Men and Women Writing Women: The Female Perspective and Feminism in U.S. Novels and African Novels in French by Male and Female Authors

Many critics believe that because men and women have different life experiences, the writing of male and female authors will differ, as well. Some believe that male authors are not able to write accurately from the female perspective or present feminist ideals because they have not experienced life as women. The majority of the time, life from the female point of view is portrayed in literature by women authors, but male authors have also taken on the female perspective. When writing about women it is possible that authors will describe them differently depending on gender, nationality, and culture. To explore these issues, I have studied the representation of women in four novels: two African novels in French and two U.S. novels in English by male and female writers from each culture. By studying these primary texts and analyzing secondary sources about the writing styles of men and women, as well as they ways in which women are represented in literature, I have gained insights into the question of whether the gender of the author affects the way he or she writes about women.