24/05/2022
THE DIALETICS OF MOTHERHOOD: READING IBIERE KEN-MADUAKO'S SOUNDS OF MOTHERHOOD AND BUCHI EMECHETA'S JOYS OF MOTHERHOOD
ABSTRACT
One of the corresponding reactions to the import of literature to the society is that, literary works play significant roles in nation building. No doubt, works of art are used in this wise, to expose the many ills of the society which includes gender related ills, hitherto ignored by the elites of the society at the expense of the hapless masses. And sometimes, voices are not loud enough in the conventional media platforms; thus, works of art in poetry, prose or drama forms become a competent arena to raise the loudest protest in the righting of whatever wrong ideology sold through hegemonic influences.
In this article, the dialectics of motherhood in Africa is considered as the artistic focus of both Ken-Maduako and Emecheta in their respective works in view. This is done against the backdrop of invading ideology of radical feminism which seems to adulterate the African artistic arena with rather alien manifestos.
INTRODUCTION
F. R. Lewis had argued that "great literary works are a concrete and life affirming enactment of moral and cultural values" (24).. And Charles Nnolim on the other hand expresses hope in the positive role the modern African literature plays "because of the permanency of it's nature". And according to him, such literature has a "pervasive influence" on the generations of the society both old and young. To say the least, the above opinions bring to bare the didactic enormity of literary works especially African literature in all its genres irrespective of themes and concerns. Nnolim characterises this claim in a very simple term when he says "the literary voice, tiny and most often overhead rather than heard etched itself on our psyche" (182).
African female writers are a notable voice in the circle of literary dominance with particular attention on the redefining of the rights of women, womanhood in Africa and indeed motherhood. This artistic task had in the company of western radical feminism enthroned alien ideology and doctrine that can best be described as "strange gods" in the test of the original version of African womanhood. Feminism indeed, seeks to advocate for gender equality and social, political, economic liberations of the women. And to add, liberation, or to be treated equal is not the exclusive of female gender alone. It is a necessary course. However, radical feminism takes a rather scandalous propriety in the discourse.
Modupe Kolawole notes that "in addressing the issue of gender in Africa, historical and cultural context are fundamental". She writes further to assert that " the failure to consider context accounts for misconceptions of the relevance of feminism in any Black African societies, including the rejection of feminism"(204). The historical and cultural context referred to here simply allude to the truth that women are not altogether oppressed in every African societies and that each society is peculiar with it's cultural aesthetics. One of such cultural aesthetics is "motherhood". And in another dimension, Ogundipe-Leslie agrees that, " the there were indeginous feminism" in Africa and that there were indeginous patterns within traditional African societies for addressing the oppression and injustices to women"(548). One of such traditional pattern is the practice of "aman-Obolo" in Andoni (Obolo) enthnic nationality of the Niger Delta region. Aman-Obolo is a traditional system set up to protect women and the dignity of womanhood. A system that gives the woman the rights to her fathers inheritance including Kingship. Men are not allowed to manhandled their wives, or even abuse them verbally of upseen things.
Nevertheless, "the trajectory of the more recent movements of African feminism draws an arc that is most disquieting in it's implications"(Nnolim 217). It is this concern that has moved the focus of this work. Note, rather than advocating for a total eradication of familial life, feminism should, according to Ogunyemi, "advocate love, tolerance, service and mutual cooperation for the s*xes, not antagonism, aggression, militancy or violent confrontation"(cited in Nnolim, 218). Ogunyemi's position here introduces a different feminist ideology which encourages motherhood or in other words, womanism. Womanism according to her "wants meaningful union between black women and black men and black children, and will see to it that men will change from their s*xist stand" (Ogunyemi 5 cited in Nnolim).
In Sounds of Motherhood and The Joys of Motherhood themes of motherhood is espoused and brilliantly captured as a major dialectics of African feminism. In Sounds of Motherhood Maduako, like Emecheta in The Joys of Motherhood, narrates the bittersweet experiences of African motherhood, the failures of the society in protecting the girl-child through equal treatment of the both s*xes like "Womanism" advocates. Whereas Maduako's work is poetry and Emecheta's, fiction, the concept of motherhood characterised the both works.
On Maduako, Boma Obi implied that gender based issues are the focal point of her artistic concern. Some of the issues she noted in her explanation are; gender violence, stereotypes, s*x preferences, high bride price, r**e and child abuse, and women's right (Icheke 313-21). These issues are indeed replete in the collection of poems. However, in identifying the ills and shortcomings, Maduako radiates her poems with the aesthetics of motherhood as the foundation of it all. She combines both advocacy against gender based violence and advocacy that enthralls motherhood as the fulfilment of an African woman.
Her concern on gender stereotypes are geared towards correcting any imbalance among the both s*xes not just women alone. Shirley Kontein and Atang Bassey noted that Maduako's "gender issues do not only concern the women"(2). They explain further that " gender studies must be concerned with every form of discrimination against both s*xes"(2). This is the balance that Maduako creates in her work which is different from every other feminist writers. Acknowledging the fact that gender stereotypes, violence is evil and should be corrected and taking into consideration an aspect that is often time ignored - that men can also be victims of gender related violence or imbalance. In 'Hammer Blows' the evil of domestic violence and the beastly attitude of beating one's wife is condemned. Men who hides under the cloak of marriage to unleash terror on fellow human being can best be described as cowards and weaklings. Through the lines of this poem one could see a submissive mother who fell prey to a beastly husband. Note also, that there are beastly wives unknown yet, who may not necessarily hurt with the first but their tongue thus, in the poem 'Her Tongue' the writer admonishes women to learn the art of containing the tongue. Perhaps, to also forestall unnecessary bickering and attendant violence in the home.
