“The Collector of Treasures” written by Bessie Head is a short story that addresses the issues related to women spaces. The writer traces back to the pre-colonial , colonial and the post-colonial times of African society in relation to women issues. As a postcolonial feminist text, it addresses the intersectionality of gender and colonialism, inbetween state of a woman, double marginalisation and others. It helps to navigate the breakdown of traditional culture that led to the critical study of patriarchal man in the post-colonial African society.
The postcolonial feminist addresses the intersectionality of gender, race, class and others. In the short story, one can observe how colonialism and gender intersect in the story. Firstly, the colonial times in Africa led to the breakdown of tradition in the society where tradition was supposed to kept unruly men in check. As the African men were enslaved and put as a labourer in colonial times, they were subjugated based on their racial orientation, identity and their culture leading them to break free from their tradition. This made African men especially the unruly men to become patriarchal man who abuses and subjugate women in the post-colonial independent Africa. It is evident in the story where Dikeledi Mokopi, Kebonye castrates their own husbands because of the abuse and violence Tod their husbands.This clearly shows the intersectionality of gender and colonialism where African women faces severe subjugation under the hands of their own men who abuses their masculine strength and power instilled within the historical roots from colonial subjugation.
However, the postcolonial feminist addresses patriarchy in a different cultural and historical contexts. It aims to amplify the experiences of women even in pre-colonial times. Bessie Head explores the same issues within the African cultural context where women were given no space even in the pre colonial times. The women in pre colonial Africa were subjugated where certain traditional norms and taboos were created by elderly men excluding the voice of the woman. It clearly shows the postcolonial feminist element of navigating patriarchal systems and oppression of women where male dominance largely plays in the creation of norms and taboos while excluding the voices of women.
In the story, Bessie Head dissociate different kinds of man. These men can be classified into traditional man and patriarchal man from postcolonial feminist perspective. The traditional man is the man who provides and take responsibility for the family as the writer suggests in the story. Paul Thebolo is a clear example of a traditional man in the story. The other men classified is the patriarchal man who uses their masculine strength to dominate and subjugate women and he lacks responsibility for his family. From a postcolonial feminist perspective, Bessie Head asserts that patriarchal man dominates the post-colonial society and it is a direct result of colonialism and a breakdown of tradition. Hence, the patriarchal man in the post-colonial society asserts their power and dominance in the administration and society who govern and rule over women leading women to be doubly marginalised in the society.
The double marginalisation of women is a postcolonial feminist issue that can be seen addressing in the story. Dikeledi and Kebonye did not go to any civic and administrative authorities or any military help because the post-colonial African administration is largely dominated by patriarchal man and they realise the lack of any domestic aid from institutional law. This shows the double marginalisation of women in the post-colonial African society where women are doubly marginalised by gender and status( class) in the society. It also gives a postcolonial feminist element of intersectionality again in the story where women are subjugated for their gender and class in the society.
Furthermore, the postcolonial experience of inbetweeness is evident in the story. In the context of the postcolonial feminist perspective, the African society is in a state of inbetweeness where women learns different forms of experiences between the traditional and patriarchal man. It is evident where Dikeledi and other women such as Kebonye and many women prisoners castrated their own husband as a struggle against the gender power dynamics in the post-colonial society. In the case of a traditional man, he is attacked by patriarchal man in the society to denigrate them and it is evident when Garesego tells everyone in the village that his own wife is Paul Thebolo’s concubine. It brings forth a power struggle and gender dynamics between patriarchal man and traditional man. Critically, the power dynamics between the two distinctive men in the post-colonial society also shows how women are denigrated and used as a mere sexualised weapon to denigrate the other. Head perhaps is suggesting that African women are inbetween the power dynamics of the two distinctive men in the post-colonial society.
Lastly, the story also shows the conflicting emotions of the writer and women in general in the post-colonial society. The postcolonial experience of ambivalent in the context of postcolonial feminist perspective shows that women have conflicting emotions for pre colonial past and the post-colonial present. The story shows that Bessie Head herself shows conflicting emotions for the gender dynamics for pre colonial African tradition where the exclusion of women and male dominance is prevalent and the post-colonial African where there is a breakdown of tradition as well as the existence of large number of patriarchal man who assert their dominion and subjugation over women.
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