary and observations 
The purpose of this study was to investigate patriarchal expressions in modern 
selected Sesotho novels. The two selected novels that have been discussed and 
analysed are, Bophelo ke dihaeya (2005), authored by Maphalla and Hei! Ke tsamaile 
(2008), authored by Tsephe.  
In chapter one, the background and rationale of the study, statement problem, 
methodology, review of literature, significance of the study and the organisation of the 
study were discussed. The objectives of the study which amongst others were to show 
how male and female characters are portrayed in the selected literary texts and also 
to show how male characters treat female characters in the selected literary texts as 
well as to find out how partriachal expressions manifest in the selected literary texts 
received attention. 
The statement problem has been mentioned in this chapter, namely that, to find out if 
patriarchal expressions are manifest in Maphalla’s novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya (2005) 
and Tsephe’s novel, Hei! Ke tsamaile (2008) since these literary texts have fine literary 
qualities, and patriarchal practices are prevalent in these texts.  
Feminism as a theoretical framework was discussed in chapter two. In this chapter, a 
discussion on feminism as a movement that is opposed to patriarchal culture was 
made. A movement that is against the negative representation of women in male 
written texts. It has been noticed that feminism concerns itself with the unequal 
treatment of women. Advocates of feminism holds that society is subject to a culture 
of patriarchy which elevates and gives men power over women.  
 The researcher has also attempted to give an outline of African feminism. This type 
of feminism is concerned with the African women whose rights are trampled upon 
66 
 
through patriarchal practices and traditional African cultural values which renders 
women mute and submissive. African feminism is also a movement where African 
women fight for the equality of gender and want to see African women emancipated 
from the African traditional cultural values that oppress women.  
A few African female writers who champion African feminism such as Mariama Bȃ, 
Tsitsi Dangarembga, Buchi Emecheta, Flora Nwapa have been mentioned. It has 
been shown that female characters in the literary works of these writers emerge and 
develop from patriarchal culture and refuse male domination. Gender has also been 
discussed in this chapter. It has been observed that gender inequality emanates from 
patriarchal practices, hence feminists insist on gender equality where males and 
females are treated equally.  
The concept patriarchy as a system which oppresses women has also been discussed 
in this chapter. Sifana (2018:18) explains patriarchy as a social system where men 
inherently dominate everything, especially females. Ngwagbara (2013:225) shares his 
views on the concept of patriarchy and holds that, the universe of Chinua Achebe’s 
fiction deals with the representation of women as second-class citizen or the second 
sex. This mode of female representation as well as what womanhood means in 
Achebe’s world is sustained by the logic of patriarchy that owes its existence and 
pathogenesis to the stereotyped provenance of the traditional African world-view.  
Culture, as one of the aspects that is related to patriarchy, has also received attention. 
The observation is that culture is a way of life. Different communities have different 
cultures, customs and traditions. These customs and traditions, on many occasions, 
put women at the periphery and as a result women feel marginalised, powerless and 
having no say in some of the proceedings in the community simply because culture 
dictates so. Some cultural values in some African communities have a negative impact 
on how women are treated by men.   
Furthermore, the literary aspect of characterisation has been outlined in this chapter. 
According to Shaw (1972:71), in narrative literature, fictional persons, through 
characterisation, become so incredible that they exist for the reader as a real people. 
Cohen (1973:37) is of the view that the art of creating fictional characters in words 
gives the human identity. The observation with regard to characterisation in this 
67 
 
chapter is that through the personality traits of characters the reader knows how their 
actions and behaviour affect other characters and whether such characters are 
dominating and oppressive on other characters in a literary text, especially female 
characters.  
An analysis of the novel, Bophelo ke dihaeya, was done in chapter three. This literary 
text was analysed to show how patriarchal expessions are manifested in the text. 
Female characters are depicted in negative terms whereas male characters are 
depicted and portrayed as having power and occupying high positions in society. 
Characters such as Kotleng and Matsekane are powerful and occupy high positions 
in society. Female characters such as Ntswaki and Mmakgotso are portrayed as 
unfaithful and sex objects. Lefulesele and Dilahlwane are also potrayed as evil and 
submissive. 
Matsekane uses his power as a male character in the novel to manipulate, dominate 
and influence Lefulesele to do evil things to Pastor Motswahole.  The observation is 
that male characters dominate women characters and that the culture of patriarchy 
and traditional African cultural values of respecting the authority of men and not 
challenging them exist in the novel. It has further been observed in this chapter that 
female characters depend on male characters. This implies that women cannot stand 
on their own, they are controlled and live under the spell of men.  
Characters such as Mmakgotso, Ntswaki and Dilahlwane are not independent but 
depend on male characters such as Kotleng and Matsekane. Not only are these 
female characters dependent on male characters, but they are also powerless and 
lack rationality as indicated above with regards to Ntswaki, Lefulesele and Dilahlwane. 
Patriarchy is a cultural system that privileges men, casting them on one hand as 
rational, strong, protective and decisive, and on the other hand, women are perceived 
as irrational, weak, nurturing and submissive (Tyson, 2015:81). 
In chapter four, the novel, Hei! Ke tsamaile, was analysed. In this chapter it was shown 
how Senganangana treats his daughter, Sepapatlele, differently from his other 
children. Senganangana is a traditional and cultural man who has absolute power in 
his family. He does not support his daughter but treats her like an outcast, someone 
who is weak, irrational and dumb.  
68 
 
