LITERATURE AND MARRIAGE: PATRIARCHAL ISSUES IN BUCHI EMECHETA’S THE JOY OF MOTHERHOOD

This paper tries to explore some of the issues raised in Buchi Emecheta’s “The Joys of Motherhood”. The novel defines motherhood as an automatic set of feelings and behaviours that is switched on by the birth of a baby. It is an experience that is said to be profoundly shaped by social context and culture. Female folk is imprisoned by the culture that requires women should bring forth many children preferably males, in order to be deemed successful in the society. This is symbolic when Emecheta projects in the novel that, Nnu Ego sacrifices all that she has including meeting the needs of her family thus; making herself prisoner in her own household. This paper also buttresses in detail the Nigeria women oppression in the marriage system of patriarchy society.Emecheta criticizes the patriarchy for dismissing, oppressing this disempowered women character in her novel. She reveals how the native patriarchy society in Ibuza who is ‘superior’, is to be determined by ‘gender’. Thus, she criticizes the way patriarchy system defines the word ‘motherhood’. Therefore, the treatment of patriarchy in the Joys of Motherhood is approached using Biological Determinism and Feminism Theoretical perspectives. The findings show that, the novel delves into the socio-cultural and economic problems facing the Nigeria women in the rural and urban setting. It also shows graphical representation of the ordeal of women and women-related issues as it obtains in a patriarchal society. Conclusion and recommendations were made on the basis that, patriarchy ideology influences the system of marriage in Nigeria. And the questions are; are children truly the joys of motherhood? Can these children truly make one a fulfilled mother? There are more to these questions if you continue to ponder on it.