Title:   A HORNEYAN READING OF LOLA SHONEYINS THE SECRET LIVES OF BABA SEGI S WIVES

Abstract
This is a Horneyan reading of Lola Shoneyin’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s
Wives (2010). This paper adopts the use of Karen Horney’s Psychoanalytic Social
Theory as its framework. It argues that characters’ personalities are influenced
by past traumatic experiences and pressures from family or society with the
objective of fitting them into existing stereotypes already created by the
society. This paper reveals that cultural or traditional and societal practices play
are very important in the formation of an individual, whether fictional or real. It
also identifies how patriarchy and societal expectations have an effect on the
characters examined. It also shows that individuals adopt certain ego defence
mechanisms to cope with whatever problems they encounter. These
mechanisms also known as neurotic needs, are chosen based on what helps the
character to feel comfortable and satisfied in his environment. This entails
moving towards, against, or away from situations and people in general. The
paper recommends the application of Horney’s psychoanalytic social theory in
literary analyses because it gives insight into why certain characters behave in
certain way and manner in literary texts and even real life situations.
Keywords: Neo Freudian, personality,

Citations:

Publication Date: 2022-08-06