This Presentation is based on an introductory classroom presentation on 'The Joys of Motherhood' by Buchi Emecheta, presented at the department of English, MKBU.

1. The Joys of Motherhood
by Buchi Emecheta
Presented by Trushali Dodiya
Presented at Department of
English, MKBU
Date: 17/01/2023

2. ● Key Facts
● About the Author
● Characters
● Plot Overview
● Themes Research Articles
The Points to ponder

3. Key Facts
● Genre: Novel, Bildungsroman
● Publication: 1979
● Novelist: Buchi Emecheta, A Nigerian Novelist
● Setting: Ogboli, Ibuza and Lagos
● Time: 1909-1950s
● Narrator: Third Person Omniscient
● Basics of the novel: “necessity for a woman to be
fertile, and above all to give birth to sons”

4. ● Florence Onyebuchi "Buchi" Emecheta
● 21 July 1944 – 25 January 2017
● was a Nigerian-born novelist, b
● 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) and The Joys of Motherhood (1979). Most
of her early novels were published by Allison and Busby,
where her editor was Margaret Busby.[1]
● Emecheta's themes of child slavery, motherhood, female
independence and freedom through education gained
recognition from critics and honours.
About the novelist

5. Characters

6. Plot Overview
● Present
● Nnu Ego is the protagonist
● her name means 20 bags of cowries
● She was born in Igbo Community in the rural village
of Ibuza
● Nnu Ego's first child with Nnaife died in Infancy- she
decides to end her life by jumping off from Carter
Bridge in Lagos

7. ● Past- 25 years back
● Agbadi-a wealthy village chief- gets infatuated with Ona, the
daughter of a neighbouring chief
● Ona is a strong character- refuses to Agbadi's sexual suggestion
● Ona and Agbadi gets married- daughter named Nnu Ego'
● Ona dies in Childbirth
● Nnu Ego' grows up among strict traditions of Igbo Culture
● Marriage of Nnu Ego' after 16
● Marriage with Amatokwu- fails to provide offsprings
● Amatokwu remmaries- Nnu Ego' when his child with the new
wife cries, she begins breast feeding- he beats her
● Her dream - about babies in danger- her thought even to kidnap
his son and raise him alone in peace

8. ● Nnu Ego' gets seperated- Agbadi remarried his daughter to Nnaife
from Lagos
● Nnu Ego' moves to Lagos with her husband
● Nnaife- a laundry many for Meera, A British Couple
● Nnu Ego' gets pregnant- gives birth to a son- Ngozi
● Starts cigarette selling business
● Ngozi dies soon- she decides to end her life- Nwakusor, an Ibo man
saves her
● She decides to sell cigarette again sell cigarettes but her husband
returns with money
● She secures permanent stall in marketplace

9. Present
● Nnaife's brother dies in Ibuza- all his brother's wife becomes his own- but
only one comes.
● Adamu-the youngest wife arrives with her daughter.
“It occurred to Nnu Ego that she was a prisoner, imprisoned by her love
for her children, in present in her role as the senior wife. As an Ibo
woman, Nnu Ego can pursue only one life path: she must produce
children, preferably boys as the senior wife Nnu Ego expected to
endure the humiliation when a Adaku, Nnaife's crafty and attractive
second wife arrives in Lagos and big part of Owulum Family.”
● Nnu Ego gives birth to twin girls - Taiwo and Kehinde- while Adaku's son
from Nnaife dies after birth

10. ● Nnu Ego returns to Lagos- fights with Adaku- Adaku leaves
the house-turns into a prostitute
● Nnu Ego saved mainey to secure her son's education
● Oshia wins the scholarship to study abroad- Nnaife denounce
him for ignoring his final duties
● Oshia leaves for the US
● He married to a white woman in the US
● Kehinde runs away with a stranger she meets from Yobura-
Nnaife's refus- attempt to murder boy's father
● Taiwo married to a lawyer of Ibo community
● Adim moves Canada after his father's improvement

11. End
● Nnu Ego returns to Ibuza-
● Realises the mislead idealism of motherhood
● Though motherhood was the greatest joy- but
regrets for having many children who have
little concern for her well being
● After some years, she dies alone by the
roadside.

12. Themes
● Forced Adoption of Foreign
Systems
● Erosion of Traditional Values
● Threat to Family and Social
Structures
● Impact on Individual Identity
● Missed Opportunities for
Embracing Change
● Ambiguous Nature of Colonialism's
Impact
● Traditional Family as a Small
Corporation
● Generational Shift in
Perception
● Radical Departure from
Tradition
● Challenge to Hierarchies
● Assertion of Individual Rights
● Break from Societal Taboos
Individual vs. Collective
The Influences of Colonialism

13. The Danger of Resisting Change
● Shift in Parental Priorities
● Evolution of Cultural Norms
● Resistance to Change as a
Pitfall
● Psychological and Emotional
Consequences
● Loneliness as a Consequence
● Balancing Tradition and Change
● Idealized Notions of
Motherhood
● Struggle with Infertility
● Transformation of Idealism
● Regret and Self-Reflection
● Modified Vision of Motherhood
● Sacrifice without Reciprocity
The Ambiguous Rewards of Motherhood

