The Joys of Motherhood

Thinking Activity: The Joys of Motherhood:

 Hello Everyone! This blog is response to the thinking activity , assigned by Megha Ma'am. In this blog discuss some questions which are mentioned in the task.

Introduction of Writer: Buchi Emecheta 

 Florence Onyebuchi 'Buchi' Emecheta ( 21st July 1944 - 25 January 2017) was a Nigerian - born novelist. She wrote plays and an autobiography, as well as works for children. She was the author of more than 20 books, including ' Second Class Citizen' ( 1974), ' The Bride Price' ( 1976), ' The Slave Girl' ( 1977), 'The Joys of Motherhood' ( 1979). Most of her early novels were Published by Allison and Busby, Where her editor was Margaret Busby. 

Due to the gender bias of the time, the young Emecheta was initially kept at home while her younger brother was sent to school; but after Persuading her parents to consider the benefits of her education, she spent her early childhood at an all- girls missionary school. Emecheta's themes of child slavery, motherhood, female independence and freedom through education gained recognition from critics and honours. She once described her stories as; 

Novels :- 

•  In the Ditch ( 1972)
•  Second Class Citizen ( 1974)
• The Bride Price ( 1976)
• The Slave Girl ( 1977) 
• The Joys of Motherhood ( 1979) 
• Naira Power ( 1982) 
• The Rape of Shavi ( 1983) 
•  Kehinde ( 1994) 
• The New Tribe (2000) 

 Autobiography :- 

• Head above Water ( 1984 - 1986) and Others. 

About the Novel:-  The Joys of Motherhood 

The Joys of Motherhood is a novel that is written by Buchi Emecheta in an attempt to treats the socio - cultural and economic challenges that Nigerian women face in an urban setting. It gives and exposes the obstacle a woman goes through when she is unable to produce child in marriage. Emecheta in her work of art detail a story of a young Igbo woman who dreams of leaving a traditional life as a mother of many children. Instead, she spends her life in Lagos, Nigerian, Watching as traditional values are eroded and destroyed by western influence. The hope and dream she has toward being the mother of many children turns out to be misplaced and her entire life is simply a struggle for survival with no reward in an old age. 

 'The Joys of Motherhood' - Published in the year 1979, is Buchi Emecheta's fifth novel and one at her most popular novel. The novel centered on the role of women in Nigerian society. The Protagonist of this novel is Nnu- Ego. Nnu - Ego grows up in Ibuza where she honours her father and her mother's memory, her greatest wish in life being that of becoming a mother. Buchi Emecheta narrates the entire life of Nnu-Ego : her two marriages, the loss of her first son, the spectre of infertility and its consequence within a traditional family society like the one Nnu-Ego belongs to, but also the relocation from her village to the city of Lagos and, literally, the Joys of Motherhood - living through the hopes and tribulations of the many children she will have. 

The story takes us back us back to Ibuza town, the place of birth of Nnu-Ego, Nnu-Ego was a beautiful girl and so captured the interest of many men in her village and even beyond. First, she was married to Amatokwu in a Lavish wedding ceremony, but the marriage turn sour because she was not bless with an issue after many years of marriage and that is why Amatokwu takes another wife and Nnu-Ego was derided and treated as barren woman. 

There is no great honour for a woman in an Ibo village than to have children- especially sons. Unable to conceive in her first marriage, Nnu Ego is sent away to a new husband in the city of Lagos, where she finally succeeds in becoming a mother. But things are changing, and a war that unfolds thousands of miles away threatens her family's fortunes and her entire way of life. So, It is evident in the context of the novel that; 

"In a world where motherhood is everything, what will be left for her at the end of it all ?"

Q. 1 The most celebrated female character in African creative writing is the African mother.'' by Marie Umeh according to this , Is the character of Nnu Ego celebrating motherhood or not? - Explain. [ With the reference of one article titled, The Joys of Motherhood :  Myth or Reality? by Marie A. Umeh] 

In Buchi Emecheta's novel, The Joys of Motherhood, one witnesses the collapse of these glorifying images of the African Mother. As a literary artist preoccupied with promoting change, author Emecheta, an iconoclast, breaks away from the prevalent portraitures in African writing in which motherhood is honorific. Children do not always maintain strong and loving ties with their mothers throughout adulthood.  As Emeheta states in her novel that ; 

 " The joy of being a mother is the joy of giving all to your children.'' 

