Negotiating Individual Identity in Postcolonial Spaces: A New Historicist Reading of Aminatta Forna’s Fiction

Abstract

Aminatta Forna’s novels explore the complex formation of individual identity within postcolonial societies shaped by war, displacement, and historical trauma. This article employs a New Historicist framework to examine how personal identities in Forna’s fiction are constructed through continuous interaction with historical forces, political violence, and cultural memory. Drawing on selected novels such as Ancestor Stones, The Memory of Love, and The Hired Man, the study argues that Forna presents identity not as a fixed or autonomous entity but as a fluid process negotiated within specific socio-historical contexts. By situating individual experiences alongside suppressed histories and dominant narratives, the article reveals how Forna challenges linear historiography and foregrounds marginalized voices. This analysis contributes to postcolonial literary studies by demonstrating how New Historicism offers a productive lens for understanding identity formation in contemporary African literature.