To her (the writer), the woman has a mission to love with tender care and building bridges of peace in the home. This is exemplified in the poem 'The Woman: A Pledge'. In the voice of the personae;
I am a woman
Love, my mission
Tenderness, my goal
A bridge, to forge
Of love and peace
The evangelistic tone found in the lines of this poem is a pointer to the fact that the writer beyond promoting gender equality speaks of the godliness of an African mother and her place as a nation builder through the building of a peaceful home.
Unlike Agnes in Flora Nwapa's Women Are Different, whose motherhood is a total disaster as shown in her daughter Zizi's prostitution business at age fifteen, snatching of other women's husband at eighteen and worse still, drug trafficking; and in One is Enough, despite Nwapa's portrayal of African mothers as failures in the character of Amaka's mother who encourages Amaka to sleep around, Maduako in 'A Song for the Mothers' thinks otherwise. She thinks that African mothers..are a blessing
Mothers are nice
They spend their lives
In sacrifice...
Mothers are a rock
Mothers are kind.
In 'Sounds of Motherhood', the stress involved in motherhood is vividly captured. It is reminds one of the complexities associated with being a mother. Her responsibilities both sweet and pain are portrayed as the sounds of motherhood. In other words, the writer here seems to suggest that motherhood is not a piece of cake and shouldn't be seen as such. However, by intuitive analysis, it is only natural that a mother who pays so much of these sacrifices deserve a song at least, not battery, mutilation, oppression and the likes.
Buchi Emecheta on the other hand is one of the earliest feminist writers whose works tend to extol motherhood while condemning patriarchal hegemony and associated gender base discrepancies. Unlike Maduako's, her work under consideration here is a prose fiction. John Updike in his review says that The Joys of Motherhood is "a graceful, touching, ironically titled tale that bears a plain feminist message", whereas Patricia Mclean argues in a tone that appears to be a warning. According to her "The Joys of Motherhood is a novel that gives the impression that it might well appeal to western feminism"(2) but that the message contained in this novel is "neither plain nor traditionally feminist" (2). She argues further that the novel "rejects the feminist code associated with motherhood". The code referred to in the argument of Mclean is the western radical feminists theory of total obliteration of familial life. In other words, motherhood is extol in The Joys of Motherhood.
Teresa Deriekson on the other hand, could not agree less when she says that " Nnu Ego's simple dream of becoming a mother - a dream rooted in the cultural values of traditional Ibo society, ...is happily realised"(21). The self sacrifice of Nnu Ego in catering for her children and family is a demonstration of a caring mother and indeed an artistic portrayal of typical African motherhood. She goes as far as selling her wrappers to train her male children in school while grooming her daughters to be responsible mother in their marriages. The characterisation of Nnu Ego with such admirably deep sense of motherhood is similar to the sense of motherhood captured in "Sounds of Motherhood" by Maduako. Amidst her toils, economic repression, societal neglect of the girl-child, Nnu Ego did not give up just as the persona in 'Forgiveness' (a poem in Sounds of Motherhood) didn't give up on being a mother despite the brutality she face.
It may be argued that Emecheta's "The Joys of Motherhood" is in frantic solidarity with western radical feminism, yet, an examination of Nnu Ego's alliance with Adaku proves otherwise. Whereas, the character of Adaku is a reflection of a rebellious woman. She tries to get Nnu Ego to join her in starving Nnaife. Her role purports revolution and modern day economically independent woman. Contrastingly, Nnu Ego does not reflect what she represents. Nnu Ego rather feeds her husband not minding who provides the money. She is not crafty. She's the opposite of everything Adaku represents in the novel.
Being considered as the protagonist of the novel, Nnu Ego is a complete representation of dominant and authorial ideology.
Her sense of motherhood and duty might not have been rewarded especially by her supposed male children yet, she successfully groom the society through her children the girl-children especially. This part confirms the argument that women are the builders of the society through the building of homes. Perhaps, this is why Maduako in the voice of her persona in the poem 'A Song for the Mothers' cries out that;
Mothers are so sweet
They spend their lives
In c-a-r-i-n-g
And caring for us.
CONCLUSION
The tin line between Maduako and Emecheta in their dialectics of motherhood in these respective works is that, one is evangelistic in tone and poetic in expression, whereas the other is narrative with a plot structure. The manner of presentation varies and ideologies too. Sounds of Motherhood mixed personal experience and beliefs with the aesthetic of art. The Joys of Morherhood espouses the cultural expectation of womanhood by the society and how a mother should keep faith in such daring circumstances.
Gender discrepancies should not be encouraged by the society. At least, this what both works implied. In The Joys of Motherhood those given preference failed and it was the women that came albeit late to give their mother a befitting burial. Perhaps, if one of the girls had gone to school, Nnu Ego would have reaped in full the joy of motherhood.
Similarly, the girl child as well as the boy child should be protected by the society. And the responsibility of a peaceful home is a collective one. The male gender should learn to offer tender love and care. The female gender should contain their tongue and instead build with it. This appears to be the implied evangelism in Sounds of Montherhood. Partnership between the both s*xes is an important undertone in the works.
