A FEMINIST STUDY OF FLORA NWAPA’S ONE IS ENOUGH

Abstract

The focus of this study is on the feminist theory of Flora Nwapa’s novels one is enough, analyzing from a feminist and dialogic perspective what choice and discovery mean for Nwapa’s female characters in Efuru (1966), Idu (1970), and One is Enough (1981). Flora Nwapa writes about women and their lives, issues, and concerns within a traditional Igbo culture radically affected by British colonialism. As she explores and analyzes many of the characteristics of her tribal group, she posits the women’s desires for change, choice, and acceptance within a society in which they wish to participate fully as human beings not just in the roles traditionally allowed them as workers, wives, and mothers. Instead, they wish greater freedom than traditional Igbo customs allow in the domestic and public realms; but their beliefs and values have been transformed by Christianity, western education, and an increasing emphasis upon the individual. The women in Nwapa’s novels speak to the needs of both collective and individual female identity within their culture. They seek love and respect from the community and acceptance of the choices they make. As Nwapa’s novels evolve, her female characters become increasingly independent, aggressive and self-styled: they become women with a mission to realize themselves.

                                        CHAPTER ONE

                                        INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

One is Enough (1981) is Nwapas’ fourth novel which tells of a woman’s struggle to lead a life of her own. After six years of happy marriage, though without children, Amaka discovers that her husband plans to marry another woman who has already borne him two sons in secrecy. As a result, rather than staying with her unfaithful husband, she goes to Lagos and starts a new life. To become a successful businesswoman in Lagos, she gets involved in an affair with a Catholic priest and bears twin children. In the end, she has to decide whether to continue living alone and stand the society’s criticism, or have another man as husband and be respectable, or be content with one husband, as the title of the novel implies. In the text Amaka is detested by her in laws due to her lack of ability to produce offspring. When her husband Obiora takes a second wife without her knowledge, Amaka rejects her husband and leaves for Lagos, where she becomes a prosperous business woman. She even gains twin boys in a relationship with a priest. When he declares his wish to marry her, Amaka‘s rejection is crystal clear, “I don‘t want to be a wife… A mistress, yes, but not a wife…As a wife, I am never free. I am a shadow of myself. As a wife, I am almost impotent. I am in prison, unable to advance in body or soul” (OIE, 132). Women in Africa latterly have joined women in other nations in their quest for rights, for opportunity, relevance and recognition. This feminist quest is not imported, it cannot be. Nobody knows the latent volcano of the soul of woman nor indeed of man which can erupt suddenly and determinably. Feminism is a reaction of women with guts and steam and nobody tells the other to remove her head from the yoke. It is only the determinant weight. This is so when we later examine the varied nature of feminisms in countries and women’s reactions to their burdens. The term “feminism” is English, as the language itself, but its realization is inextricably bound to the culture and peculiar backgrounds and experiences of the women. It thus becomes worthwhile at this point to show the coping strategies of some women in cultures in Africa to maintain some measure of autonomy in their roles as daughters, wives, and mothers. This is an important prelude to women’s emancipation and quest for rights and status today.  In this study, attention will be geared to the consciousness of all important characters, but specifically on the dialogue and actions of central female characters in order to analyze the conversations that Nwapa’s female characters have between self and society, between self and self-consciousness, and among themselves. I am seeking to determine what the characters discover by making certain choices. The term “self-consciousness” as used in this dissertation means one’s awareness of self and society and the role one is expected and desires to fulfill in society. I will focus on questions Nwapa raises by the speech and actions of her characters. Are the conflicts ever resolved? If so, how? How does the resolution of the conflict affect the community and the individual? Flora Nwapa writes about women and their lives, issues, and concerns within the traditional culture of Oguta society. As she explores and analyzes many of the characteristics of her tribal group, she posits the women’s desire for change, choice, and acceptance within a society in which they wish to participate fully as human beings not just as women traditionally expected to participate in a limited, culturally-defined way. The women in Nwapa’s novels speak to the needs of collective and individual female identity within their culture. They seek love and respect from the community and acceptance of the choices they make. As Nwapa’s works evolve, her female characters become more independent, aggressive, and self-styled: increasingly, they are women with a mission.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

