Assignment 1 - Exploring Female Oppression and Societal Constraints in Buchi Emecheta's "The Joys of Motherhood"

 Assignment Topic : Exploring Female Oppression and Societal Constraints in Buchi Emecheta's “The Joys of Motherhood”

This blog is a part of an assignment for the Paper 207 - The African Literature, Sem - 4, 2024. In which my assignment topic is Exploring Female Oppression and Societal Constraints in Buchi Emecheta's "The Joys of Motherhood". 

Table of Contents : 

• Academic Information

• Abstract

• Key Words

• Introduction

• Buchi Emecheta

• About the Novel(The Joys of Motherhood)

• Female Oppression and Societal Constraints in Buchi Emecheta's "The Joys of Motherhood"

  ~  Nnu Ego’s Predicament Features of Victimization in Ibuza

  ~ Victimization by the bad work condition for women in Lagos

  ~ Polygamy as a feature of women victimization

  ~ Resisting Gender-Based Violence

Academic Information : 

Name : Anjali M. Rathod

Enrollment no. : 4069206420220024

Roll no. : 02

Batch : M.A. Sem. 4 (2022-24)

Paper no. : 206 - The African Literature 

Email Address: rathodanjali20022002ui@gmail.com

Submitted to : Smt. S.B. Gardi, Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar - 364002

Date of Submission : 26th April, 2024

Abstract :

Buchi Emecheta's novel "The Joys of Motherhood" provides a poignant and unflinching portrayal of the oppressive societal forces and constraints that subjugate women in traditional Nigerian society. Through the harrowing life journey of the protagonist, Nnu Ego, Emecheta exposes the deep-rooted patriarchal norms and cultural expectations that relentlessly marginalize and victimize women. The novel delves into the harsh realities faced by Nnu Ego, who is torn between her fervent desire for motherhood and the brutal oppression inflicted upon her by her husband, family, and the broader societal framework. Emecheta deftly explores the themes of gender inequality, domestic abuse, polygamy, and the objectification of women as mere vessels for procreation. Nnu Ego's struggles against the entrenched misogyny and the crushing weight of societal expectations, Emecheta poignantly illustrates the intersection of gender, culture, and power dynamics that conspire to strip women of their autonomy and agency. "The Joys of Motherhood" serves as a powerful indictment of the systemic oppression endured by women and a poignant call for liberation from the shackles of patriarchal dominance.

Key words : 

Female oppression, Motherhood, Power dynamics, Gender roles, Liberation, Marginalization, Victimization

Introduction : 

Buchi Emecheta's acclaimed novel "The Joys of Motherhood" provides a searing examination of the multifaceted oppression and societal constraints endured by women in traditional Nigerian society. Published in 1979, the novel sheds light on the harsh realities faced by the protagonist, Nnu Ego, whose life serves as a microcosm of the broader struggle against patriarchal norms, gender inequality, and the systemic subjugation of women. Through Nnu Ego's harrowing experiences, Emecheta explores the intricate web of cultural expectations, domestic abuse, polygamy, and the reduction of women to mere vessels for procreation. The novel delves into the complex interplay between gender, power dynamics, and the relentless societal pressures that strip women of their autonomy and agency.

Buchi Emecheta : 

Buchi Emecheta, Florence Onyebuchi [Buchi] (1944–2017), novelist, was born in Yaba, near Lagos, Nigeria, on 21 July 1944 to Igbo Christian parents, Alice Ogbanje Emecheta, née Okwukwe, and her husband Jeremy Nwabudike Emecheta, a railway worker, who were both from Umueze Okolo Odeon village in Ibusa, Delta State, an old Igbo kingdom. Her first novel, In the Ditch, published in 1972, chronicled the struggles of Adah, who represented Emecheta’s own alter ego, in raising children in the slums of London. Emecheta published over twenty books, which frequently centered on a black woman’s experience. Many of her novels revisit the same themes and draw inspiration from her life. There is perhaps no other African writer in whose works their own biography is centered as much as it is in hers. Her work illuminates her life while her life informs her work. 

Her internationally best-known work, The Joys of Motherhood (1979), was the woman’s companion piece to Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Ironically titled, it offered the most decisive critique of patriarchy, unsparing oppression of women. The narrative represents the psychological perspectives of co-wives Nnu Ego, who is crushed by male control, and Adaku, who radically rejects her marriage and is a liberating feminist character, but in African terms. Emecheta’s novels not only championed female independence and the right of girls and women to education, self-expression, and respect, but also examined war and militarism in the complex aftermath of colonialism. (Osborne)

She was an Igbo writer whose novels deal largely with the difficult and unequal role of women in both immigrant and African societies and explore the tension between tradition and modernity. Emecheta wrote an autobiography, Head Above Water (1986), and several works of children’s and juvenile fiction. She was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 2005. (Britannica)

About the Novel : 