The title of the book, which is taken from Flora Nwapa's novel, Efuru, is then significant and bitterly ironic.  Dazzled by ambitious sons educated outside of traditional Igbo values, Nnu Ego breaks down and her old secure world gives way to a new one.  Fully conscious to the irony in her life, she says ; 

 ' A woman with many children could face a lonely old age and may be a miserable death all alone, just like a barren woman.' 

Here, In the present novel Buchi Emecheta constructs a wholly different set of economic, socio - political and cultural imperatives which diverge from the existing literary models.   The Joys of Motherhood is the most complex and difficult of Emecheta's five published novels. The book's complexity arises out of the dramatization of the place of motherhood in Igbo society. At the level of realistic narrative, Emecheta tends to present a far more well rounded and multi-dimensional character, emphasizing the problems that afflict a woman because of her blind adherence to tradition. Of particular interest to this author are the problems of polygamy (Jealousy among wives and the inequity of some husbands), the problems of the childless wife in a society that honors fertility, the problems of women married to weak men, the problems of widows. Emecheta does not dwell on the perfections of the mother. Instead she draws spirited individuals, not without faults. In this book, the mother figure is described in a variety of situations. One witnesses the mother sacrificing herself for her children, fighting with her husband in order to get financial support for the children, protecting her children from their father's wrath, correcting her children and suffering because of their absence, their revolts against traditional customs, their needs. 

Unlike most African male writers who revere their mothers in autobiographies, recalling their mothers' affection, Buchi Emecheta records the troubled and chaotic moments in a mother's life. Apart from the positive aspects of motherhood, author Emecheta records the turmoil and anguish of women who long for children and of mothers who worry about their children. 

Buchi Emecheta's artistic growth as a writer, demonstrated in her prolific use of literary devices such as flashback, interior monologue and Bildungsroman, is stylistically exciting. For example, Emecheta employs the technique of the Bildungsroman-novel of formation-to underscore the development of the protagonist's mind and character as she nlatures and recognizes her role in life. She also skillfully uses flashbacks to weave together crucial information central to the development of the plot and to the full understanding of her characters' relationships to both the external and spirit worlds. 

The Joys of Motherhood is a good example of an African Bildungsroman. The book tracing  Nnu - Ego's Personal development from the time she is newly married until her old age. Nnu Ego's growth from a staunch traditionalist to a feminist, when she discovers after many years that motherhood has not brought fulfillment, is cleverly drawn. In 'The Joys of Motherhood', however one is eased right into Nnu - Ego's unconscious mind as well as into her thoughts. For example, in explaining her temporary nervous breakdown following the loss of her first son named Ngozi, Nnu - Ego laments that ; 

                                      "But I am not a woman any more! I am not a mother any more. The child is there, dead on the mat. My chi has taken him away from me. I only want to go in there and meet her...''

Here,  Nnu Ego puts forth traditional Igbo ideas as well as the role of one's chi in the psyche of an Igbo person.  But gradually a chain of disasters in Nnu Ego's life awakens her to the reality of her unrewarding years of suffering and sacrificing for her children. Nnu- Ego Says ; 

" I was born alone, and I shall die alone. What have I gained from all this? Yes, I have many children, but what do I have to feed them on? On my life. I have to work myself to the bone to look after them. I have to give them my all. And if I am lucky enough to die in peace, I even have to give them my soul. They will worship my dead spirit to provide for them: it will be hailed as a good spirit so long as there are plenty of yams and children in the family, but if anything should go wrong, if a young wife does not conceive or there is a famine, my dead spirit will be blamed. When will I be free?"

Although this book is valuable as a feminist work, it lacks strong feminist consciousness and ideology in form. Neo - Feminist works, in general are controlled by the dynamics of struggle. 

 'Realizing too late that a single woman can be happy even though she has no children.' 

For example, Flora Nwapa's protagonist Efuru in the novel, Efuru, challenges many accepted mores and assumptions in the Igbo community when it was not popular to do so, just like Adaku. Efuru leaves her husband Gilbert when he falsely accuses her of committing adultery, and does so without sharing the sense of failure the community dictates she should. Emecheta falls short of being a serious feminist writer in that her nlain character, Nnu Ego, acquires her raised consciousness to personhood only as the book closes. Although her character Adaku serves as a model of the liberated woman who conducts herself as a "free woman" and provides us with a glimpse of how an African woman conducts herself as a separated mother with two children, we have yet to see a realistic novel which describes a fully liberated heroine who lives an independent life as a respectable human being within African society. Because of the conservative sexual mores expected of women in the Igbo community, Adaku, by renouncing her marriage to Nnaife, choosing to live alone. 

