P-206 Assignment

The Enigma of Traumatized 'Womanhood' in Buchi Emecheta's The Joys of Motherhood and Alice Walker's 

The Colour Purple:A Critical Study

Name-Daya Vaghani

Paper- 206 :The African Literature

Roll no-06

Enrollment no-3069206420200017

Email id- dayavaghani2969@gmail.com

Batch-2020-22 (MA Sem-IV)

Submitted to- S. B. Gardi Department of English,

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Introduction:

Buchi Emecheta of African-Nigerian literature and Alice Walker of African-American literature are considered the forerunners of women's literary authorization in the literary genre. The Color Purple and The Joys of Motherhood are two key works attributed to them, each reflecting the predicament of women in the patriarchal society in which they live.These stories are based on American literature and deal with issues such as trauma, identity, and community. This presentation explores the subject of 'womanhood' and its implications for personal fulfilment and communal harmony.

The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta:

The Joys of Motherhood was written by Buchi Emecheta, a Nigerian-born British author, and published by Allison & Busby in 1979. Emecheta has written and published over twenty works, from novels to plays, each of which delve into the complexities of what it means to be a woman and a mother in societies where the morals and traditions are constantly changing. The protagonist, Nnu Ego, has bad fortune with childbearing, and through her life centered on her children, she gains her community’s respect. As European governments seize control of African countries and annex them in order to turn them into a source of raw materials and labour, the newly colonised nations face war and a shift in their tribal values. Emecheta pushes all readers to see the contradictions that arise from accepting European ideas and traditions and naturally following age-old tradition as they follow Ego's trip. The colonialists' influence is eroding the Ibo's once strong community.

The book opens as Nnu Ego runs away from her home in Lagos, Nigeria, where her first baby has just died she has decided to commit suiside.The story flashes back to the story of how Nnu Ego was conceived. Her father, Agbadi, though he has many wives, is in love with a proud and haughty young woman named Ona. Ona refuses to marry him because she is obligated to produce a son for her father's family line, and not a husband's. But when Agbadi is almost killed in a hunting accident, Ona nurses him back to health and becomes pregnant with his child. She agrees that if it's a daughter, the child will belong to Agbadi.

 Emecheta also attacks Ibos who take use of masculine power to oppress women, wives, and daughters. Though women can bear children and raise them, the "Joys of Motherhood" can also be painful and anxiety-inducing. One of Emecheta's most important and well-known works, The Joys of Motherhood, criticises colonialism, tradition, and women's roles, and how they effect one woman, Nnu Ego, and her family.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker:

The Color Purple, novel by Alice Walker, published in 1982. It won a Pulitzer Prize in 1983. A feminist work about an abused and uneducated African American woman’s struggle for empowerment, The Color Purple was praised for the depth of its female characters and for its eloquent use of Black English Vernacular.

The Color Purple documents the traumas and gradual triumph of Celie, an African American teenager raised in rural isolation in Georgia, as she comes to resist the paralyzing self-concept forced on her by others. Celie narrates her life through painfully honest letters to God. These are prompted when her abusive father, Alphonso, warns her not to tell anybody but God after he rapes her and she becomes pregnant for a second time at the age of 14. After she gives birth, Alphonso takes the child away, as he did with her first baby, leaving Celie to believe that both have been killed. When the widowed Mr.__ (also called Albert) proposes marriage to Celie’s younger sister, Nettie, Alphonso pushes him to take Celie instead, forcing her into an abusive marriage. Soon thereafter Nettie flees Alphonso and briefly lives with Celie. However, Albert’s continued interest in Nettie results in her leaving.

Celie subsequently begins to build relationships with other black women, especially those engaging forcefully with oppression. Of note is the defiant Sofia, who marries Albert’s son Harpo after becoming pregnant. Unable to control her, Harpo seeks advice, and Celie suggests that he beat Sofia. However, when Harpo strikes her, Sofia fights back. Upon learning that Celie encouraged Harpo’s abuse, she confronts a guilty Celie, who admits to being jealous of Sofia’s refusal to back down, and the two women become friends. More significant, however, is Celie’s relationship with Shug Avery, a glamorous and independent singer who is also Albert’s sometime mistress. Celie tends to an ailing Shug, and the two women grow close, eventually becoming lovers.