Buchi Emecheta has written a novel that is engrossing, if not a technical masterpiece. Because of her attention to detail, the reader is able to feel the rhythms and nuances of life in both the Ibo village and in that teeming metropolis, Lagos. The author's best work is her presentation of Nnu Ego 's frustrations and apprehensions. The setting is Nigeria prior to, during and after World War II, but there is much here with which any woman can identify, particularly if she is, or has met. Nnu Ego, in her effort to fulfill traditional expectations during times of rapid social change, finds herself not only struggling for physical survival, but also struggling to understand why her life is so difficult. She grew up as a favored child of a chief. Her misfortunes beg in when she fails to produce offspring immediately during her first marriage. If one measures a woman 's success by her ability to reproduce, her fortunes vastly improve when a second marriage proves fruitful. 

Through this traditional Nigerian women's experience trying to adapt to modern times, one can see the confusing complexity of the role of women from another cultural  perspective. The surprise is that the "woman question" in a different time and a different place is so similar to here and now. Each reader of The Joys of Motherhood will decide whether or not the title of this novel is cynical . As the joyous mother of an only child, my own opinion is necessarily biased. (Bell)

Female Oppression and Societal Constraints in Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood : 

One of the most striking forms of Victimization depicted in the novel is the subjugation of women through patriarchal traditions and gender roles. Emecheta illustrates the devastating impact of polygamy on Nnu Ego's life, as her husband Nnaife takes a second, younger wife. The subject of women victimization and oppression has been of considerable concern for many female writers throughout ages. Generally, women are considered weaker and less powerful than men in every society around the globe. Women see themselves as the subject of men’s malpractice and subjugation. This culture of subjugating women is worldwide. It passes on from one generation to another. In a multinational and multiethnic society, a white woman is oppressed by white men, a black woman is oppressed at two levels: she is oppressed because she is black and she is also oppressed by black men because she is a woman. (Helaly)

• Nnu Ego’s Predicament Features of Victimization in Ibuza

In Ibuza, Nnu Ego is an object of subjugation.She is to live according to the standards expected of her. Through Nnu Ego’s journey, Emecheta wants to show the influence of traditionalism and how it is responsible for the situation of the Ibo woman in general. According to the values in Ibuza, a child is part of a woman’s identity and the only symbol of success and self-fulfillment for women. 

“A woman without a child for her husband was a failed woman”.

Nnu Ego is the daughter of the great chief Agbadi. She is brought up as a princess adhering to the values of Ibuza to be a successful wife and mother. She gets married to an Ibo man called Amatokwu. Despite being a true lover of Nnu Ego, he rejects her because she is not able to produce children. Moreover, Nnu Ego is rejected by both her father as well as her community because of her childlessness. Nnu Ego finds herself in a pitiable situation. She has to undergo a drastic change from a powerful daughter of a powerful man to a helpless wife, Nnu Ego lacks the natural confidence to defy society because she fails to be a true woman.

Women Victimization in Ibuza is that of polygamy which represents another means for men to control women. In Ibuza, the system dictates that if a wife fails to be a mother the husband is allowed to have another wife and take back the bride price he has paid. Amatokwu, Nnu Ego’s first husband, practices some violence on Nnu Ego because of her failure to bear a child. He beats her mercilessly. He says to her “Let her go ….she is as barren as a desert”. (Helaly)

• Victimization by the bad work condition for women in Lagos

In Ibuza, where women work side by side with their husbands and other women. The system in Lagos makes it difficult for them to share their men with any kind of work. Nnu Ego resorts to the business of petty trading out of the increasing demands of her children. Her need for money keeps her in the street. As Derrickson point out that, 

 

“The economic structure of a male-controlled economy and Nnu Ego’s own attempt to play according to the rules of her newly Westernized setting enslave her in a role in which she is prevented from forming useful relationships with the women around her”.(Derrickson)

• Polygamy as a feature of women victimization

• What is Polygamy? 

Polygyny is the practice of having several wives, polyandry is the practice of having more than one husband at one time. Polygamy takes many forms across the globe. In some cultures one wife is shared by many brothers, in others father and son have a common wife; in others a man has many wives. Polygamy is practiced all over African communities.

Issues : The Joys of Motherhood portrays the African women issues and their situation within a patriarchal and male- dominated society. It depicts the life of a Nigerian woman who sacrificed all her life for her children. She thinks that bearing children is the highest achievement in life. Buchi Emecheta seeks to expose gender inequality and the polygamous system of oppression that regulates women to childbearing and Motherhood. In the novel, Polygamy and gender inequality are traditional factors that men use to oppress and dominate women. The novel is a powerful example on polygamy and all kinds of oppressions. Most of the female characters in the novel try to follow the traditional beliefs but most of them failed.

