BOOK REVIEW – PROVES TO SHOW THE EXISTENCE OF TWO TYPES OF WOMEN IN CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S PURPLE HABISCUS

BOOK REVIEW – PROVES TO SHOW THE EXISTENCE OF TWO TYPES OF WOMEN IN CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S PURPLE HIBISCUS

Adichie presented the two different types of women in the novel-

1. Good women
2. Real women

1. GOOD WOMEN

A.  ACCORDING TO URBAN DICTIONARY

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.urbandictionary.com/define.php%3fterm=good%2bwoman&amp=true

Someone as perfect as your mother, can be better or just as great. She takes care of you, supports you, and provides for you, someone who you would one day consider a spouse. Has a good head on her shoulders.

 

B.  ACCORDING TO WEB/SITE RESEARCH

Here is a summary of what a site said about good women. For further details check the link below:

https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/features/commentary/is-there-a-real-definition-for-a-good-woman/

“”””””” Most men aim to have the perfect woman so that they can live in healthy relationships and raise children of their own

Firstly, a woman who is good in bed can be considered a good woman to some men. 

Secondly, a good woman can be defined as a woman who is religious and God-faring.

Thirdly, “stay at home women” usually implies that these women are good. Stay at home women are family type women who work and stay home most of the time.  “””””””

C.  ACCORDING TO COMMENTS MADE BY INDIVIDUALS IN MOST SITE ON GOOD WOMEN

 

Am able to do a collections of comments made by some individuals concerning good women. They are as follows:

1. A good woman is one that doesn’t cheat, lie, steal, and that doesn’t create such drama. Where in the world are they today? Especially one that is not nasty either.
2. A good woman is one who has a firm belief in the almighty Lord. And respects her man.
3. The book of life which is the bible, describes a good woman and a good man, I would encourage you to read the book of proverbs and enlighten yourself.
4. A good woman looks at herself in the mirror every morning and say I am beautiful I am kind and I am important. She do not define herself by what another thinks (a man) she encourages herself and seek to help others she is a best friend to the friend less a mother to the motherless she gives of herself and is not selfish. that is a good woman
5. A good woman is a woman who has a good man!
6. You will know a good woman the instant you have one. There isn’t a category shape, size or religion to define her. She will be unique from other women in your eyes and will make you feel just as unique from other men. What happens during and after is life.
7. “A good woman is in the sight of the beholder” … A woman’s worth and value is NOT and SHOULD not be based on what other’s think, this is perverse objectification. Listen. I am who I am, and I will find someone who is prepared to live with who I am. PRONTO. A man would expect the same.
8. There are no good women. They all the same. Pretenders, cheaters n liars. Just use them 4 ur gain and don’t get caught up in their enslaving illusion called love.
9. Who can find a GOOD woman of worth? Far beyond jewels is her value. Her husband trusts her judgment; he does not lack income. She brings him profit, not loss, all the days of her life. She seeks out wool and flax and weaves with skilful hands. She is not a busy body, gossiper or employed at idle hall estate. Like a merchant fleet, she secures her provisions from afar. She rises while it is still night, and distributes food to her household, a portion to her maidservants. She picks out a field and acquires it; from her earnings she plants a vineyard. She don’t waste her husband money putting nail extension and pays a made to cook, wash or do gardening. She girds herself with strength; she exerts her arms with visor. She enjoys the profit from her dealings; her lamp is never extinguished at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle. She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. She is not concerned for her household when it snows— all her charges are doubly clothed. She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing. Her husband is prominent at the city gates as he sits with the elders of the land. She is no trouble maker always in people business. She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts. She is clothed with strength and dignity, (not skimpy clothes, bling and fashion she have to take a loan to maintain) and laughs at the days to come. She opens her mouth in wisdom; kindly instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household, (she doh have no servant) and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband, too, praises her: “Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all.” Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.* Acclaim her for the work of her hands, and let her deeds praise her at the city gates. I NOT THERE YET, BUT I’M ASPIRING TO BE
10. There is no real definition for a good woman. A good woman is whomever u want her to be or whatever she is in his eyes.s
11. Good women always get the wrong men. They are always taken for a ride. To me a good woman is one who is naturally loving and goes the extra mile for her man. Most times after a while they always end up by themselves because they cannot trust another man again. Good women? my advice is ” just live your life for Jesus”
12. A good woman is humble, pleasant, has dignity, respects herself and others and most importantly God fearing.
13. A good woman is one who respects herself and others, and she will consequently be given the respect she deserves.