During this time Celie discovers that Albert has been hiding letters that Nettie has sent her. Celie begins reading them and learns that Nettie has befriended a minister, Samuel, and his wife, Corrine, and that the couple’s adopted children, Adam and Olivia, are actually Celie’s. Nettie joins the family on a mission in Liberia, where Corrine later dies. The letters also reveal that Alphonso is actually Celie’s stepfather and that her biological father was lynched. Questioning her faith, Celie begins addressing her letters to Nettie. However, Shug later encourages Celie to change her beliefs about God. An emboldened Celie then decides to leave Albert and go to Memphis with Shug. Once there, Celie comes into her own and creates a successful business selling tailored pants. Her happiness, however, is tempered somewhat by Shug’s affairs, though Celie continues to love her. Following Alphonso’s death, Celie inherits his house, where she eventually settles. During this time she develops a friendship with Albert, who is apologetic about his earlier treatment of her. After some 30 years apart, Celie is then reunited with Nettie, who has married Samuel. Celie also meets her long-lost children.

‘Womanist’ and ‘Feminist’ 

During that time, women of colour, particularly African and African-American women, were not only subjected to the same political and social injustices as white women, but were also discriminated against ethnically owing to their skin colour and ethnicity. As a result, many women were unable to identify with the feminist movement, and instead found themselves affiliated with the new term "womanist," coined by African-American novelist Alice Walker.Another distinction between feminists and womanists is that while some white women see men as their adversary in their fight for equality, womanists fight not only for themselves but also against the oppression of African-American men, as both men and women have been oppressed in terms of race and class. BuchiEmecheta, on the other hand, deals with the two-fold oppression of women in her works. "Feminism with a Small 'f'," she writes in her work. 

I write about the little happenings of everyday life. Being a woman, and African born, I see things through an African woman's eyes. I chronicle the little happenings in the lives of the African women I know. I did not know that by doing so I was going to be called a feminist. But if I am now a feminist then I am an African feminist with a small f. (175)

                                                            -Buchi Emecheta 

Emecheta may oppose to being labelled a feminist, but her views, as expressed in her art, cause her to be labelled a Feminist with a capital F. Her works speak loudly and clearly about her feminist beliefs. Her representation of female characters provides the reader with a lens through which they may see what makes Nigerian society operate.

Trauma Theory:

‘Trauma’ theory has its origin from the early 1960s, from various social concern such as “recognition of the prevalence of violence against women and children (rape, battering, incest); identification of the phenomenon of post-traumatic stress disorder in (Vietnam) war veterans; and awareness of the psychic scar inflicted by torture and genocide, especially in regard to Holocaust” (Sprengnether 250). Trauma is generally described as damage to the body or psyche caused by some form of shock, violence, or unexpected event, and it usually occurs as a result of negative life experiences that devastate an individual's ability to cope with a threat they may encounter (Van der kolk,1996). There are many different types of trauma, such as complex trauma, which refers to traumatic occurrences that are usually severe and invasive; post-traumatic stress disorder, sexual abuse trauma, and so on. 

The Enigma of Traumatized 'Womanhood':

Both the female protagonists are subjected to horrific experiences as a result of the patriarchal society in which they live. Both stories thus examine the issue of 'womanhood' and the terrible situations they had to go through in order to reach the uncertain stages of it. Using the above critical theory as a foundation, this presentation examines the two female characters, Nnu Ego and Celie, from BuchiEmecheta's novel The Joys of Motherhood and Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple, and their problems as women in a patriarchal society. It also tries to depict the state of women through the experience of black female protagonists who are colonized twice, first by patriarchy and then by colonial rulers. 

Nnu Ego (The Joys of Motherhood)

 

This work depicts the pre- and post-motherhood circumstances of a woman in the current culture through the female protagonist, Nnu Ego. It also indicates her overwhelming dread of not becoming a mother and of losing her identity, both of which have left terrible marks on her. The majority of Emecheta's novels depict the terrible situations that African women frequently face in a traditional, male-dominated society.Gender violence, child marriage, virginity cult, objectification of womanhood, sexual harassment, and, most significantly, the necessity of being fertile are all topics in her work.

In a very patriarchal culture, the novel The Joys of Motherhood shows violence against women. The work successfully depicts the rules of the African Igbo society, in which the male society has absolute authority. Internal and external violence, i.e. psychological and physical violence, are depicted here. In general, violence is defined as abuse by intimate partners and other family members, and it can take many forms, including physical, sexual, psychological, economic, and omissional abuse. Physical violence is a powerful action that is meant to cause harm. Physical aggressiveness or assault, which includes striking, kicking, biting, slapping, shoving, and other forms of physical aggression or assault, is one example. Psychological violence, on the other hand, refers to the repercussions that some male characters' words and actions may have on female characters. The 'suffering' that was inflicted on her on a regular basis drove her to break the silence by committing'suicide.'