Mmasenganangana, the wife of Senganangana, does not say anything about the ill-
treatment of her daughter by her husband. She finds herself in a patriarchal situation 
where a woman should be submissive and silent. It has been observed in the analysis 
of the novel, Hei! Ke tsamaile, that male characters are portrayed as dominating, smart 
and powerful as seen by how Senganangana uses his power to dominate his wife and 
daughter. His son, a male character, is potrayed as smart and better than Sepapatlele.  
5.2 Conclusion 
Patriarchal expressions have been discussed in the two modern novels, Bophelo ke 
dihaeya and Hei! Ke tsamaile and it can be concluded that the culture of patriarchy 
still exists in most Sesotho literature. Most male characters have power over women 
and women characters are potrayed in negative terms.     
Patriarchy is not only prevalent in Sesotho culture but in most African societies. For 
example, in Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, women are degraded to the 
lowest class in society. The issue of patriarchy is influenced by gender disparity that 
exists in different African communities. Feminism challenges patriarchal practices and 
advocates for the end of patriarchy in society.   
 It can further be said that both literary works under study are dominated by gender 
biasness because women in these works are portrayed negatively. Though these 
literary texts are modern, there seem to be no progress in terms of writers doing away 
with the negative portrayal of women. Female characters are still dominated by male 
characters and continue to be represented in negative terms. 
Lastly, literature is a reflection of what transpires in the community. According to 
Eagleton (1976:45), a literary work is a reflection of the social institutions from which 
they originate.  In order for gender biasness to be done away with, Sesotho literary 
texts must attempt to empower women and promote gender equality. This study 
challenges Sesotho writers, both male and female, to begin to write positively about 
women. So far, not much has been done in terms of male and female writers 
developing their female characters to challenge patriarchal practices in Sesotho 
literary texts.  
 
 
 
 
69 
 
REFERENCES 
Abrams, M.H.1996.  A Glossary of Literary terms. London: Harcourt Brace Publishers.  
Achebe, C. 1958. Things fall apart. Great Britain: Heinemann. 
Achebe, C.  1997. Anthills of the Savanah. Kangan: Heinemann. 
Austen, R. 2015. Struggling with the African Bildungsroman. Research in African 
Literatures, 46 (3):214-231. 
Bereng, P.M. 2010. My Culture: Just the way things are done at home: Maseru-
Lesotho: Lilala Publication. 
Bhasin, K. 2006. Patriarchal belief, women Empowerment and General well-being. 
New Delhi: Sage Publication.  
Brooks, W. & Browne S. 2012. Towards a Culturally Situated Reader Response 
Theory: Children’s Literature in Education, 43((1):74-85.    
Chukwuma, H. 2006. Women’s Quest for Rights: African Feminism Theory in Fiction. 
Published by the Forum on Public Policy. 
Cohen, B.B. 1973. Writing About Literature. London: Scott, Foresman & Co. 
Collier, P. & Ryan, H.G. 1990. Literary Theory Today. Great Britain: Blackwell 
Publishers. 
Eagleton, T. 1996. Literary Theory: An Introduction. United States of America: 
University of Minnestota Press. 
Ekpa, A.A. 2000. Beyond gender warfare and Western ideologies: African Feminism 
for the 21st Century. Goatskin bags and wisdom: new critical perspectives on African 
literature, 27-38. 
Gumede, H.S. 2002. The Portrayal of Female characters in Selected Zulu texts. 
Unpublished MA dissertation. Durban: University of Durban-Westville. 
Heise, D.R. 2010. Surveying Culture. United States of America: A John Wiley and 
sons, Inc publication. 
70 
 
 
 
