Project – Discourse Analysis of Marital Conflict in Nigerian Feminist Literature – A Comparative Study of Selected Novels by Northern Nigerian Female Writers

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Discourse analysis is a branch of linguistics that studies language beyond the sentence level, focusing on how meaning is constructed through language use in context. It examines spoken or written communication in relation to social, cultural, and ideological factors that shape it. According to Fairclough (1995), discourse analysis is concerned with how language is used as a form of social practice, meaning that language both reflects and constructs social realities. In the same vein, van Dijk (2008) emphasizes that discourse is not only a linguistic structure but also a form of social cognition that reveals power relations, ideology, and identity.

Within literary studies, discourse analysis provides a useful framework for examining how authors represent social issues such as gender, power, and conflict through language. It allows researchers to go beyond surface interpretation and investigate how linguistic choices shape meaning, ideology, and reader perception. In feminist literary studies, discourse analysis is particularly valuable because it reveals how language is used to construct or challenge gender inequalities and social expectations.

Marital conflict is a recurring theme in Nigerian feminist literature, especially in works written by female authors who portray the realities of women within marriage. Marriage in many African societies is not only a personal relationship but also a social institution influenced by cultural, religious, and economic factors. As a result, literary representations of marital conflict often reflect broader societal tensions such as patriarchy, polygamy, domestic violence, emotional neglect, and gender imbalance.

Northern Nigerian female writers have played a significant role in representing marital experiences from women’s perspectives. Their narratives often highlight the emotional, psychological, and social struggles faced by women in marriage. Through fiction, these writers expose the complexities of marital relationships and question traditional structures that may disadvantage women. Their works therefore serve both literary and socio-cultural functions.

Writers such as Razinat Muhammad, Hafsat Abdulwaheed, and other emerging voices use narrative discourse to represent marital conflict in ways that reflect both personal and collective experiences. Their texts often depict conflicts arising from communication breakdown, polygamous arrangements, unequal power relations, and societal expectations placed on women. These representations are linguistically constructed through dialogue, narrative voice, lexical choices, and pragmatic features.

Discourse analysis becomes essential in examining these texts because it reveals how meaning is constructed through interaction, narration, and ideological positioning. It helps to uncover how authors present characters’ speech, emotions, and conflicts in ways that reflect underlying social structures. As Fairclough (1995) notes, discourse analysis is particularly useful for uncovering hidden power relations embedded in language use.

This study therefore focuses on marital conflict in Nigerian feminist literature, using discourse analysis to examine selected novels by Northern Nigerian female writers. By analyzing how language constructs conflict in marriage, the study aims to reveal the linguistic strategies used to represent gender relations and social realities in the selected texts.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Despite the growing body of feminist literary works in Nigeria, particularly those written by Northern Nigerian female authors, scholarly attention has largely focused on thematic interpretation rather than detailed discourse analysis. Most existing studies emphasize issues such as gender inequality, marriage problems, and women’s empowerment without sufficiently examining how language structures these meanings in literary texts.

In many analyses of Nigerian feminist literature, marital conflict is often discussed as a social issue rather than a linguistic construct. This means that little attention is given to how discourse features such as dialogue structure, speech representation, modality, turn-taking, and narrative framing contribute to the development of conflict in the texts. As a result, the linguistic dimension of meaning-making is often overlooked.

Furthermore, although several Northern Nigerian female writers explore marital conflict in their novels, there is a lack of comparative discourse-based studies that examine how different authors represent similar marital experiences through different linguistic strategies. Without such comparative analysis, it becomes difficult to fully understand how discourse choices shape ideological positioning and gender representation.

This gap is significant because marital conflict in literature is not only about events but also about how those events are narrated and interpreted through language. A purely thematic analysis fails to capture the pragmatic and discourse-level mechanisms that construct meaning in feminist narratives. Therefore, there is a need for a systematic discourse analysis that investigates how language functions in the representation of marital conflict in selected Nigerian feminist novels.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main objective of this study is to conduct a discourse analysis of marital conflict in Nigerian feminist literature using selected novels by Northern Nigerian female writers.

Specifically, the study aims to:

1. Identify discourse features used in the representation of marital conflict in the selected novels.
2. Examine how linguistic and pragmatic choices construct meaning in marital interactions.
3. Compare the discourse strategies used by different female writers in representing marital conflict.
4. Determine how discourse features influence the portrayal of gender relations in the selected texts.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What discourse features are used in representing marital conflict in the selected novels?
2. How do linguistic and pragmatic choices construct meaning in marital interactions?
3. What similarities and differences exist in the discourse strategies of the selected authors?
4. How do discourse features influence gender representation in marital conflict narratives?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study is significant to scholars of linguistics, literary studies, and feminist criticism because it provides a deeper understanding of how discourse structures shape meaning in Nigerian feminist literature. It moves beyond thematic interpretation to a linguistic investigation of how marital conflict is constructed in texts.

The study will also contribute to discourse analysis by applying it to African feminist literature, an area that has not been fully explored from a linguistic perspective. It will help reveal how language reflects power relations, gender ideologies, and emotional experiences in marital settings.

For students and researchers, the study will serve as a useful academic resource for understanding how discourse analysis can be applied to literary texts. It will also enhance their ability to analyze dialogue, narrative voice, and pragmatic meaning in fiction.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study is limited to a discourse analysis of marital conflict in selected novels written by Northern Nigerian female writers. It focuses on discourse features such as dialogue, speech representation, modality, cohesion, and narrative structure. The study does not extend to other literary genres or male-authored texts.

1.7 Operational Definition of Terms

Discourse Analysis: The study of language beyond the sentence level, focusing on how meaning is constructed in context.

Marital Conflict: Disagreements, tensions, or struggles between husband and wife as represented in literary texts.

Feminist Literature: Literary works that focus on women’s experiences, gender issues, and social inequality.

Narrative Discourse: The way a story is structured and told through language.

Modality: Linguistic expressions that indicate possibility, obligation, or certainty in discourse.

Project – Discourse Analysis of Marital Conflict in Nigerian Feminist Literature – A Comparative Study of Selected Novels by Northern Nigerian Female Writers