49 pages • 1 hour read
Buchi EmechetaThe Joys of Motherhood
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1979A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 5-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 5 Summary: “A Failed Woman”
As Nnu Ego runs to Carter Bridge, an Ibo dockworker named Nwakusor bikes home at the end of his shift; a bus narrowly avoids hitting him. He pauses when he reaches a crowd of people surrounding a woman whom he recognizes as Nnu Ego—she is preparing to jump off the bridge.
Calling her name, Nwakusor catches Nnu Ego off guard and asks her what she is doing. When she explains that she wants to join her child in death, the previously judgmental crowd becomes sympathetic. Nwakusor leads her home.
Chapter 6 Summary: “A Man is Never Ugly”
On the morning that Ngozi dies, Cordelia cooks breakfast for her children and her husband, Ubani. When she goes to check on Nnu Ego, Cordelia spots the baby lying dead. Unsure what to do, Cordelia tells Ubani that Ngozi is dead and Nnu Ego is missing.
Leaving his nephew in charge of the Meers’ kitchen where he works as cook, Ubani approaches Nnaife, who is hanging sheets to dry. Seeing Ubani’s strange manner, Nnaife tries to guess what is wrong. Ubani invites Nnaife into his home and then tells him that Ngozi is dead. Nnaife is shocked by the news and admits his fear that Nnu Ego hates him. Ubani assures him that, unlike a woman, “a man is never ugly and never old. He matures with age and is dignified” (71).
Chapter 7 Summary: “The Duty of a Father”
Three months after she was prevented from jumping off the bridge, Nnu Ego continues to grieve the loss of her child. She considers Nnaife’s response inadequate compared to how someone more traditional like Amatokwu would respond to the child’s death.
One day, Nnu Ego’s childhood friend, Ato, who is married to Nwakusor, visits her. Ato encourages Nnu Ego to move on with her life. She also brings gifts from Ibuza, which she visited recently, including food from Agbadi.
When Nnu Ego becomes pregnant again a few months later, she dreams of discovering a “dirty, chubby” baby by a stream as her chi watches and laughs.
A few months later, Nnu Ego gives birth to a son, Oshia, who resembles Nnaife. She and Nnaife celebrate the birth with friends and neighbors, though the party is not as elaborate as the one marking Ngozi’s birth. Nnu Ego resolves to give up her own business efforts and rely on Nnaife’s income—this is a choice that reflects Lagos’s “modern urban” lifestyle rather than her Ibo upbringing, in which wives commonly supplemented their husbands’ income.
Chapter 8 Summary: “The Rich and the Poor”
A few years later, in July 1939, Mrs. Meers informs Nnaife and Ubani that she and her husband will return to England shortly, due to the onset of World War II. After their departure, with Nnaife out of work, Nnu Ego resumes her business of selling cigarettes despite Nnaife’s objections.
After a few weeks, Ubani finds a job as a cook for a railway company. As a result, he, Cordelia, and their children move a few miles away. Nnaife considers joining the army, but Nnu Ego forbids him from doing so as the military is traditionally considered a cursed profession in Ibuza.
Early one morning, Nnu Ego buys a heavily discounted crate of wet cigarettes. She returns home to find Nnaife playing a guitar that he found in the Meers’ house. Announcing that she is again pregnant, Nnu Ego says that Nnaife needs to look for a job more urgently. As the two argue, Nnaife hits Nnu Ego with the guitar. Then, he leaves the house, promising not to return until he finds a job.
Nnaife walks several miles to a region of Lagos known for having several European residences. There, he approaches a group of white men playing golf. After Nnaife retrieves balls for them and shows them his reference from Dr. Meers, they give him two dollars and offer him a job on a boat leaving for Fernando Po the next day.
Nnaife buys food and returns home to Nnu Ego, who is happy to learn that he has a job but concerned that he will be away from home, potentially for an extended period. He leaves early the next morning.
Sometime later, British soldiers arrive at the compound and tell Nnu Ego that she will need to find somewhere else to live. After locating a one-room apartment for rent, Nnu Ego enlists Cordelia’s help in moving her belongings.
One day, Oshia comes home crying after he was turned away from a neighbor’s gathering due to his ragged appearance. Nnu Ego comforts him and promises that someday they will have enough money to send him to school.