Jackson, S. & Scott, S. 2002. Gender: a sociological reader. New York: Routledge. 
Khathide, A.G. 2000. Bone of my bones: Building Marriages that works in Africa. South 
Africa: Acad SA publishing. 
Kroeber, A.L. & Kluckhohn, C. 1952. Culture: a critical review of concept and definition. 
United States of America: Cambridge. 
Kwatsha, L.L. 2009. Some aspects of gender inequality in selected African literary 
texts. Literator, 30(2):127-156. 
Lesitsi, A.M. 1990. Seemahale. Braamfontein: Holder & Stoughton Educational 
Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd. 
Luvalo LM. 2019. Patriarchy and Ubuntu philosophy: The views of community elders 
in the Eastern Cape province. Journal of social Sciences and Humanities, 16(7):1-10. 
Mabille, A. & Dieterlen, H. 2000. Sesuto English Dictionary. Morija Lesotho: Morija 
Sesuto Book Depot.  
Makaudze, G. 2014. African Womanism and Shona Children’s Games. The Journal of 
Pan African Studies, 6(10): 128-143. 
Maphalla, K.P.D. 2005. Bophelo ke dihaeya. Cape Town: Nasou Via Africa. 
Mawela, A.1994. The depiction of women characters in selected Venda novels. 
Unpublished MA dissertation. Pretoria: University of South Africa. 
Mehrpouyan, A. & Banehmir, S.S.A. 2014. Feminism and feminine culture in modern 
writer’s works: with special reference to Anne Sexton and Audre Lorde. Procedia-
Social and Behavioral Sciences, 158:199-205. 
Mohatle, S.A. 2015. The portrayal of women in Sesotho literature with special 
reference to South African novels, poems and proverbs. Bloemfontein: Central 
University of Technology. 
71 
 
Moleleki, M.M.1993. Makokonana a neanotaba le dingolwa tsa Sesotho. Randburg: 
Vivlia publishers. 
Moloi, N.H. 2015. The portrayal of female characters in Maake’s novel MME. 
VanderBijlpark: University of North West. 
Moris, P. 1993. Literature and Feminism. London: Oxford Press. 
Ngwagbara, U. 2013: Achebe’s Fiction and the Changing Generation of Nigerian 
Women – Towards a paradigm Shift in Leadership. Matau, 42(1):225-245. 
 Ngwainmbi, J.M. 2004. Feminism, Feminist Scholarship, and Social Intergration of 
Women: The Struggle of African-American Women. Journal of International Women’s  
Studies, 5(5):93-104. 
Nkealah, N.N. 2006. Conceptualizing Feminism(s) in Africa: The challenges facing 
African women writers and critics. English Academy Review, 23(1):133-141. 
Nkuna, K.J. 2001. Portrayal of women in Siswati Drama. Unpublished MA dissertation. 
Durban: University of Zululand. 
Payne, M. 1997. Modern Socialwork Theory. Chicago: Malcolm. 
Petal, C. 1989. Petals on the wind. United States of America: Simon and Schuster. 
Pienaar, B. 2015. A culture of women-battering in Sefatsa’s dramatic text Pakiso. A 
Feminist Perspective. Unpublished MA dissertation. Vanderbijlpark: North West 
University.  
Pilcher, J. & Wheelehan, I. 2004. 50 Key concepts in gender studies. London: Sage 
Publishers. 
Scott, J.W. 1986. Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis. The American 
Historical Review, 91(5):1053-1075. 
Sebeho, P.S. 1996.The portrayal of women in selected novels of K.E Ntsane. 
Unpublished MA dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University. 
Shaw, H. 1972. Dictionary of literary Terms. New York: McGraw-Hill.  
72 
 
Sifana, A. 2018. Treating Arab Women in Jean Sasson’s Princess Sultana’s 
Daughters. Journal of Literature and Language Teaching, 9(1):18-25. 
Sultana, A. 2012. Patriarchy and women’s subordination: A Theoretical Analysis. 
Bangladesh: AH Development Publishing House. 
Tong, M. 2009. Feminist Thought: A more Comprehensive Introduction. Michigan: 
Avalon Publishing. 
Tromp, B. 2017. Beauregard Tromp-women in Africa claim seat at table. South Africa: 
Mail and Guardian. 31 March 2017. 
Tsephe, M.F. 2008. Hei! Ke tsamaile. Newtown. Kemotha productions and publishing. 
Tyson L. 2015. Critical Theory today: A User-friendly Guide. New York: Routledge. 
Van Dijk, T.A. 1995. Aims of Critical Discourse Analysis. Japanese Discourse, 1:17-
27.  
Wang’ondu, M. 2019. What is African feminism? An introduction. The International 
Youth Coalition. 
Wilfred, L. & Morgan, L. 1992. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. 
London: Oxford University Press. 
 
 
 
   
 
  
73