The Joys of Motherhood

"The Joys of Motherhood "

Introduction of Buchi Emecheta 

Buchi Emecheta, in full Florence Onyebuchi Emecheta.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 married at age 16, and she emigrated with her husband from Nigeria to London in 1962. She began writing stories based on her life, including the problems she initially encountered in England. These works were first published in New Statesman magazine and were later collected in the novel In the Ditch (1972). That work was followed by Second-Class Citizen (1974), and both were later included in the single volume Adah’s Story (1983).Those books introduce Emecheta’s three major themes: the quests for equal treatment, self-confidence, and dignity as a woman. Somewhat different in style is Emecheta’s novel Gwendolen (1989; also published as The Family), which addresses the issues of immigrant life in Great Britain, as do Kehinde (1994) and The New Tribe (2000).

Most of Emecheta’s other novels—including The Bride Price (1976), The Slave Girl (1977), The Joys of Motherhood (1979), Destination Biafra (1982), and Double Yoke (1982)—are realistic works of fiction set in Nigeria. Perhaps her strongest work, The Rape of Shavi (1983), is also the most difficult to categorize. Set in an imaginary idyllic African kingdom, it explores the dislocations that occur when a plane carrying Europeans seeking to escape an nuclear disaster crashe.

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.

Buchi Emecheta used to say, “I work toward the liberation of women but I’m not a feminist I’m just a woman.”

About Novel

The Joys of Motherhood is a novel written by Buchi Emecheta. It was first published in London, UK, by Allison & Busby in 1979 and was first published in Heinemann's African Writers Series in 1980 and reprinted 1982, 2004, 2008.

The book opens as Nnu Ego runs away from her home in Lagos, Nigeria, where her first baby has just died she has decided to commit suiside.The story flashes back to the story of how Nnu Ego was conceived. Her father, Agbadi, though he has many wives, is in love with a proud and haughty young woman named Ona. Ona refuses to marry him because she is obligated to produce a son for her father's family line, and not a husband's. But when Agbadi is almost killed in a hunting accident, Ona nurses him back to health and becomes pregnant with his child. She agrees that if it's a daughter, the child will belong to Agbadi.

 Emecheta also attacks Ibos who take use of masculine power to oppress women, wives, and daughters. Though women can bear children and raise them, the "Joys of Motherhood" can also be painful and anxiety-inducing. One of Emecheta's most important and well-known works, The Joys of Motherhood, criticises colonialism, tradition, and women's roles, and how they effect one woman, Nnu Ego, and her family.

Q-1) "The most celebrated female character in African creative writing is the African mother." by Marie A. Umeh according to this, is the character of Nnu Ego celebrating motherhood or not? Explain.

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 of the irony in her life, she says, 

"A woman with many children could face a lonely old age and maybe a miserable death all alone, just like a barren woman" 

Emecheta constructs a totally different set of economic, socio-political and cultural an essential which diverge from the existing literary models.

The character of Nnu Ego celebrating motherhood. The novel The Joy of Motherhood is the story of female protagonist Nnu Ego, who enjoys her life being mother of many children in order to have a comfortable old age. She is ready to sacrifice herself in order to feed and give clothes to children, Emecheta tries to offer the meaning of motherhood through her character Nnu Ego.

Without motherhood, Nnu Ego feels empty and struggled very hard to be a mother.Emecheta wants to transmit the point that bearing more than five or six children do not mean that a mother is going to be prosperous in her old age. She examines the institution of motherliness, unpleasant experiences mixed up in motherliness, and its shock on the minds of the Nigerian women. According to Katherine Frank, "The complete futility of motherhood that we find in The Joys of Motherhood is the most heretical and radical aspect of Emecheta's vision of the African Women".

Nnu Ego had to experience patriarchal slavery throughout her life and died in solitude. All mothers, Ona,Akadu and Nnu Ego, have been victimized in the patriarchal,and traditionally strong Ibo society. But Emecheta’s Nnu Ego challenges the conservative conception ,producing numerous children will give a woman much joyful.