Chapter 9 Summary: “A Mother’s Investment”
One night, an ant bites Oshia and he begins calling for his mother. Iyawo Itsekiri, a neighbor, appears and informs him that his mother is resting after giving birth to a boy. Oshia goes back to sleep.
In the following weeks, Oshia becomes resentful of the baby, who occupies most of Nnu Ego’s attention. Meanwhile, due to their increasing poverty, Oshia becomes malnourished after eating nothing but garri, a tapioca dish, for an extended period. When he begins to run a fever, a neighbor known as Mama Abby alerts Nnu Ego, who sells her clothes to buy him food. However, Oshia vomits the food his stomach is no longer used to digesting.
Only when Iyawo Itsekiri shares a yam stew with Oshia and Nnu Ego does he make some improvement. Nnu Ego thanks her. Seeing his improvement, several friends and neighbors give Nnu Ego food, and her landlord tells her not to pay rent for the month.
Two weeks later, after Oshia recovers, Mama Abby takes him on a trip to the island. While he is gone, Nnu Ego tends to her cigarette business, which has been less profitable since the war started. She returns home to find Nnaife playing the guitar and singing with Oshia.
Chapters 5-9 Analysis
Stylistically, this section sees Emecheta make thoughtful use of chapter titles, which she continues throughout the novel to draw attention to key issues. The title of Chapter 5, “A Failed Woman,” questions whether or not the standards of failure and success applied to women are fair and realistic. The title of the next chapter, “A Man is Never Ugly” draws attention to double standards when it comes to men and women. Chapter 7’s title, “The Duty of a Father,” refers to Nnu Ego’s decision not to work, instead relying solely on Nnaife’s income. This points to differing conceptions of what a father’s duty entails between the traditional Ibo way of life and that found in Lagos, showing the way that many such norms are merely cultural constructs. “Rich and Poor,” the title of Chapter 8, highlights class distinctions that separate Nnu Ego and Nnaife from the wealthy colonists, emphasizing the imbalance and exploitation that take place as a result. Finally, Chapter 9’s title, “A Mother’s Investment,” underscores the severe and dramatic sacrifices that Nnu Ego is regularly called to make on behalf of her children. As demonstrated in this section, the chapter titles serve as an effective guide to the key issues in each chapter.
This section of the novel also explores The Hypocrisies and Contradictions of Patriarchal Society. Two contrasting scenes, for instance, illustrate a double standard when it comes to evaluating the lives of men and women. The crowd on Carter Bridge becomes noticeably sympathetic after learning that Nnu Ego’s child died. Their reaction demonstrates the universality of the dominant patriarchal viewpoint, which holds that women are only successful to the extent that they provide children for men. Meanwhile, when Nnaife learns of his son’s death, Ubani takes pains to assure him that, as a man, virtually nothing can alter his status. The implication is that men have intrinsic value, while women are viewed as mere accessories to men’s lives.
The novel also touches on the theme of Tradition and Change in Colonial Nigeria in this section. Nnu Ego generally clings to traditional notions, whereas Nnaife is particularly susceptible to colonial influences. For instance, Nnu Ego finds Nnaife’s grieving process following the death of their son to be too detached and remote when compared to the norm in Ibuza. Similarly, Nnaife expects Nnu Ego to give up her work and focus on raising children as he goes to work, which is a clear departure from Ibo culture. He even offers to join the military, despite knowing that Nnu Ego would regard the suggestion as scandalous. Dilemmas such as these illustrate the way that traditional Nigerian views were challenged by British influences.
Nnu Ego’s chi reappears in this section, offering her another baby. This establishes a pattern of Nnu Ego’s chi being primarily associated with offering or withholding the privilege of bearing children. However, there is something mischievous or deviant about Nnu Ego’s chi, which seems all too happy to offer her supposed gifts that turn out to be burdens. The implication is that the chi understands that the male children she sends to Nnu Ego are not the panacea Nnu Ego anticipates them to be.
Finally, as Nnu Ego’s children begin to grow, The Challenges and Rewards of Motherhood also come into focus. Oshia’s narrow avoidance of death due to malnutrition shows that motherhood is very much a learning experience for Nnu Ego. Meanwhile, her willingness to immediately sell her favorite clothes to buy food for her child shows that she holds nothing back when it comes to the welfare of her children. However, this gesture establishes a pattern of self-sacrifice that Nnu Ego will find motherhood keeps demanding of her.
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By Buchi Emecheta