CATEGORIES OF GOOD WOMEN

From study they are 3 categories of good women:

1. The first category consists of those who feel oppressed by patriarchy, remain passive and silent in order to remain good.
2. The second category consists of those whose attitude towards patriarchal oppression is ambivalent. 
3. Third category consists of those who gladly accept the identity construction offered to them by patriarchy.

 

1. The first category consists of those who feel oppressed by patriarchy, remain passive and silent in order to remain good.

 The woman feels the weight of oppression but avoids an open confrontation with patriarchy in order to remain good and be termed as a “good woman”

In the novel, PURPLE HIBISCUS, Beatrice is described as one who “has learnt the value of submission”.  Living in a society where female subordination is underpinned she does not only submit to her husband, Eugene Achike but lives in awe of him. He takes advantage of this and orders her around at will.

2.  The second category consists of those whose attitude towards patriarchal oppression is ambivalent.

3. Third category consists of those who gladly accept the identity construction offered to them by patriarchy.

In a patriarchal world, women have been indoctrinated to believe that they will never be equal to men. Not only that, the female has been socialise to see domestic violence (wife-battering) as a natural phenomenon. She finds it difficult to admit that she has the capacity to challenge and overthrow patriarchy. Instead she takes back the image of the legendary “good woman”.  

2. REAL WOMEN

A.  ACCORDING TO URBAN DICTIONARY

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.urbandictionary.com/define.php%3fterm=real%2bwoman&amp=true

1. A phrase normally used by fat middle-aged female journalists to make their fat middle-aged readers feel better about themselves. They use to somehow imply that any woman that isn’t overweight isn’t a “real woman” Also used by the disgusting dove campaign for “real beauty” which uses this bullshit to sell soap. This word is synonymous with the word “curvy” which has also lost its real meaning.

2. A mature, sophisticated, classy, intellectual woman with strong morals & good manners.

3. A real woman is a woman that knows how to show you a good time; she isn’t like those other girls, she knows what she’s doing in all aspects whether it’s in the bedroom or not.

B.  ACCORDING TO WEB/SITE RESEARCH

Here is a summary of what a site said about real women. For further details check the link below:

https://www.apolloniaponti.com/what-is-a-real-woman-how-to-find-one/

“”””” A real woman is compassionate!

She’s going to be open and honest with you.

She’s Emotionally Stable!

Real women have mastered their femininity towards men.

“Real woman” is someone who knows that she can bring a sense of security to the relationship as well. She offers the man something he isn’t willing to lose. She makes him a better person and he continues to contribute the same things to her.

When it comes to intimacy, a real woman is going to be open, and she is going to want to reciprocate. She’s also going to want to receive, and she’s going to be open with you about her expectations. Real women are going to want to build that emotional connection with you in addition to the physical one. She is going to want to please you just as much she wants you to please her. Don’t forget, women love that too!     “””””””

C.  ACCORDING TO COMMENT MADE BY WOMEN BASED ON INTERVIEW

Here is a summary of what a site said about real women. For further details check the link below:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/m.huffpost.com/us/entry/7773182/amp

What Makes a ‘Real Woman’?

SELENIS LEYVA-  The  Real Woman is one who is comfortable in her skin. She glows from within. Her smile lights up your life. Her laughter is contagious. Her kindness heals your soul. And her confident walk makes your heart race. A real woman is smart, funny, confident and more than what she wears or what she looks like. A Real Woman changes the world with her courage. A Real Woman will remain relevant when her youth and beauty are gone. A Real Woman is beautiful and sexy. A Real Woman is every woman. Big, small, dark, fair, blonde, brunette, Latina, black, Caucasian, Asian, old and all of the above.