African women without children are not only confronted with family hatred, but also with contempt for society, ridicule and isolation. This stigma breaks their joy and makes them desperate in the family, in which they should fully realize themselves as wives. Above all, the absence of a child threatens the bond that binds a woman to her husband, thus reducing her to pariah status in her marital home. This is therefore still the cause of most of the family crises and unrest in African societies. According to Clenora Hudson-Weems, it is the consensus of Africana women scholars that they must reconsider “historical realities and the agenda for the modern feminist movement”. It is believed that one major tenet of this approach is to help the “Africana womanist” see herself as a companion to the Africana man and work diligently toward continuing their established union in the struggle against racial oppression. Thus, the views of Carole Boyce Davies on what constitutes African feminism are especially important in understanding Nwapa’s fiction. It is on this premise that this study is embarked upon.

1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to examine Flora Nwapa’s one is enough approach to feminism; but the specific objectives include;

1. i) To examine Flora Nwapa’s view of feminism in African culture
2. ii) To ascertain the effect of cultural bondage on African women potentials in Igbo community

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is believed that at the completion of the study, the study will be of importance to the student of English and literary studies as the findings of the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature on the subject matter and also contribute to knowledge, the study will also be useful to researchers who intend to embark on a study in a similar topic as the study will serve as a reference point to further research. Finally, the study will be of importance to students, teachers, academia’s and the general public as the study will contribute to the pool of existing literature on the subject matter.

1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The methodology of this work focuses on the Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical or philosophical fields. It aims to understand gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations, and sexuality. Much of feminist theory also focuses on the promotion of women‟s rights and interests. The men explored in feminist theory include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification, oppression and patriarchy. The feminist movement produced an avalanche of feminist fiction and non- fiction, and created a new interest in women‟s writing. It also prompted a general reassessment of women‟s historical and academic contributions in response to the assertion that women‟s lives and contribution have been under represented as areas of scholarly interest. Mary Wollstone craft wrote out of the first works of feminist philosophy entitled A Vindication of the Rights of Women, which called for equal education in 1792, and her daughter, mary Shelley also became an author best known for her 1818 novel, Frankenstein.

1.6 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study is very wide, as the research variables feminist study of Flora Nwapa’s one is enough.

The study address the diverse problem women face on the continent due to colonialism, as well as regional, ethnic, and religious practices. Thus, the multiple voices that are fighting to be heard are handicapped. Flora Nwapa”s one is not enough emphasizes “that African women who have transcended the borders of silence are intercepting certain existing notions” that suggest women should remain silent and let the men speak for them.

1.7 AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Florence Nwazuruahu Nkiru Nwapa was born in January 18, 1931 in Oguta, Imo state of Nigeria. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree from University college, Ibadan in 1957. She also occupied many enviable position in government. She taught at the college and Universities around the world, including New York University of Harin. She died at the age of of 62 in 1993. Flora a novelist, publisher, short – story write is the first African woman to write and publish a novel in English. She offers her readers a fresh perspective on traditional West African culture and modern Nigeria by exploring a woman‟s point of view. Her use of oral tradition and folk languages of village women reflects a commitment to create literature from those sources. Many of her works address the questions of tradition and transformation for women. She creates women who succeed outside traditional women‟s role of mother and wife. “No woman in Nwapa‟s novels is a parasite that depends on men for sustenance. In Idu it is the man who has no inner resources, who borrows money constantly from his wife when the wife deserts him, „‟hanged himself from the thatched roof of his hut”. Her works includes Efuru, Idu, Never Again,One is Enough, Women Are Different, This is Lagos and other stories, Wives at War and other stories, Cassava Song and Rice Song, Mammy Water and Journey to space.

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