14. - The article analyzes the novel The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta, focusing on how it
breaks from traditional portrayals of African motherhood in literature.
- In much African literature, mothers are depicted as symbols of love, strength, and nurturing.
Emecheta challenges this by portraying a more realistic and complex mother figure who faces
hardships and disappointments.
- The protagonist Nnu Ego has many children hoping it will bring her fulfillment and status, but she
ends up feeling unappreciated and alone in old age. She realizes children do not always bring joy
and honor to mothers as expected.
- Emecheta uses techniques like flashbacks, interior monologue, and Bildungsroman (coming-of-
age story) to portray Nnu Ego's personal development and shifting mindset over the years.
- Through characters like Nnu Ego and Adaku, Emecheta promotes feminist ideas about women
seeking fulfillment beyond just having children and serving men. However, the book is not overtly
feminist in form.
- The ironic title reflects how Emecheta builds up the myth of motherhood's joys only to tear it
down, showing the hard realities many African mothers face. Her complex portrayal of
motherhood challenges literary traditions.
The Joys of Motherhood: Myth or Reality? By Umesh A.
Umeh

15. - The article analyzes Buchi Emecheta's novel The Joys of Motherhood and how it portrays
the intricacies and struggles of motherhood for women in Ibo society.
- In Ibo tradition, women's worth is tied to bearing children, and motherhood is supposed to
bring fulfillment. But the protagonist Nnu Ego finds no joy or power in motherhood.
- Through introspective passages, Nnu Ego expresses the sacrifices, grief, and
powerlessness of being a mother expected to live for her children. She feels trapped and
unappreciated.
- Emecheta challenges ideals of African motherhood depicted in literature. She shows the
hard realities many mothers face, their oppression in patriarchal Ibo culture.
- The article examines Emecheta's techniques like flashbacks, Bildungsroman, irony in the
title. It compares her portrayal of mothers to other African authors.
- Nnu Ego's awakening into feminist ideas about seeking fulfillment beyond motherhood is
analyzed. But the book itself doesn't have an overt feminist ideology.
- Overall, Emecheta provides a complex, realistic view of mothers that defies simplistic
veneration and exposes the problems with limiting women's worth to motherhood.
Mother’s Intricacy in Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of
Motherhood by Laxmikant H. Kapgate

16. A Study of Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood in the Light
of Chandra Talpade Mohanty: A Postcolonial Feminist Theory
- It analyzes Buchi Emecheta's novel The Joys of Motherhood through the lens of Chandra Talpade
Mohanty's postcolonial feminist theory.
- Mohanty highlights how colonialism, capitalism, racism, and patriarchy intersect to oppress Third World
women. The article finds traces of these ideas in the novel.
- The novel shows how colonial policies in Nigeria changed social norms and constrained women's roles.
Patriarchal relations were also reinforced under colonial rule.
- Women like the protagonist Nnu Ego face double colonization and have no power or agency.
- The article also examines how capitalism exploited women's labor by redefining "women's work." Nnu
Ego has to take on extra work to support her family.
- Beyond colonialism and capitalism, the novel also portrays gender oppression in Igbo patriarchal
traditions that pre-date colonialism. Women are treated as inferior, lacking voices and choices.
- However, the novel also hints at solidarity amongst African women facing similar struggles. Mohanty
advocates such political solidarity.
- The article analyzes Emecheta's feminism, which criticizes African patriarchy while also differing from
Western feminism in its postcolonial outlook.
- Overall, the novel vividly portrays the intersections of race, class, and gender oppressions faced by
African women.

17. Cultural Collision and Women Victimization in Buchi emecheta’s
The Joys of Motherhood by Mohamed Fathi Helaly
- It analyzes Buchi Emecheta's novel The Joys of Motherhood through the lens of cultural collision
between traditional Igbo society and colonial Lagos.
- In traditional Ibuza, women like the protagonist Nnu Ego are oppressed by patriarchal values that prize
fertility and motherhood.
- Nnu Ego is rejected in Ibuza for being childless, so she moves to colonial Lagos for a new life.
- But colonial policies in Lagos undermine traditional gender roles. Her husband Nnaife becomes
emasculated and incapable of providing.
- As a mother in Lagos, Nnu Ego has to take on extra work as a trader to support her many children,
despite poverty.
- The novel shows how colonialism disrupted family structures and values. Nnu Ego struggles between
adhering to Igbo tradition and adapting to colonial city life.
- Neither traditional Ibuza nor modern Lagos offer Nnu Ego fulfillment. She is victimized in both cultures,
highlighting the dilemmas of African women caught between worlds.
- In the end, Nnu Ego dies disillusioned and alone, abandoned by her westernized children. Her life
represents the tragedies of African motherhood.
- The novel sympathizes with African women like Nnu Ego who lack power and choices in their rigid
patriarchal and colonial societies.

18. Video of Vallath TES on Plot

19. Work Cited
Works Cited
Barfi, Zahra, et al. “A Study of Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood in the Light of Chandra Talpade Mohanty: A
Postcolonial Feminist Theory.” European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, vol. 4, no. 1, 2015,
pp. 26-38.
Helaly, Mohamed Fathi. “Cultural Collision and Women Victimization in Buchi Emecheta’s The Joys of Motherhood.”
International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, vol. 5, no. 2, 2016. ResearchGate,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/297764756_Cultural_Collision_and_Women_Victimization_in_Buchi
_Emecheta%27s_The_Joys_of_Motherhood.
Kapgate, Laxmikant H. “MOTHER’S INTRICACY IN BUCHI EMECHETA’S THE JOY OF MOTHERHOOD.” LangLit:
An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal, 2020. ResearchGate,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/342465490_MOTHER%27S_INTRICACY_IN_BUCHI_EMECHETA
%27S_THE_JOY_OF_MOTHERHOOD.
Umeh, Marie A. “The Joys of Motherhood: Myth or Reality?” Colby Library Quarterly, vol. 18, no. 1, 1982, pp. 39-46,
https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2471&context=cq.