Purple Hibiscus is an intense tale about a dejected family and Nigeria’s slow recovery from colonialism told through the eyes of a 15- year old, Kambili. The book addresses some of the issues evident during the postcolonial era, which includes domestic violence, silencing of the victims and the multiple embodiments of postcolonial feminism. The author, Chimamanda Adichie, born in 1977 in Kambili’s hometown of Enugu, is of Igbo descent and is a Catholic and used her own childhood experience to inform the lives of her characters.The novel is Adichie’s endeavour to filter the thoughts that the West has about the Nigerian culture and criticize the colonizer’s religion, Christianity, which sees all other religion as barbaric in the lands of the
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The maltreatment committed against the family by Eugene are symbolic of the patriarchal power. Eugene, the head of the house is autocratic and violent, forcing the family into an intense silence out of fear and respect; he takes away their voice and thus their power. Yet, Beatrice, his wife, takes a brave action to free herself and her children from the dominance of her husband, making her also an example of stealthy feminine strength. Beatrice and her sister-in-law, Aunty Ifeoma, work together in the novel to create a dynamic and complex portrayal of the postcolonial Nigerian women. The women are essentially opposing stereotypes of postcolonial feminism. Beatrice is submissive and traditional, yet finds the courage to quietly rebel against the authority of her husband. On the other hand, Ifeoma is dedicated, strong and expressive about her disapproval of the current gender relations in Nigeria. Today, Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is currently a hotbed of numerous feminist movements, which have been fighting to advance the rights of women for decades (**1). While rules have been passed aimed at giving women a better quality of life, the enforcement of these rules differ geographically across the country, thereby changing the contours of feminist struggles region-by-region.
The maltreatment committed against the family by Eugene are symbolic of the patriarchal power. Eugene, the head of the house is autocratic and violent, forcing the family into an intense silence out of fear and respect; he takes away their voice and thus their power. Yet, Beatrice, his wife, takes a brave action to free herself and her children from the dominance of her husband, making her also an example of stealthy feminine strength. Beatrice and her sister-in-law, Aunty Ifeoma, work together in the novel to create a dynamic and complex portrayal of the postcolonial Nigerian women. The women are essentially opposing stereotypes of postcolonial feminism. Beatrice is submissive and traditional, yet finds the courage to quietly rebel against the authority of her husband. On the other hand, Ifeoma is dedicated, strong and expressive about her disapproval of the current gender relations in Nigeria. Today, Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is currently a hotbed of numerous feminist movements, which have been fighting to advance the rights of women for decades (**1). While rules have been passed aimed at giving women a better quality of life, the enforcement of these rules differ geographically across the country, thereby changing the contours of feminist struggles region-by-region.