White female experiences of the Zimbabwean liberation war: Patricia Charter’s Crossing the boundary fence, Sylivia Bond Smith’s Ginette, Partridge’s To breathe and wait.

Abstract

This study explores the experiences of white females in Rhodesia during the liberation war. For this purpose, Particia Chater’s Crossing the Boundary Fence (1991), Sylvia Bond Smith’s Ginette (1980) and Nancy Partridge’s To Breathe and Wait (1986) have been selected as they fit in well in the context of experiences faced by white women during the liberation war.

The feminist literary approach is used as it examines the experiences of white females in the context of the Zimbabwean history and paying attention to how the liberation war and women influences the understanding of the Zimbabwean history. This study refers to other aspects of literary text that is the feminist theory because all three writers discuss the negative and positive impacts of the liberation war on white women.

This study consists of five chapters. Chapter one consists of the background of the study, literature review, theoretical framework and justification. Chapter two discuses Crossing the Boundary Fence because it explores the experiences of the young white females in Rhodesia during the liberation war. Chapter three analyses Ginette as it depicts the experiences of white urban females during the war. Chapter Four analyses To Breathe and Wait depicts the interface between war and illness as highlighted through the white character in the text. Chapter five consists of the summary of the chapters discussed. The chapter also provide the conclusion of the research.