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219 Pages·2014·0.6 MB·English

THE CHANGING FACE OF MORAL VISION IN THE
AMHARIC NOVEL

BY
TENA SHALE

A THESIS
SUBMITTED TO
THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES OF
ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY

FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (PH.D) IN
LITERATURE

NOVEMBER, 2007
ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

THE CHANGING FACE OF MORAL VISION IN THE
AMHARIC NOVEL

BY
TENA SHALE

APPROVED BY BOARD OF EXAMINERS

_________________________ ________________________
Advisor

_________________________ ________________________
Advisor

_________________________ ________________________
Examiner

_________________________ _______________________
Examiner
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to the School of Graduate Studies of Addis Ababa University for
the financial support they have granted me.

I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my advisor Dr. Abiy Daniel for
his guidance and invaluable comments.

I am indebted to Dr. Rejendra Prasad, who had also been my advisor prior to
his leaving the university.

My acknowledgements are due to my wife Aberash Tibebu for her unfailing
moral support and encouragements.

Finally, my thanks are also due to my friend Ato Mengesha Gebreyes for his
moral support and to putting his computer facility at my disposal.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
CHAPTER ONE: Introduction---------------------------------------------- 1
1.1. A Short Survey of Morality in Ethiopian Literature ----------- 2
1.1.1. Morality in Geez Literature ----------------------------- 2
1.1.2. Morality in Early Amharic Literature ----------------- 4
1.2. Goals and Objectives of the Study ------------------------------ 7
1.3. Methods, Study Design and Works to be Investigated ------- 8
NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14
CHAPTER TWO: Review of Related Literature ------------------------- 15
2.1. Ethics and Morality Defined -------------------------------------- 15
2.1.1. The Will, the Good and the Evil -------------------------- 16
2.1.2. The End and Purpose of Human Life -------------------- 18
2.1.3. How Are Moral Judgments Made? ----------------------- 20
2.1.4. Views on Morality and Ethical Theory ------------------- 21
2.2. On the Link between Ethics and Aesthetics ------------------- 23
2.3. The Concept of Moral Vision -------------------------------------- 24
2.3.1. The Concept from the Writer’s Perspective ------------- 24
2.3.2. Experiencing the Narrative: The Concept of Moral
Vision from the Reader’s Perspective --------------------- 29
PART ONE: Moral Vision against the Background of Authoritarianism
and Moral Provincialism in the Novels of Haddis and
Dagnachew ------------------------------------------------------------------ 35
CHAPTER THREE: Authoritarianism and Quests for Self-Assertion
and Justice in Haddis’s Novels ----------------------------- 37
3.1. Panoramic View of Life in Haddis -------------------------------- 38
3.2. Moral Vision in Haddis’s Novels ---------------------------------- 48
3.2.1. Quest for Self-Assertion and Fulfillment in
Fiqir Eske Meqabir ------------------------------------------- 48
3.2.2. Quest for Justice in Yelm Izyat --------------------------- 59
3.2.3. Triumph of the Good over the Evil in
Wonjelegnaw Dagna ---------------------------------------- 73
Summary and Conclusion -------------------------------------------------- 79
NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 81

CHAPTER FOUR: Moral Provincialism and Conflict between the
Old and the New in Adefris -------------------------- 83
4.1. The Moral Universe of Adefris ------------------------------------ 85