A Real Woman is me, and yes, ALL of the amazing, talented, smart, kind, award-winning actresses on OITNB. So, the next time you go to utter the words “real woman” to describe a woman, stop and ask yourself what you mean.

PURPLE HIBISCUS PORTRAY OF THE EXISTENCE OF A GOOD WOMAN

From study women characters and well-being are been controlled by the patriarchal social order. They find no other road to fulfilment than that offered by patriarchy.

Here Adichie exposed the Nigeria/African stereotypical idea or assumption of an good woman who keeps dumb even in the face of humiliation, victimisation, and brutality so as to be perceived as a “good woman” as seen in Beatrice Achike.

PATRICK STORIES have been able to depict 3 properties exhibited from the term good women in the novel using Beatrice Achike as reference. They include:

• good woman believe marriage is an achievement
• she is not allowed to make decision/ her decision are dictated by her partner

• she believe in and tolerates the brutality and victimisation and internalised abuse given to her by her husband

 

1. GOOD WOMAN BELIEVE MARRIAGE IS AN ACHIEVEMENT

PROVE 1

In the novel Adichie further portrays Beatrice as conforming to the dictates of a patriarchal society that affords a woman respect only when she is married.

Beatrice internalizes the patriarchal dictates of her society, which views women without husbands as inadequate or incomplete.

 Here is her dialogue with her sister-in-law:

“[Y]ou say a woman with children and no husband, what is that?” (2005, p. 75), Beatrice asks her sister-in-law, Ifeoma, who knows about the abuse and whom she accuses of being unrealistic with her “university talk”. “You have come again, Ifeoma…How can a woman live like that?”

PROVE 2

Beatrice, whose social and economic existence is tied to her abusive husband, is trapped in a patriarchal order which does not give her economic and social empowerment to break away from her oppressed status in life.

She sees fault in breaking away from Eugene because of over depending on her husband in everything, whether economic or social. The patriarchal society dictate for Beatrice an over dependence on her husband, therefore placing her as a mini god that she sees no fault in Eugene

 

Beatrice is obviously surprise by the idea that a woman can even think of existing without a husband because culturally that is unacceptable and unheard of. In other words, what Beatrice means is that it does not matter even if a woman is being abused in her marriage.

 As long as she has a “husband to crown her life” (2005, p. 75), she has to endure all the pains in the marriage

In the novel, she attach more importance to marriage and she is also afraid of losing respect as a married woman and also for leaving her husband.

This is what she said:

Where would I go if I leave Eugene‟s house? Tell me where would I go?” She did not wait for Aunty Ifeoma to respond. “Do you know how many mothers pushed their daughters at him? Do you know how many asked him to impregnate them, even, and not to bother paying a bride price? (2005, p. 250)

It is from this ideal “patriarchal society that gives preferences/respect for women who are married” that Beatrice refuses to leave Eugene after he breaks a stool on her belly causing her to miscarry again.

PROVE 3

 Beatrice is so much attached to her marriage with Eugene Achike because she felt he is a source of spiritual, emotional and physical strength. It is obvious that their faith in the Catholic church made her to believe that divorce is not an option in marriage but rather, marriage should be for better for worse and even the Nigeria/Africa community where she comes from sees the good woman as one who “suffers the effects of oppression and neglect” and who must maintain a silence and passivity in order to remain good.

Beatrice is presented as an epitome of a good woman who tolerates all kinds of humiliation. She told her daughter how the villagers wanted her father to marry another wife when she couldn’t give birth and as a result, she felt indebted to her husband no matter what happens even to the detriment of her life.

She posits/ this is what she said:

God is faithful. You know after you came and I had the miscarriages, the villagers started to whisper. The members of our “umunna” even sent people to your father to urge him to have children with someone else. So many people had willing daughters, and many of them were university graduates, too. They might have borne many sons and taken over our home and driven us out, like Mr. Ezendu’s second wife did. But your father stayed with me, with us…“Yes” I said. Papa deserved praise for not choosing to have more sons with another woman, of course, for not choosing to take a second wife.

