Exploring Female Identity in Selected Poems by Antjie Krog With Reference to Downing and Roush's Model of Feminist Identity Development Theory

In 1985, Nancy E. Downing and Kristin L. Roush proposed a model of Feminist Development Theory in their article, ?From Passive Acceptance to Active Commitment: A Model of Feminist Identity Development. ? This model builds on the idea that women in contemporary world must accommodate their feelings about the prejudice and the discrimination they encounter as females in patriarchal societies. Women then have to wrestle with and continually deal with these feelings to be able to achieve authentic and positive feminist identity. The proposed five - level model of Feminist Identity Development Theory starts with ?passive acceptance? of conventional gender roles and ends with ?active commitment? to feminist ideals in an egalitarian society. It includes the following stages; passive acceptance, revelation, embeddedness - emanation, synthesis, and active commitment. Antjie Krog (Born 1952) is an acclaimed prominent intellectual figure in contemporary South African literary canon and is definitely one of the most celebrated poets. Krog?s poetry emphasises her struggles with traditional conventions and social expectations both as a woman and as a writer. In her poetry, Krog undertakes to often portray the different aspects of the female life with all the struggles entailed. She aims to examine her female identity within the traditional roles she plays as a woman, wife, mother, and/or poet. In doing so, Krog creates in her poems a space for herself to explore, negotiate and establish her female authentic positive identity as a woman writer against all odds. By employing Nancy E. Downing and Kristin L. Roush?s model of Feminist Identity Development Theory, this research paper aims to scrutinize selected poems by Antjie Krog to investigate the multiple female identities she assumes in life as part of her relentless attempts to establish her authentic positive female identity as a woman writer.