In this novel, The Joys of Motherhood' Buchi Emecheta extends her metaphor of the enslaved Igbo woman, arguing that the society also programs women to be slaves of their male offspring as well as their husbands.  In describing the joys, author Emecheta is at her best in the irony implied in the title. Children give joy, we all agree. From this premise, she builds an elaborate story to demolish the myth, while at the same time pretending to uphold the age-old idea. Indeed, a mother of sons should be happy; such happiness should help her to bear the grind of poverty. 

Thus, Nnu Ego gradually realizes that motherhood has not brought fulfillment. After years of sacrificing everything for her family, our heroine is forced to understand that ; 

                                  '' the joy of being a mother was the joy of giving all to your children.'' 

It is also an account of her gradual awakening, and the beginning of her self affirmation.  Nnu Ego is a realistic heroine who is not totally defeated. Although she does not achieve authentic selfhood in her lifetime, her commitment to her sisters lies in her refusal to passively watch them be fenced in by housewifely duties and have too many children that bring abundant economic and emotional strains. 

Conclusion :- To conclude, Buchi Emecheta's 'The Joys of Motherhood'  stands as a model for other African women writers who wish to portray the actual condition of women and their responses to their condition and the actual possibilities of overcoming barriers and achieving individuality.

Question 2 :- The basic narrative lends itself towards neo - feminism. The main female characters struggle to shed the conditioning that forces them to act out  roles that bring little fulfillment. With reference to this, study The Joys of Motherhood by applying a feminist theory. 

Answer :-  The Joys of Motherhood narrates the story of a traditional woman, Nnu- Ego who knows her identity and its completion in having many children, especially the boy one. suffering from poverty, she knows herself rich, for she has three sons. Having detailed Nnu- Ego's painful life in Lagos, a colonized city, the novel ends with her tragic death alone. Yet, far from being devoted to her children exposing her Joys of Motherhood. Nnu- Ego dies at the end of the story, a lonely death ; 

 '' With no child to hold her hand and no friend to talk to her. she had never really made many friends, so busy she had been building up her joys as a mother."

Through depicting the oppression and suffering Nnu - Ego experiences in Lagos, Buchi Emecheta indeed highlights the effects of capital politics and colonial patriarchal regimes in Third world women's marginalization and domination. Four Waves of feminism are there. 

The first wave of feminism focused on women's suffrage, or the right to vote. Activists during this time period fought for women to have the same political rights as men. 

The second wave of feminism, also known as the women's liberation movement, sought to address a broader range of issues, including reproductive rights, equal pay, and ending discrimination and violence against women.

 

The third wave of feminism was characterized by a focus on intersectionality or the idea that different forms of oppression, such as racism, classism, and homophobia, intersect and compound one another. This wave also saw the rise of feminist activism on the internet and the use of social media to mobilize and organize.

The fourth wave of feminism, also known as intersectional feminism, continues to build on the principles of the third wave and emphasizes the importance of inclusivity and diversity within the feminist movement. This wave has also seen the rise of the #MeToo movement, which aims to expose and challenge sexual harassment and assault.

As the story of invisibility and Marginalization of women who have no voice. Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood aims at rewriting an integral part of history which has been dismissed. Indeed, Emecheta seeks to speak for Ibuza women being multiply marginalized and oppressed by a colonial and indigenous patriarchal  society. Hence, Emecheta as a Nigerian woman is the best person to rewrite the story of marginalization and suffering of nigerian women and her novel is an essential source of knowledge about them. Western feminism does not mean radical feminism based on which men are considered as women's greatest enemy. For instance, Ona is a proud woman With a male power. Adaku, a representation of independent women, struggles for her independence and freedom. Nnu - Ego, a traditional woman who accepts, the superiority of man and she always tries to be a good daughter for her father, a good wife for her husband and a good mother for her children. 

 "women are not as a singular monolithic subject. Even when they share the same culture, they are still different." 

In that way Buchi Emecheta explored the condition of Ibuza woman. Third world women to speak for themselves.  Adankwo, is the representation of those women who have accepted their fate. Internalizing the patriarchal values and norms, she herself cooperates in the oppression of Nnu Ego and Adaku. Hence, regarding Women as a category of analysis or, in other words, as a homogenous group, as Mohanty suggests that ; 

 '' results in an assumption of women as an always already constructed group, that has been labeled powerless, exploited, sexually harassed, and so on."  