But then, Papa was different. I wished that Mama would not compare him with Mr. Ezendu, with anybody; it lowered him, soiled him. (Adichie, 2003, p. 28)

 

PROVE 4

Ifeoma was so furious when she heard what happened to her to the extent of losing a pregnancy, she couldn’t take sides with her brother. Aunty Ifeoma is totally against her brother’s attitude of beating his wife and sees it as a sign of humiliation. She pleaded with Mama(Beatrice ) to spend some time with her before going back but, as always, she makes excuses for her husband and the need go back to him.

This is what Beatrice said:

“Eugene has not been well. He has been having migraine and fever,” she said. “He is carrying more than any man should carry. Do you know what Ade’s death did to him? It is too much for one person.” “Ginidi, what are you saying?” Aunty Ifeoma swiped impatiently at an insect that flew close to her ears. “When Ifediora was alive, there were times, nwunye m, when the university did not pay salaries for months. Ifediora and I had nothing, eh, yet he never raised a hand to me.” “Do you know that Eugene pays the school fees of up to a hundred of our people? Do you know how many people are alive because of your brother?” “That is not is not the point and you know it.” “Where would I go if I leave Eugene’s house? Tell me, where would I go?”. (Adichie, 2003, p. 255)

 

It is from this ideal “patriarchal society that gives preferences/respect for women who are married” that Beatrice refuses to leave Eugene after he breaks a stool on her belly causing her to miscarry again.

 

2.  SHE IS NOT ALLOWED TO MAKE DECISION/ HER DECISION ARE DICTATED BY HER PARTNER

PROVE 1

In FEMINIST Adichie Chimanmanda Ngozi  popular literature book “”” PURPLE HABICUS “””

Kambili ordinary life is illuminated through the subtexts of violence, silence and wounded bodies that depict a long-suffering and traumatised existence. Scars left behind by constant torturous punishments, like Jaja’s crooked finger and Mama’s(Beatrice) awkward limp. Father‘s expectations demand absolute perfection and anything less provokes his unpredictable rage and cruel punishments. Kambili summarizes their everyday existence as:

“”””Our steps on the stairs were as measured and as silent as our Sundays: the silence of waiting until Papa was done with his siesta so we could have lunch; the silence of reflection time, when Papa gave us a scripture passage or book by one of the early church fathers to read and meditate on; the silence of the evening rosary; the silence of driving to the church for benediction afterward. (2005, P.31) “”””

PROVE 2

It is naturally believed that a pregnant woman is fragile and should be handled with care but Beatrice case was different as a result of the kind of man she got married to. She was not allowed to take decisions on her own, Eugene dictates for her as can be seen in the novel when she felt like staying back in the car because of her condition but he bluntly refused. It has become a tradition for them to visit Fr. Benedict after mass.

“Let me stay in the car and wait, biko,” Mama said, leaning against the Mercedes. “I feel vomit in my throat.” Papa turned to stare at her. I held my breath. It seemed a long moment, but it might have been only seconds. Mama was looking down; her hands were placed on her belly, to hold the wrapper from untying itself or to keep her bread and tea breakfast down. “My body does not feel right.” she mumbled. “I asked if you were sure you wanted to stay in the car.” Mama looked up. “I’ll come with you. It’s really not that bad.” Papa’s face did not change. He waited for her to walk towards him, and then he turned and they started to walk to the priest’s house. Jaja and I followed. I watched Mama as she walked. Till then I had not noticed how drawn she looked. Her skin, usually the smooth brown of groundnut paste, looked like the liquid had been sucked out of it, ashen, like the colour of cracked harmattan soil. Jaja spoke to me with his eyes: what if she vomits? I would hold up my dress hems so Mama could throw up into it, so we wouldn’t make a big mess in Father Benedict’s house. (Adichie, 2003, pp. 37-38)

 

This goes a long way to show that her children are even aware of who their father is and his style of dictating for everyone even at their own detriment.

3. SHE BELIEVE IN  AND TOLERATES THE BRUTALITY AND VICTIMIZATION AND INTERNALIZED ABUSE  GIVEN TO HER BY HER HUSBAND

 

It is from this ideal “patriarchal society that depict brutality and victimization as a normal phenomenon” that Beatrice refuses to leave Eugene after he breaks a stool on her belly causing her to miscarry again.

