Tracing female subversion in Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood: Reading motherhood as a patriarchal institution

Abstract

Human relationships are determined by power structures which are erected on cultural, social, physical, economic or political basis. The man-woman relationship is considered as a hierarchical one placing the male at the supreme position and the female at the lowest, the weakest. Such a distinction is measured from both the gendered and the biological perspective. The patriarchal and patrilineal social structures throughout the world treat women as the recipient of male consent and relegate them towards the state of passivity, selflessness, caring and dependency. To legitimize these supposed situational perceptions about women; patriarchy installs different socio-cultural institutions among which motherhood is one. The reproductive power rather than the woman herself, is very essential for the man to continue his reign of manhood down through his descents for which female bodies are treated as nothing but some child bearing machines. This is done in such a neat and obvious manner that the woman herself doesn't realize the politicization and objectification of her own body. In fact, motherhood becomes and remains the only denominator of successful womanhood under a patriarchal regime. The Nigerian author Buchi Emecheta highlights all such issues concerning women in a tribal social background especially through the character of Nnu Ego. Nnu Ego who got dishonored due to her infertility in her first marriage, had to try her fate in a second marriage with someone she thought she would never have chosen as her husband. She was bestowed with motherhood with a good number of children. She even brought them up with all care and aspired to be happy at a successful completion of the mostly cherished motherhood. But, it appeared treacherous and a bitter outcome ruined all her hope and pride, thus a dismantling is done of the institution of motherhood making space for a line of questions aroused immediately against its legitimacy. This paper proposes to make a study of motherhood as a patriarchal institution or rather one patriarchal imposition that enables men to utilize female bodies for their own sake, thereby exploiting and silencing them. It will peep through the illusioned life of Nnu Ego for that sake as a victim of body politics in the consolidated institution of motherhood. Such a discussion will further help in understanding the myths lurking around motherhood and the female body in a male dominated society particularly in Africa and in the world as a whole.