Celie (The Colour Purple) 

Similarly, Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple, which is an exemplary example of the epistolary form, depicts the storey of a woman's existence in an African-American culture. Celie, the heroine of the novel, is a black lady living in rural Georgia in the 1930s. The novel unabashedly glorifies black women who defy authority while simultaneously detailing the terrible agony and cruelty experienced as a result of unequal relationships compounded by hegemonic patriarchy. Celie and her sister Nettie are at the centre of the plot.

Walker exposes patriarchy and how males, including disenfranchised black men, oppress women. It's about a black woman's struggle to find her identity and independence in the midst of tremendous abuse, brutality, and oppression, and her path is one of self-discovery and resilience in the face of extraordinarily challenging and unfriendly circumstances. The novel's beautiful use of language and the depth of its female characters have also been lauded.This demonstrates how a woman loves everything and everyone in order to gain control. The novel's female protagonists are shown to be content with their lives after overcoming all obstacles.

 

"Dear God, Dear Stars, Dear Trees, Dear Sky, Dear Peoples, Dear Everything," Celie writes in her final letter, addressing and thanking everyone and everything: "Dear God, Dear Stars, Dear Trees, Dear Sky, Dear Peoples, Dear Everything" (The Colour Purple130).

To show that Womanism is a darker shade of Feminism, Alice Walker uses the colours purple for womanist and lavender for feminist. It is a movement led by women of colour. The text's title emphasises this facet of Womanism. In fact, throughout the story, the hue 'purple' has numerous meanings. Purple is connected with beauty and independence in this context. In this novel, Walker celebrates womanhood in this way. "Womanist is to feminism as purple is to lavender," she concludes. (1983, page xii) 

To show that Womanism is a darker shade of Feminism, Alice Walker uses the colours purple for womanist and lavender for feminist. It is a movement led by women of colour. The text's title emphasises this facet of Womanism. In fact, throughout the storey, the hue 'purple' has numerous meanings. Purple is connected with beauty and independence in this context. "I suppose it irritates God if you walk past the colour purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it," Shug explains in The Colour Purple98, and teaches Celie that God made small things like the colour "purple" to make them happy.

She encourages her to appreciate life and herself as a woman since God intends for them to. Celie does not like wearing purple in the beginning of the novel, but at the end of the novel, when she has her own home, she wants everything to be purple. This indicates that the colour 'purple' became associated with independence. Celie's husband gives her a purple frog, which symbolises equality between men and women.

Conclusion

As a result, it is possible to conclude that patriarchal society's rules are constantly opposed by women. Emecheta and Walker have developed characters in both works that defy society's so-called conventions and are surrounded by restricted discourses that turn them into the ultimate other wherever they go. Celie and Nnu Ego, the protagonists, were dominated by the white English community because of her ethnic background and colonial antecedents, and by the black community because of their wants. The repeating experiences of 'trauma' and 'suffering,' which converted them into 'abjects' of their society, eventually counter-revolve and transform their character into a powerful one. As a result, it is possible to conclude that patriarchal society's rules are constantly opposed by women. Emecheta and Walker have developed characters in both works that defy society's so-called conventions and are surrounded by restricted discourses that turn them into the ultimate other wherever they go. Celie and Nnu Ego were both dominated by the white English community because of their ethnic origins and colonial antecedents, and by the black community because of their ambitions. The repeating experiences of 'trauma' and 'suffering,' which converted them into 'abjects' of their society, eventually counter-revolve and transform their character into a powerful one.

Work Cited:

Emecheta, Buchi. “Feminism with Small ‘f’.” Criticism and Ideology: Second African Writers’ Conference Stockholm 1986, edited by Kirsten Holst Petersen, Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, Uppsala, 1988. 

Emecheta, Buchi. The Joys of Motherhood. Oxford, England :Heinemann International, 19941988. 

Kolk,Van der et all., editors. Traumatic Stress: The Effects of Overwhelming Experience on Mind, Body, AndSociety. The Guilford Press. 1996 

Sarmah, Puja. “THE ENIGMA OF TRAUMATIZED ‘WOMANHOOD’ IN BUCHI EMECHETA’S THE JOYS OF MOTHERHOODAND ALICE WALKER’S THE COLOUR PURPLE: A CRITICAL STUDY.” JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS, vol. 7, no. 4, 2020, pp. 2420–2429.http://www.jcreview.com/admin/Uploads/Files/61b841002c2ef7.93750521.pdf 

Sprengnether, Madelon. “Feminist Criticism and Psychoanalysis.”A History of Feminist LiteraryCriticism, edited by Gill Plain and Susan Sellers, Cambridge UP, 2007.

Walker, Alice. The Color Purple. London: Women's Press, 1992. Print.