PROVE 1

At the beginning of the novel, Mama (Beatrice Achike) tolerates the brutality and victimization from her husband as an African/Nigeria woman so as to be regarded as a good woman for the sake of her society.

In Nigeria/Africa tradition, it is a taboo to be a divorcee. From the opening of the novel, one can clearly predict the type of husband/father, Eugene Achike will be to his household. Adichie started the novel in this way to clearly describe the family as will be seen all through the novel.

Kambili’s voice is used in telling us the events to know the kind of father she has when she said:

“”””  Things started to fall apart at home when my brother, Jaja, did not go to communion and Papa flung his heavy missal across the room and broke the figurines on the “étagère”. We had just returned from church. Mama placed the fresh palm fronds, which were wet with holy water, on the dining table and then went upstairs to change. Later, she would knot the palm fronds into sagging cross shapes and hang them on the wall beside our gold-framed family photo. They would stay there until next Ash Wednesday, when we would take the fronds to church, to have them burned for ash. Papa, wearing a long, gray robe like the rest of the oblates, helped distribute ash every year. His line moved the slowest because he pressed on each forehead to make a perfect cross with his ash-covered thumb and slowly, meaningfully enunciate every word of “dust and unto dust shall you return”. (Adichie, 2003, p. 5)  “”””

From the above statement made by kimbili, am able to depicts two things from there

1. The missal
2. The figurine

1. The missal

In catholic tradition, the missal is a sacred book that contains the words of God and for him not to have any regard for it clearly depict that he is just a church goer and not a true Christian as we are meant to believe

2. The figurine

The breaking of the figurine is very significant in the novel in the sense that it serves as a source of consolation whenever Mama (Beatrice) is heartbroken, she cleans it each time her husband beats her.

This is what Kimbiri have to say about the figurine:

“””””” I meant to say I am sorry Papa broke our figurines, but the words came out were, “I’m sorry your figurines broke, Mama”. She nodded quickly, and then shook her head to show that the figurines did not matter. They did, though. Years ago, before I understood, I used to wonder why she polished them each time I heard sounds from their room, like something banged against their door. Her rubber slippers never made a sound on the stairs, but I knew she went downstairs when I heard the dining room door open. I would go down to see her standing by the étagère with a towel soaked in soapy water. She spent at least a quarter of an hour on each ballet-dancing figurine. There were never tears on her face. The last time, only two weeks ago, when her swollen eye was still the black-purple colour of an overripe avocado, she had rearranged them after she polished them. (Adichie, 2003, pp. 18-19)   “””””””

 

PROVE 2

 Here Beatrice who sees her husband as a minigod,  experience more domestic violence from her husband to the point of losing a child. This is been told by her daughter as a reflection of what is happening to her:

I heard the door open. Papa’s gait on the stairs sounded heavier, more awkward, than usual. I stepped out of my room just as Jaja came out of his. We stood at the landing and watched Papa descend. Mama was slung over his shoulder like the jute sacks of rice his factory workers bought in bulk at the Seme Border. He opened the dining room door. Then we heard the front door open, heard him say something to the gate man, Adamu. “There’s blood on the floor,” Jaja said. “I’ll get the brush from the bathroom.” We cleaned up the trickle of blood , which trailed away as if someone had carried a leaking jar of red water colour all the way downstairs. Jaja scrubbed while I wiped. Mama did not come home that night, and Jaja and I had dinner alone. We did not talk about Mama. (Adichie, 2003, p. 41).