4.2. Moral Provincialism and Idealization of the Past in
Adefris ---------------------------------------------------------------- 88
4.3. An Intruder of a Guest: A Symbolic Representation of
Adefris ---------------------------------------------------------------- 97
Summary and Conclusion -------------------------------------------------- 105
NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 107
PART TWO: Utilitarianism and Moral Provincialism in Bealu’s and
Tesfaye’s Novels -------------------------------------------------------- 108
CHAPTER FIVE: Morality And Social-Class in Bealu’s Socialist
Oriented Novels ----------------------------------------- 111
5.1. Utilitarianism and Identification with the Common Folks
in Derasew --------------------------------------------------------- 112
5.1.1. The Artist's Life-Style, the Life of the People------------ 113
5.1.2. Committed Art an Extension of Committed Life ------- 117
5.2. Utilitarianism versus Egoism in Ye'qey Kokeb Tiri ------------ 122
Summary and Conclusion -------------------------------------------------- 130
NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 132
CHAPTER SIX: Ethics and Ethnicity in Ye'burqa Zimita -------------- 133
6.1. Ethnic Chauvinism as a Social System: Features and
Legacies -------------------------------------------------------------- 138
6.2. Desire to Avenge: Retributive Justice as a Moral of
Vengeance and Its Implications ---------------------------------- 144
NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 151
PART THREE: Transcending Moral Provincialism in Fiqremarqos
Desta’s and Sisay Nigusu’s Novels ----------------------------- 152
CHAPTER SEVEN: The Moral Basis of Human Relations and Identity
in Fiqremarqos’s Novels ---------------------------------- 154
7.1. Inter-Racial Relationship: Accepting People for What
They Are -------------------------------------------------------------- 158
7.2. The Ethical Basis of Identity and Search for One’s Root in
Fiqremarqos’s Novels ---------------------------------------------- 168
NOTES ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 178
CHAPTER EIGHT: Hedonism and Quest for Conscience in
Reqiq Ashara------------------------------------------- 179
8.1. The Socio-Ethical Milieu in Reqiq Ashara ----------------------- 180
8.2. Egoism, Avarice and Aspiration in Reqiq Ashara -------------- 183
8.3. Conscience as A Repository of Morality in Reqiq Ashara ----- 190

CHAPTER NINE: Conclusion ---------------------------------------------- 200
Bibliography ------------------------------------------------------------------ 207
ABSTRACT

In this study were examined eleven Amharic novels by six authors for their moral
vision. A combination of moral and sociological approaches of literary criticism was
put to use for the study. The novels were selected on their representational merits as
they belong to three historical periods: before 1974, 1974-1991 and after 1991.

The specific purpose of the study being to explore and describe the changing face of
moral vision in the novels selected, the study also made use of a combination of the
structuralist and the new-historical or cultural critical methods. Discussed in six
major chapters in three parts, the study reveals that there is a continuum of moral
vision between and among the novels, on the one hand, and between the novels and
the discourses of the periods that gave rise to the novels, on the other. Haddis’s and
Dagnachew’s novels discussed in chapters 3 and 4 respectively reveal that the state
of morality in feudal Ethiopia was characterized by moral provincialism with respect
to the feudal lords, the then dominant class.

Through the gestures of their characters striving for self-assertion and justice
Haddis’s novels in particular strongly suggest the need for change of the scenario
that subjected the people to plight-full life. But then, the change so envisioned, of
necessity, had to come through social upheavals, and these are depicted in Bealu’s
and Tesfaye’s novels. As discussed in chapters 5 and 6, respectively, the novels by
these two authors tend to circumscribe morality around the underdog masses,
though the depictions are constrained by elements of egoism and vengeance. In the
last two major chapters (i.e. 7 and 8), Fiqremarqos Desta’s and Sisay Nigusu’s
novels are examined as showing a moral vision that transcends the notion of moral
provincialism altogether. Fiqremarqos’s novels uphold the virtue of respect for others,
both individuals and social groups, while Sisay’s novel challenges us to heed our
conscience; for conscience is infallible.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
A close perusal of the Amharic novel, ever since its inception, reveals that its
authors write with a strong sense of mission to promote social welfare. That is
to say, the novelists characteristically feel obliged to envision a society free from
social evils such as corruption, injustice, oppression, crime, subjugation and
exploitation. So examining the novels for their moral vision merits a special
consideration.

Tentatively defined, “moral vision”1 in a work of art can be construed as the
concept of what the artist wants to achieve in terms of morality: the ultimate
achievement towards which he moves through his creative endeavor. Such an
achievement is organically connected to what Grace (1972: 8) calls “the inner
integrity” of the work in which the artist makes an honest effort to follow the
truth of experience. Clearly, an achievement of this sort cannot be attained
through an obvious moralization, for that would only make the work inartistic.
It should, rather, be through moralization which is “fused with a mimesis of life
constituting the work of art” (P. 190).