Nnu Ego is not a radical ,she dutifully accepts and fulfills her role as a woman in Ibo society. Her initial quest is for justification and validation. When she cannot conceive with her first husband, Amatokwu, the marriage is dissolved and she is filled with apprehension and shame. When her second marriage, to Nnaife, produces a highly prized son, she realizes the happiness denied her, only to have her joy shattered when Ngozi dies in infancy. The death of the child becomes, by extension, the death of Nnu Ego. She sees no reason to live if she cannot succeed in the single role of bearing and rearing children. Slowly, she comes to new realizations about what is truly important to her, and these epiphanies force her to examine her role and function as a woman in Ibo society.

Nnu Ego's husband Nnaife blames her for their children's defection from traditional values, failing to understand his own role. Much to Nnu Ego's frustration, Nnaife does not acknowledge that his own drinking, lack of financial support, and selfishness contributed to the children's selfishness. Nnu Ego suffers most of all, working day and night at her thankless task of helping her children have all the best advantages and succeed in life.

The Joys of Motherhood – Character List 

1. Nwokocha Agbadi

Agbadi is a rich, powerful, and respected chief. He is brave, handsome, and famous for hunting elephants. He falls in love with Ona, the daughter of another chief. After being injured during a hunting trip, Ona nurses him back to health, and later they marry. Agbadi deeply loves Ona and later their daughter Nnu Ego. When Ona dies in childbirth, Agbadi raises Nnu Ego with care and affection. He represents traditional African masculinity, power, and authority.

2. Ona

Ona is Agbadi’s proud and independent wife. At first, she refuses to marry him because she fears political rivalry between their families. She is strong-willed, intelligent, and self-respecting. Though she loves Agbadi, she wants to live life on her own terms. She gives birth to Nnu Ego but later dies during childbirth. She represents female independence and resistance to patriarchal control.

3. Nnu Ego (Main Protagonist)

Nnu Ego is the central character of the novel. Her name means “twenty bags of cowries,” symbolizing her great value. Society judges her only by her ability to bear children. Her first marriage fails because she does not conceive, making her feel worthless. In her second marriage, she gives birth to many children but suffers greatly because of poverty, neglect, emotional pain, and loneliness. She works extremely hard for her children, sacrificing everything for them. However, her children grow up and leave her alone. In old age, she becomes poor and forgotten. After her death, people build a shrine in her name, but her life proves that motherhood brings suffering rather than joy.

4. Amatokwu

Amatokwu is Nnu Ego’s first husband. He is traditional and believes a woman’s only duty is to bear children. When Nnu Ego fails to conceive, he abandons her and marries another woman. He represents male dominance and social pressure placed on women to produce children.

5. Nnaife

Nnaife becomes Nnu Ego’s second husband. He is a laundry worker for a white family. At first, he is kind and caring, and Nnu Ego feels happy. They have several children together. However, poverty, job loss, and traditional expectations strain their marriage. After his brother’s death, Nnaife is forced to marry his brother’s wives. Later, he is imprisoned, leaving Nnu Ego alone to raise the children. He represents male helplessness in colonial society and traditional male authority weakened by poverty.

6. Adaku

Adaku is Nnaife’s brother’s youngest wife. After her husband’s death, she lives with Nnu Ego’s family. She is bold, outspoken, and ambitious. She refuses to live a life of poverty and hardship. Later, she becomes a prostitute and businesswoman to earn money and educate her daughters. She represents female independence and rebellion against traditional restrictions.

7. Okpo

Okpo becomes Nnaife’s second wife through traditional customs. She gives birth to many children, especially sons, which makes her powerful in the family. She becomes Nnu Ego’s rival, increasing Nnu Ego’s insecurity and suffering. She represents traditional polygamous family conflict.

8. Kehinde

Kehinde is Nnu Ego’s eldest daughter. She is sensitive and troubled. She leaves home early with a man, which leads to family shame. Her father attacks the man’s family, resulting in his imprisonment. This ruins Kehinde’s chances of a good marriage. She represents the limited freedom of girls in traditional society.