 

This violent action by Eugene on his wife is totally inhuman. He has violated and caused harm on his wife’s body to the extent of killing an unborn child which is against humanity and also, God whom he claimed to worship and adore. This kind of situation contradicts the faith which his Catholic doctrine professes. As a “good woman” who must protect the image of her husband, she came back from the hospital as if nothing happened and told her kids that:

“There was an accident, the baby is gone,” she said. I moved back a little, stared at her belly. It still looked big, still pushed at her wrapper in a gentle arc. Was Mama sure the baby was gone? I was still starring at her belly when Sisi came in”. As always, she can’t blame her husband for all the harm he has caused and as such, dare not tell her kids about it, though they know the truth. (Adichie, 2003, p. 42)

 

PROVE 3

Jaja and Kambili visits to Aunty Ifeoma‟s house offer them with possibilities of seeing the world differently including beginning to question religious dogma that their father had inculcated in them. Instead of viewing their grandfather as a pagan which they own father told them, the time they spend with him before his death at Aunty Ifeoma‟s place draws them closer to him. His death makes them realize how much they had been missing from a close relationship with their grandfather.

When Eugene discovers Kambili‟s painting of Papa Nnukwu which her cousin Amaka had given her to remember their grandfather by, he nearly beats Kambili to death when she defiantly clings to the painting instead of giving it up. Kambili is left unconscious in hospital for days, leaving the people around her in suspense, not knowing whether she will live or not.

 Again when Ifeoma tells her sister-in-law to leave, Beatrice, in a zombie like state, keeps on chanting “It has never happened like this before. He has never punished her like this before” (2005, p. 214)

 

Typical of somebody who has internalized abuse, Beatrice sees the beating up of her daughter as punishment for her wrong doing. She absolves Eugene from any wrong doing, instead of kicking against the atrocities she calls it as “punishment “.

For example, when Kambili gains consciousness, Beatrice again refuses to acknowledge that her husband is an abuser. She instead says, “Your father has been by your bedside every night these past three days. He has not slept a wink” (2005, p. 214).

Despite the pain he has inflicted on their daughter, Beatrice portrays Eugene as a loving and caring father thus supporting him for in terms of the abuse, and teaching Kambili that it is normal and justified for a father and husband to beat his wife and children as a way of instructing them on proper values.

 

PURPLE HIBISCUS PORTRAY OF THE EXISTENCE OF A REAL WOMAN

 

 In the novel, Adichie presented another kind of woman whom I referred to as the “real woman”. Aunty Ifeoma is totally different from Mama, she stand up for her right no matter the consequences.  Aunty Ifeoma is an epitome of a real woman who stand up for her right despite the consequences, she refused to be intimidated and refused to keep quiet. She is very intelligent and she appreciate her real womanhood unlike Beatrice.

However, there is a limit to which a woman can endure suffering in silence. Beatrice eventually chooses to act and made a radical approach which are seen in a “real women”. With the corporation of her cook, Sisi, she poisons her husband to death. She confesses to the children:

 “I started putting the poison in his tea before I came to Nsukka. Sisi got it for me; her uncle is a powerful witch doctor” (PH, 2005, Page 294).

In this way Beatrice Achike takes her leave from the status of the legendary good woman but her metamorphosis in to the real woman. She comes down with nervous breakdown soon after she takes up arm against her husband’s tyranny. Beatrice is so entangled in this patriarchal web that she regret her actions of killing her husband. But later, it favoured her based on the cutting of daily domestic violence imposed on her and her children.

PATRICK STORIES have been able to depict 2 most important characteristics exhibited from the term real women in the novel using Aunty Ifeoma as reference. They include:

• Stand up for the truth

• She believe with her intelligent she can bring solutions to problems.

1. STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH

PROVE 1

In contrast, Adichie presented another kind of woman whom which is referred to as the “real woman”.

Aunty Ifeoma is totally different from Mama, she stand up for her right no matter the consequences. She is of the opinion that things are not working the way. It should in the school and can’t keep quiet for it to get worse.

