Female Resistance in Alice Walker's by the Light of my Father's Smile

Abstract

This present research work attempts to study Alice Walker’s By the Light of My Father's Smile from the feminist perspective as it examines the experience of female sexuality as a celebration of life. Walker’s female characters in this text make a strong resistance to the hegemonizing interference of the male character father by ignoring not only his control but also the norms of the society as a whole. Much to the outrage of the father, Robinson Sir., the two daughters Susannah and Magdalena openly involve themselves in homosexual and heterosexual activities, thereby challenging and resisting the patriarchal normativity of heterosexuality. Even the mother stands by the side of the daughters, advocating for their freedom. So, all the women characters eulogize the female sexuality and pursue their own course of life ignoring the norms of the father figure and subvert the patriarchal norms and values.