The plight of the Igbo woman in The joys of motherhood

Abstract This paper situates the feminine experience within an intersectional praxis that explores the experiences of women who are defined by their gender identities and social statuses. Drawing on Gayatri Spivak and Judith Butler’s theories of subalternity and performativity and setting against Kimberle Crenshaw and Chikwenye Ogunyemi’s indigenous Afrocentric frameworks, this paper examines the experiences of Igbo people from precolonial times to the early postcolonial years within the context of gender roles and the power dynamics that shape their structures and institutions. The three critical questions that inform this discourse are: (1) what is the plight of the Igbo woman? (2) what factors contribute to the manifestation of these plights? (3) how can these plights be redressed? This paper contextually analyses Buchi Emecheta’s The joys of motherhood (1979), focusing on the character of the female protagonist, Nnu Ego. Through Nnu Ego’s portrayal first, as an untouched maiden in Nwokocha Agbadi’s household; second, as a barren wife in Amatokwu’s household; and third, as an unhappy and poor wife in Nnaife Owulum’s household, this paper answers the questions raised by arguing that Igbo women and girls are products of patriarchal customs and values which manifest through gendered naming and role appropriation practices. This work contributes to academic debates about how patriarchal ideology continues to shape unequal gender relations in contemporary Igbo society.