She complained to her colleague:

We cannot keep quiet, sit back and let it happen, “mba”. Where else have you heard of such a thing as a sole administrator in a university?” Aunty Ifeoma said, leaning forward on the stool. Tiny cracks appeared in her bronze lipstick when she pursed her lips. “A governing council votes for a vice chancellor. That is the way it has worked since this university was built, that is the way it is supposed to work, oburia (meaning—it is not like that)?” the woman looked off into the distance , nodding continuously in the way that people do when searching for the right words to use. When she finally spoke, she did so slowly, like someone addressing a stubborn child. “They said there is a list circulating, Ifeoma, of lecturers who are disloyal to the university. They said they might be fired. They said your name is on it.” She replied her colleague and said “I am not paid to be loyal. When I speak the truth, it becomes disloyalty. (Adichie, 2003, pp. 227-228)

 

Ifeoma is an epitome of a real woman who stand up for her right despite the consequences, she refused to be intimidated by those who feels they are at the helm of affair and refused to keep quiet. She is very intelligent and can defend herself as such, wasn’t afraid of losing her job. Even when she lost her job, she has started making plans on how to relocate to a society that will appreciate her real womanhood unlike Mama who is so glued to her marriage and saw it as a privilege to be married to Eugene Achike.

PROVE 2

Ifeoma was so furious when she heard what happened to her to the extent of losing a pregnancy, she couldn’t take sides with her brother. Aunty Ifeoma is totally against her brother’s attitude of beating his wife and sees it as a sign of humiliation. She pleaded with Mama(Beatrice ) to spend some time with her before going back but, as always, she makes excuses for her husband and the need go back to him.

This is what Beatrice said:

“Eugene has not been well. He has been having migraine and fever,” she said. “He is carrying more than any man should carry. Do you know what Ade’s death did to him? It is too much for one person.” “Ginidi, what are you saying?” Aunty Ifeoma swiped impatiently at an insect that flew close to her ears. “When Ifediora was alive, there were times, nwunye m, when the university did not pay salaries for months. Ifediora and I had nothing, eh, yet he never raised a hand to me.” “Do you know that Eugene pays the school fees of up to a hundred of our people? Do you know how many people are alive because of your brother?” “That is not is not the point and you know it.” “Where would I go if I leave Eugene’s house? Tell me, where would I go?”. (Adichie, 2003, p. 255)

 

2. SHE BELIEVE WITH HER INTELLIGENTS SHE CAN BRING SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS

In the novel, aunty Ifeoma brought out two strategies use to solve the domestics violence been imposed on her sister in law Beatrice. They include;

1. Counselling strategy (assessment of the presence, extent and types of abuse) 
2. Prevention and intervention strategies 

1. Counselling strategy

This strategy was used by ifeoma in “PURPLE HIBISCUS”, here ifeoma tries to caution and Counsel Beatrice.

“This cannot go on, nwunye m,” Aunty Ifeoma said. “When a house is on fire, you run out before the roof collapses on your head.”  (Aunty Ifeoma, Page 213)

 

2. Prevention and intervention strategies

These includes ways to prevent domestic violence by offering safe shelter, crisis intervention, advocacy, and education and prevention programs as did Aunty Ifeoma in Purple Hibiscus.

(Kambili and Jaja are taken back to Nsukka to be cared for by their aunt. P. 219, Aunty Ifeoma and Father Amadi visit and convince Eugene to let Kambili go to Nsukka)

COMPETING INTERESTS

I declare that I have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced me in writing this article. I write this articles based on my experience with those who have such and also the subjugation/subjection of women and children in the patriachal society.

 

I will like to ask a simple question  for my fellow readers and viewers.

 

1. What is your own views and contributions on this articles?

 

2. In your society where you find your self, is there any occurrence or existence  of patriarchy power.

 

3. Does socialisation and patriarchy have any relationship? if so elaborate. 

 

4. Are you aware of existence of domestic violence in your area? If so, explain

 

5. What are your perceptions of  girls/women who experience domestic violence?

 

6. Do these girls/women  enjoy these violence perpetrated  in this marriage/relationship? Elaborate.

 

7. What in your view is the best way forward to solve this problem of domestic violence?

 

8. Does culture and patriarchy  in any way contribute to domestic violence?

Please let me know all your reactions, views and insights in the comment box below!

Written by:

Kogwuonye Patrick Onyeka

 

Writer/Blogger/Educator/Tutor

University of Benin

 

www.facebook.com/patrickstories

Credited to :

Women who fight depression, molestation and thrive to be self independent, and to all feminist who try to fight for there right and inculcate the idea of gender equality through out the world.