In this study, a modest attempt is made to examine the moral vision of Amharic
novels by six authors. The mimesis of life constituting the novels ranging over
three socio-political systems, the study focuses on the changing face of moral
vision in the texts selected. The dissertation has nine chapters with this one
inclusive. An interdisciplinary study involving ethics and aesthetics as it is,
there is a felt-need for a separate chapter on review of related literature and
this follows from this introductory chapter. In its first section, the present
chapter sets out to give a brief account of the fact that morality has always
been an integral part of Ethiopian literature. Also in this chapter are included
accounts pertaining to the objectives, methods and design of the study, along
with short descriptions of the Amharic novels selected for the study.
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1.1. A Short Survey of Morality in Ethiopian Literature
Ethiopia is one of the countries in the world that pride themselves on their
heritage of antique civilization. Its written literatures, first in Geez and then in
Amharic, are among the most prominent aspects of its heritage.

1.1.1. Morality in Geez Literature
According to Sumner (1972), Geez literature which is more of a secular nature
ranged over twelve centuries and comprises five works in two categories. The
first category falls under translations, and this consists of The Physiologue, The
Book of Philosophers, and The Life and Maxims of Eskendes. The other category
comprises the originals which include The Treatise of Zera Yacob and The
Treatise of Wolda Heywot.

Sumner is apparently taken by surprise to find out that Ethiopia is in
possession of such remarkable wealth of antique literature and philosophy. He
talks about his observation of the profile of images (of man) used in the
sapiental and philosophical works of Ethiopia and describes his reaction in the
following terms:

I saw a kind of architecture of images building itself
before my very eyes, a real pyramid whose basis is
nature and whose apex is man himself…. Man
penetrates the pyramid itself like a line joining the
summit to the center of the base (p. 427).

The works mentioned above are in their chronological order and as such have
evolved from wisdom to rationalism. Again in Sumner’s words:
The link with Christianity evolves from the entirely
Christian symbolism of The Physiologue to the
anthropocentrism, considered however in its theological
orientation, of The Book of Philosophers, to the theistic
pantheism of the first series of maxims in Skendes, and
to the anti-Christ, although deeply mystical, radicalism of
Zera Yacob and his disciple. (p. 436).

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Of particular interest to this study is that the literature, among other things, is
predominantly anthropocentric and the fact that it emphatically depicts man as
a moral being. Sumner gives us a vivid picture of the Semitic man in the
contrast he draws between the Semitic world and the Western world. Whereas
the Western world has a tendency to consider things as they are in their
impersonal objectivity, the Ethiopian Semitic world is clearly anthropocentric.
The Semitic Ethiopian is part of the world in which he lives. His starting point
is within himself, his own personal experience. Instead of trying to express
what is in his mind, he tries to evoke it. The western, on the other hand, takes
as his starting point the world of external reality, which is distinct and
measurable (pp. 427-428).

Furthermore, ethics has a central position in the literature in which man
cannot be conceived apart from his moral bent. Morality is particularly a
central element of The Book of the Philosophers. The human heart is not simply
a physiological organ but an image, a symbol and above all the center of a
moral habit. In his study of the literature Sumner has identified various aspects
(thought, man, rhythm, society, etc) all of which converge toward moral action
as a single significant reality.

With reference to the Treatises of Zera Yacob and Wolda Heywot, Sumner
asserts that nearly all the principles of ethics have been included ranging from
the more abstract principles to their concrete application to life and there again
from the relations of man to his Lord, to himself, to his family, his neighbor and
State. Both Zera Yacob and Wolde Heywot agree on the prevalence of concern
for moral question. And moral prevalence, writes Sumner, with reference to
Physiologue and to The Life and Maxims of Eskendes, characterizes all
expressions of Ethiopian thought.

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