The joys of motherhood

Bernadine Evaristo described The Joys of Motherhood as 'the female, feminist counterpart to Things Fall Apart' by Chinua Achebe and, on reading Buchi Emecheta's masterpiece for myself, I could see just what Evaristo means. There are similar themes of traditional culture clashing with more modern ways of living, and rural life being very different to that of the city, and I couldn't help but feel for Nnu Ego whose prolonged experiences of motherhood were generally anything but joyful. Nnu Ego's struggles to reconcile city life with that of her rural village upbringing also brought to mind The Dollmaker by Harriette Arnow.

It was interesting to watch the dynamic between Nnu Ego and her husband, Nnaife, changing as their lives progressed together. Initially Nnu Ego looks down on her husband's profession as a washerman for a white household despite his obvious pride in the role. Once Nnu Ego begins trading and earning for herself however, and Nnaife's job is lost to the Second World War, their effective positions change while, psychologically, they still remain committed to the traditional hierarchy. I was shocked also at Emecheta's portrayal of Nigerian men being press-ganged into fighting for Britain during WW2. My own school history lessons gave the impression of many thousands of Commonwealth citizens eagerly signing up voluntarily. I now understand that this was not the whole truth.

While I appreciated this opportunity to read The Joys Of Motherhood and can completely understand why it is considered a modern classic, I wasn't particularly enamoured of Buchi Emecheta's prose which did feel overly slow. Perhaps this is due to it originally having been written over forty years ago and styles have changed a lot in the meantime. I didn't think that Nnu Ego came across that strongly in her own right which is, of course, a significant part of what the whole novel wants to put across, but I found it frustrating as a reader. This woman feels she exists only to do her best by her family and so puts the needs, and even whims, of her children and husband above everything else, regardless of how they reciprocate. As her situation degenerates, grinding her down too, I desperately wanted her to be less selfless. Nnu Ego's own pride in successfully fulfilling her traditional role to the very best of her ability would never allow her, however, to put herself first.