9. Oshia

Oshia is Nnu Ego’s eldest son. He is intelligent and ambitious. His parents struggle and sacrifice to educate him. However, he chooses to study in America, ignoring his parents’ wishes. His departure deeply hurts Nnu Ego. He represents the younger generation’s desire for independence and modern life.

10. Adim

Adim is Nnu Ego’s second son. He moves to Canada and distances himself from his family. Like Oshia, he does not return to support his parents. He represents modern individualism and emotional detachment from traditional family responsibilities.

Summary 

Nwokocha Agbadi is a proud, handsome, and rich village chief. He has many wives, but he is most attracted to a beautiful woman named Ona. He calls her “Ona,” which means precious jewel. Ona is the daughter of another chief. When she was young, her father loved her deeply and took her everywhere with him, proudly calling her his ornament. Agbadi used to joke that her father should wear her around his neck like a jewel. At that time, Agbadi never imagined that he himself would one day want to marry her.

One rainy season, Chief Agbadi and his friends go on an elephant-hunting trip. During the hunt, an elephant attacks Agbadi and throws him violently into a sugarcane bush. The animal pins him down, and he is badly injured. Agbadi manages to kill the elephant with his spear but becomes unconscious, and everyone thinks he is dead. After several days, he regains consciousness and finds Ona beside him, caring for him. During his recovery, they become physically close. Soon after, Agbadi’s senior wife, Agunwa, becomes seriously ill and later dies. It is believed that she became sick after seeing Agbadi with Ona.

During Agunwa’s funeral, traditional rituals are performed. According to custom, her personal slave is expected to jump into the grave to accompany her mistress in the afterlife. However, the young slave begs for her life. The men become angry, and she is forced into the grave. When she tries to escape, Agbadi’s son strikes her on the head with a cutlass, killing her. Her tragic death deeply affects the future of Nnu Ego.

Ona becomes pregnant and gives birth to a daughter named Nnu Ego, which means twenty bags of cowries, symbolizing great value. Nnu Ego is born with a mark on her head, resembling the wound of the slain slave woman, showing a spiritual connection. Later, Ona gives birth to another son but dies during childbirth, and the baby also dies. Nnu Ego grows up but remains childless after marriage to Amatokwu. Because of her barrenness, she suffers greatly and is told by herbalists that the spirit of the dead slave woman is blocking her fertility. Amatokwu soon takes another wife who becomes pregnant, and Nnu Ego is sent back to her father’s house in shame.

Later, Nnu Ego is married to a man named Nnaife, who lives in Lagos. She does not like him at first but hopes that motherhood will bring her happiness. She gives birth to a son, but the child dies, leaving her heartbroken and nearly suicidal. Over time, she gives birth to nine children who survive. Life in Lagos is extremely difficult. Nnaife works as a laundryman for white colonizers and later joins the army, leaving Nnu Ego alone to raise the children in poverty. She struggles daily to feed them and provide education. When Nnaife inherits his brother’s wives, conflict arises in the household. One of these wives later becomes a prostitute, while Nnu Ego continues to sacrifice everything for her children.

Nnu Ego works tirelessly to educate her eldest son, hoping he will support the family. However, he desires to study abroad, and her second son also follows this path. Her third child, a daughter, runs away to marry a butcher’s son, leading to trouble and Nnaife’s imprisonment. Her fourth child marries a lawyer who helps free Nnaife and later raises one of Nnu Ego’s younger children.

In old age, Nnu Ego returns to her village, where people praise her for her successful children. However, she feels empty and lonely because her children do not care for her. She dies alone and is considered mad by villagers. Only after her death do her children return to give her a grand funeral, spending money they never spent on her while she was alive. The novel ends with the bitter truth that Nnu Ego, despite her sacrifices, never truly enjoyed the happiness of motherhood.

Conclusion 

The actual condition of women is portrayed through the character of Nnu Ego also makes clear that the joys of motherhood include not only happiness but also pain and suffering.