The Joys of Motherhood and the issue of Gender :- 

 Beside criticizing colonialism, capitalism and racism, The Joys of Motherhood Points out the ways in which women are silenced oppressed by native patriarchy and, however, this oppression is not mediated by race or class. Unlike other black feminists who merely struggle to expose African women's racial oppression within the colonial society or the effects of racism on Afro - American women, Emecheta attemps to highlight black women's oppression within the patriarchal IGBO society as well. she in her novels criticizes the way in which the patriarchal tradition views Igbo women and dominant them. she goes further to give voice to the subaltern African women  through her female characters.  

Reading Emecheta's new critical view, Bazin asserts that ; 

 'Buchi Emecheta's heroine Nnu- Ego in The Joys of Motherhood ventures into feminist consciousness, the awakening of self to the inequities in Igbo cultures, such as son preference, polygamy, rigid sex roles, and a glorification of motherhood, which all render women powerless.' 

 

Besides criticizing colonialism, capital economic and racism Emecheta, in The Joys of Motherhood' questions African oppressive patriarchal tradition in which women have been dominated, disempowered and disregarded for a long time. However, the effects of colonialism, capitalism and racism reinforce the undermining and marginalization of women. Thus, it documents the fact that through her novels, Emecheta is going to give a self - understanding of African women. In other words, she attempts to reform the quality of African women's lives.  

Enecheta in The Joys of Motherhood, attemps to depict the African women's marginalization, oppression and suffering within the polygamous system. she is going to expose how women are subject to emotional abuse, their sexual pleasure is dismissed and oppressed by male violence. Even, they are not permitted to say a word of complaint because they are women : the forbidden 'other' and the subject of domination. Hence, how they can question the male authority? 

Adaku was the complete opposite of Nnu Ego, she could give birth to a boy child but she knew the importance of education and educated her daughter. Adaku joined prostitution for her earnings and decided to be an independent woman. While Nnu Ego was afraid of losing her respect in society and so she refused prostitution and worked in the fields to enjoy her motherhood. Adaku aptly presents neo - feminism. On the other side, Nnu - Ego loses herself in a path  of empowering herself with a mother. There is a Irony presented in the title of the novel - 'The Joys of Motherhood' in which Buchi Emecheta tries to present the sufferings and loneliness of African mothers through the main character of the novel, Nnu - Ego. 

Conclusion :- To Conclude, 'The Joys of Motherhood' is an extraordinary novel which unfolds the story of invisibility and marginalization of African women who have no voice, aims at reconstructing part of history which is dismissed. This novel attempts to explore the extent to which the colonialism, racism and Patriarchal society dominated Third world women and their lives. According to Palmer ( 1972); 

  'The Joys Of Motherhood' is the first work in African literature to present the female point of view in registering its disgust at male chauvinism and Patriarchy's satisfaction with an oppressive system towards women.'  

Here, I am embedding the video of classroom Introductory presentation on this novel - The Joys of Motherhood given by my classmate - Trushali Dodiya. 

References :- 

(PDF) a Study of Buchi Emecheta’s the Joys of Motherhood in The ..., www.researchgate.net/publication/333296130_A_Study_of_Buchi_Emecheta’s_The_Joys_of_Motherhood_in_the_Light_of_Chandra_Talpade_Mohanty_A_Postcolonial_Feminist_Theory. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024.

“Buchi Emecheta: The Joys of Motherhood.” YouTube, 5 Sept. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=19PjQ8c3U4s&pp=ygUXVGhlIGpveXMgb2YgbW90aGVyaG9vZCc%3D. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024.

Dodiya , Trushali. “The Joys of Motherhood/Buchi Emecheta/African Literature/Classroom Presentation/SEM 4.” YouTube, 25 Jan. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGbHIyABBt4&t=258s&pp=ygUnVGhlIGpveXMgb2YgbW90aGVyaG9vZCcgdHJ1c2hhbGkgZG9kaXlh. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024.

“The Joys of Motherhood, by Buchi Emecheta Summary | African Writers | African Literature.” YouTube, 26 Sept. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1RlkLgVA3A&t=12s&pp=ygUXVGhlIGpveXMgb2YgbW90aGVyaG9vZCc%3D. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024.

Umeh, Marie A. “The Joys of Motherhood: Myth or Reality?” Colby Library Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 1, March 1982, pp. 39-46. https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2471&context=cq. Accessed 19 February 2024.

Vallath , Kalyani. “The Joys of Motherhood - Net | Set | African Literature Series Part XIX.” YouTube, 7 Aug. 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJZ5V44bfB4&pp=ygUtVGhlIGpveXMgb2YgbW90aGVyaG9vZCcga2FsbHlhbmkgdmFsbGF0aCBtYWFt. Accessed 19 Feb. 2024.

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