Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood as an African Feminist Text Upon my first reading of Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood, I immediately rejoiced--in this novel, I had finally encountered an account of a female protagonist in colonial and postcolonial African life. In my hands rested a work that gave names and voices to the silent, forgotten mothers and co-wives of novels by male African writers such as Chinua Achebe. Emecheta, I felt, provided a much-needed glimpse into the world of the African woman, a world harsher than that of the African male because woman is doubly marginalized. As a female in Africa, the opposite of male, woman suffers sexual oppression; as an African, the opposite of white in an ever-colonized nation, the African woman also suffers racial oppression. Nnu Ego, Emecheta's protagonist, became at once for me the poster female of Africa, a representative of all subjugated African women, and her story alerted me to all the wrongs committed against African women, wrongs that could only be righted through feminist discourse. As with many surface readings I have performed as a student of literature, however, my perspective on The Joys of Motherhood began to evolve. First, I realized and accepted Nnu Ego's failure to react against oppressive forces in order to bring about change for herself and the daughters of Africa; I consoled myself, reasoning that the novel still deserves the feminist label because it calls attention to the plight of the African woman and because its author and protagonist are female. Rereading the novel, however, also triggered the silencing of my initial response. I focused on such passages as the dying wish of Ona, Nnu Ego's mother, who implored Agbadi, Nnu Ego's father, ... ... middle of paper ... ...econd African Writers Conference, Stockholm, 1986. Ed. Kirsten Holst Petersen. Upsala: Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1998. 173-202. ---. The Joys of Motherhood. New York: George Braziller, 1979. Nnoromele, Salome C. "Representing the African Woman: Subjectivity and Self in The Joys of Motherhood." Critique 43.2 (2002): 178-190. Ogundipe-Leslie, Molora. "The Female Writer and Her Commitment." Women in African Literature Today. Ed. Eldred Durosimi Jones. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1987. 5-14. Okeke, Phil E. "Reconfiguring Tradition: Women's Rights and Social Status in Contemporary Nigeria." Africa Today 47.1 (2000): 49-63. Schipper, Mineke. "Mother Africa on a Pedestal: The Male Heritage in African Literature and Criticism." Women in African Literature Today. Ed. Eldred Durosimi Jones. Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Press, 1987. 35-53.
Prentice Hall Anthology of African American Literature. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. 163-67. Print.
In the book entitled Abina and the Important Men, by Trevor R. Getz and Liz Clarke is about a woman named Abina, who wakes up one morning and decides that she wants to change the way that women are portrayed in society. Although slaves in the 19th century were considered free, women had a more difficult time achieving freedom due to, how the culture was shaped, inequality between men and women and negative effects on society as a whole. Western and African cultures believe that all women should be silent, they are not allowed to say what is on their mind. Women’s opinions didn’t matter; they were considered useless. They were accepted to be housegirls, where females had to cook, clean and nurture their children if they had any.
Gates, Henry Louis, and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. Print.
This is reflected in the literature of the African-American as a special bond of love and loyalty to the mother figure. Just as the role of motherhood in African-American culture is magnified and elevated, so is the role of the wife. The literature reflects this by showing the African-American man struggling to make a living for himself and his family with his wife either being emotionally or physically submissive. Understanding the role of women in the African-American community starts by examining the roles of women in African-American literature. Because literature is a reflection of the community from which it comes, the portrayal of women in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) and James Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain (1952) is consistent with the roles mentioned above.
This paper examines the drastic differences in literary themes and styles of Richard Wright and Zora Neale Hurston, two African--American writers from the early 1900's. The portrayals of African-American women by each author are contrasted based on specific examples from their two most prominent novels, Native Son by Wright, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Hurston. With the intent to explain this divergence, the autobiographies of both authors (Black Boy and Dust Tracks on a Road) are also analyzed. Particular examples from the lives of each author are cited to demonstrate the contrasting lifestyles and experiences that created these disparities, drawing parallels between the authors’ lives and creative endeavors. It becomes apparent that Wright's traumatic experiences involving females and Hurston's identity as a strong, independent and successful Black artist contributed significantly to the ways in which they chose to depict African-American women and what goals they adhered to in reaching and touching a specific audience with the messages contained in their writing.
Karenga, Malauna. Introduction to Black Studies. Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press Third Edition, 2002.
James, Johson Weldon. Comp. Henry Louis. Gates and Nellie Y. McKay. The Norton Anthology of African American Literature. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2004. 832. Print.
(2012). Womanist Mothering: Loving and Raising the Revolution. Western Journal Of Black Studies, 36(1), 57-67.
Verner, B. (1994, June 12). The Power and Glory of Africana Womanism. The Chicago Tribune.
The only glory and satisfaction enjoyed by the women portrayed in Things Fall Apart was being a mother. They receive respect and love from their children. They are strong for their children. The women are viewed as very gentle and caring. They are expected to take care of their children with the best of their ability and are trusted totally by their children. This honorable presentation of women is used by Achebe to identify women's role in the Ibo society. This presentation is necessary to show that women indeed play an important role in society.
First, I will look at the enslavement of Africans in the New World. During this period women of African descent were raped and abused. They were deemed as sexual beings and were used not only as producers but also as reproducers, to replenish the enslaved population. This latter role was also perpetuated through the rape of enslaved African women by their white slave masters. Thus, the health of these women was negated for the welfare of the plantation system. This system was justified by scientific racism and my essay will show how Europeans came to the conclusion that this was morally permissible. I will also explore how this has affected the idea of motherhood, showing the eurocentric view of African motherhood and contrast this with
Ngugi Wa Thingó. Writers in Politic: A Re-engagement with Issues in Literature and Society. Revised and enlarged ed. Nairobi, Oxford and Portsmouth: James Currey,East African Educational Publishers and Heinemann, 1981.
There has been notions and perceptions of the treatment or adaptation of African literature as a perception that Africa’s is a cultural body. It is referred by Chinua Achebe as a metaphysical landscape. This term refers to a geographical entity that has surpassed historical experiences. It is also this perception that also gave rise to Organisations of National Unity and also the African Union. Conferences such as the African Writers’ Conference that happened at the Makerere University in the year 1962 discuss the nature and argue the role played by African literature in the African context.
Things Fall Apart, a novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe is a story about an Igbo village in Nigeria and a man that once was a powerful influence in the tribe, but begins to lose his influence as Nigeria is colonized and Christian missionaries come to evangelize. A deeper look at the novel, with a feminist critics point of view, tells a lot about the Igbo people as well as the author’s thoughts about women in the novel. Feminist critics look at female authors, and female characters and their treatment as well as women’s issues in society. Since Achebe is a male, the main focus of feminist literary criticism for Things Fall Apart is the women in the novel and their issues as well as the Igbo view of gender identity. Many issues that women
“The Joys of Motherhood” by Buchi Emecheta reveals an interesting struggle between one’s own core values and the core values of others. The protagonist Nnu Ego begins her journey of self-discovery alone and barren. It is not until later that she sees being barren as a gift and being fertile as a burden. This drastic shift is brought on by her move from Ibuza to Lagos and the difference in culture she is exposed to as time progresses. In the novel, Nnu Ego faces obstacles that relate to changing gender roles in the community of Lagos, resulting in the shift of her beliefs from those established by her upbringing in Ibuza.