Re-Historicizing the Conflicted Figure of Woman in Ngugi's Petals of Blood

The 1972 novel Petals of Blood marks Ngugi wa Thiong'o's growing interest in strong women characters like Wanja. Wanja succeeds in areas where women literary figures traditionally do not. In her relationship to the land, her strength as a mother/nurturer figure for the entire village, and her ability to forge her own destiny, Wanja is a female figure rife with agency and power. She steadfastly resolves to accompany others in their return to the city despite the unpleasant memories it holds for her, and she continues the trek even after she is raped. She improves Abdulla's business with her knowledge of advertising and marketing and eventually makes a significant profit for them both through her appropriation of the theng'eta drink. Her final turn to prostitution, though certainly a tragic and cynical decision on her part, is also a reasoned and logical solution to the problems she faces

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