Emecheta argues that Polygamy is not a pressured right especially when the husband is unable to support other additional wives. In The Joys of Motherhood, the protagonist, Nnu Ego is the representative of all the African women. Polygamy is better illustrated with Nnu Ego who had married twice to polygamous men. In her first marriage, her husband took a second wife because she could not produce children. (Ben Mohammed)

Feature : Polygamy is another feature of women victimization both in Ibuza as well as in Lagos. In the traditional Ibo society, polygamy gives some extra power to the status of women as it allows them to cope with the burden they have to share with their husbands. In Ibuza Nnu Ego has had to be a co-wife because of her inability to bear children in her first marriage.

According to traditions in Ibuza, he has to marry the widow of his dead brother. Now, Nnu Ego is the senior wife of Naife. In Ibuza, a senior wife has certain privileges that are denied in Lagos.

Adaku, Naife’s second wife, comes to live with Nnu Ego. Nnu Ego is not happy about being a senior wife in Lagos. She is not happy with this new status as it requires her to play the responsible senior wife without offering her the same benefits that once accompanied that role under the tribal system. (Helaly)

As Derrickson remarks,

“Nnu Ego is left without the rewards that a senior wife in Ibuza has. Her predicament as a woman is exacerbated by the fact that the capitalist system she now lives under requires her to play the role of a senior wife without offering privileges''. (Derrickson)

• Resisting Gender-Based Violence

In Buchi Emecheta’s novels, male violence emerges as a recurring theme, illuminating the harsh realities confronted by women within patriarchal societies. Her literary works frequently portray the physical and emotional abuse endured by female characters at the hands of men, offering a stark commentary on the systemic oppression and gender inequality pervasive in African communities. 

The concept of male violence in Africa refers to the pervasive issue of violence perpetrated by men against women in various forms within African societies. This type of violence includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, as well as harmful traditional practices such as female genital mutilation and child marriage. Male violence in Africa often stems from deeply ingrained patriarchal norms and unequal power dynamics between men and women.

Emecheta’s narratives, male violence is depicted as a manifestation of deeply entrenched patriarchal norms and societal expectations. Through her exploration of these themes, Emecheta provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of gender-based violence. For example, in “The Joys of Motherhood”, we can observe instances of psychological harm experienced by the female character Adaku. From a male-centered perspective, they attribute the conflict to Adaku’s lack of male children for the family.

African societies place significant value on both fertility and the birth of male children. This perspective is deeply rooted in cultural and traditional beliefs and can be seen in various aspects of social life. Fertility is highly regarded because it ensures the continuation of family lineage and community. (Diakite)

Conclusion : 

Buchi Emecheta's "The Joys of Motherhood" remains a profoundly impactful and enduring work that shines a spotlight on the harsh realities of female oppression and societal constraints in traditional Nigerian society. Through the poignant narrative of Nnu Ego's life, Emecheta has crafted a powerful indictment of the patriarchal structures, cultural expectations, and systemic misogyny that conspire to subjugate and marginalize women.

The novel's unflinching exploration of themes such as gender inequality, domestic abuse, polygamy, and the objectification of women as mere vessels for procreation serves as a sobering reminder of the pervasive and deeply entrenched nature of these societal ills. Emecheta's masterful storytelling not only exposes the horrific consequences of such oppression but also honors the resilience and strength of women who endure and resist these forces. "The Joys of Motherhood" transcends its specific cultural context and resonates with the broader global fight for gender equality and the emancipation of women from the shackles of patriarchal dominance.

Emecheta's seminal work stands as a clarion call for change, urging readers to confront and dismantle the insidious systems that perpetuate the subjugation of women. It is a vital contribution to the ongoing discourse on female empowerment, reminding us that the path to true liberation lies in dismantling the oppressive structures that stifle the autonomy, agency, and fundamental human rights of women worldwide.

Works Cited : 

Bell, Janet Cheatham. "[Review of] Buchi Emecheta. The Joys of Motherhood." Explorations in Ethnic Studies 3.1 (1980): 70-71.

Ben Mohammed, Noura, and Sonia Matmar. Traditions, polygamy and Education in Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood (1979). Diss. University Mouloud Mammeri of Tizi-Ouzou, 2016.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Buchi Emecheta". Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Feb. 2024, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Buchi-Emecheta . Accessed 25 April 2024.

Derrickson, Teresa. "Class, culture, and the colonial context: the status of women in Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood." International Fiction Review 29.1/2 (2002): 40-51.

Diakite, Nèma Touhou, and Toualou Stéphane Blimi. “Resisting Gender-Based Violence in Buchi Emecheta’s Fictions: The Joys of Motherhood and The Bride Price.” Advances in Literary Study, vol. 12, no. 01, 2024, https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=130544 . Accessed 1 April 2024.

Helaly, Fathi Mohamed. "Cultural Collision and Women Victimization: A Study of Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood (1979)." Journal of Language and Literature 7.

Osborne, Deirdre. "Emecheta, Florence Onyebuchi [Buchi](1944–2017)." (2021).

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