A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THEMES IN NIGERIAN LITERATURE USING KAREN KING ARIBISALA’S BITTER LEAFING WOMAN

This essay is a critical assessment of the thematic preoccupations in Nigeria literature by examining Karen-King Aribisala’s, Bitter Leafing Woman. It is indeed pertinent to note that The Bitter Leafing woman is a collection of short stories; 27 stories to be precise. As such, this essay shall examine and explore the thematic concerns particular to Nigerian literature in the stories. To do this it is imperative we explain what Nigerian Literature means and thereafter, we shall discuss themes in Nigeria Literature with reference to other Nigeria Literary works before we proceed to explore the thematic preoccupations in Karen-King Aribisala’s The Bitter Leafing woman.

INTRODUCTION

Literature has become one of Africa’s major contributions to the intellectual world. Oral or written, African Literature (and particularly Nigerian), has gained recognition world-wide (Ojaide 317, our emphasis).

To start with, it is significant we explain the two words in the topic — Nigeria and literature. Nigerian is the adjective of Nigeria. It simply means something or somebody from the country called Nigeria. Now, the question posed at us is what is Nigeria? Nigeria is a country located in Africa and has over 180 million populations. It is regarded as the most populated country in Africa. Asides from this, Nigeria is also known to be wealthy in culture; also, Nigeria like other African Countries experienced the bitterness in her coloniazation, post colonial disillusionment, corruption, civil war and bad leadership amongst others. It therefore, comes as no surprise that there are lots of subject matters to write on about Nigeria. On the other hand, it is essential, we examine what literature means. Literature is considered to be the mirror of life. Literature is a major art form through which people can exhibit their culture. According to Chiegeonu. Literature,

literally translated, means acquaintance with letters (from the Latin word littera = letters); it is the art of written works, usually creative in nature, that employs imagination to birth it; as a matter of fact, it is created or recreated from imagination (1).

Indeed, literature is a work of imagination that recreates experience. Also, T.S. observes that literature “is to teach and to delight”. Thus, writers write literary works for different reasons. At this juncture, it is necessary we join the two words together: Nigeria Literature. Darah is quick to point out that “all the nationalities that make up contemporary Nigeria had a thriving tradition of literature before they came in contact with Arabic and European influences” (1). Thus, can we say that Nigeria Literature is any creative work written in Nigeria? Or by a Nigerian? Or that discusses the issues of Nigeria even though it is written by a foreigner? This has made Nigeria Literature one that has been a subject of numerous critical attentions. Over the years, it has been a debatable topic amongst scholars. Contributing to this discourse is Tanure Ojaide, who asserts that, the Nigeria Literature:

would essentially be any Nigerian literary work of imagination which is written by Nigerians for Nigerians; it discusses issues that are Nigerian and shares the same sensibilities, consciousness, world-view and other aspects of the Nigerian cultural experience. In a nut-shell, the writer must share values and experiences of the people of Nigeria for the writing to be classified as being Nigerian. (318)

From the assertion above, we can observe that for any literary work to be classified as Nigerian Literature, it must be written by a Nigerian, for the sake of Nigeria, it must take into consideration issues that are pertaining to Nigerians, and must reflect the cultural and social experiences of Nigerians. Indeed, the reason a novel titled 419 by a foreigner will not be regarded as a Nigerian Literature although it takes on subject about Nigeria.

Of equal importance to this discourse is the language in which the literary works are written. Some scholars have argued that Nigerian Literature just like it was argued about African Literature should be written in the Nigerian indigenous language. On the other hand are some who are of the opinion that the literature should be written in English Language. Thus, since Nigeria as a country is heterogeneous. That is, it is a conglomeration of people of different cultural background and language; hence, the language that brings everyone together is the English language. Just as Achebe observe that “they have given me the language, but I intend to use”. In essence, the literary works would have “NIGERIANESS” in them. The “Nigerianess” could be elements of oral tradition and the subjects that are known to Nigeria. Then, novels like D.O. Fagunwa’s Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole cannot be regarded as Nigeria Literature is because it limits the readers. That is, only people who understand Yoruba language can read the novel. Indeed, we need agree with Tanure Ojaide’s assertion about the definition of Nigerian Literature.

These are some of the issues that Nigerian literature focuses on; issues of the traumatic effects of — and in — colonialism on the natives, the traumatic effect of the civil war on families, communities and the self, as well as the sociological and traumatic effect of “militarism” on the native people; also we have corruption, bad leadership, ethnicity, unemployment amongst other post colonial disillusionment. For instance, while novels like Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, No Longer at Ease, and plays like Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman, catechize the contact between the European colonialist and the native Nigerian, Chimamanda Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun, Flora Nwapa’s Never Again, Elechi Amadi’s Sunset in Biafra, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo’s Roses and Bullets, Festus Iyayi’s Heroes, Isidore Okpewho’s The Last Duty and many other literary works have formed a collection that can adequately be described as the literature on the Nigerian Civil War (Biafran War). And for literatures that describe the age of military dictatorship, works like Soyinka’s Kongi’s Harvest, Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah, Okpewho’s The Last Duty are common examples. Lola Akande’s What it Takes discusses the issue of ethnicity and tribalism.

Also, we have the theme of war, the Nigerian civil war (1967–70). This serves as one major story in Nigeria’s history especially for the people of the Eastern part of the country who share more, the bitter part of the tale of the war. As expected, the war broke out as a revolt to the political ineptitude of the Military Heads of State who were in power for power’s sake. Hence the political inefficiency and the megalomaniac nature of the ‘Political Game Player’ birthed the Nigerian civil war. In truth this issue is one of such that has influenced the style of writing of many Nigerian writers, especially the Easterners. Such is it that even till the present time; it has received the most attention by Nigerian creative writers. This was traumatic since the people realised that the ‘end’ of slavery and colonialism did not mean a better Nigeria; rather it meant a nation who would feel the trauma of disillusionment, confusion, identity loss, disappointment and what Ken Olende refers to as “the bitter reality of independence” (1); a nation that would be struck by disunity, inter-tribal wars and megalomania. As we can see in the literary works of all the generations of Nigerian writers, from the first generation which include, Achebe, Soyinka, J.P. Clark, Okigbo and the second generation of Femi Osofisan, Niyi Osundare who paints the canvass of bad leadership in Nigeria till the third generation with the likes of Helon Habila, Akachi-Ezeigbo who write about gender inequality. Thus, writers write about what please or pain them.

THEMATIC CONCERNS IN KAREN-KING ARIBISALA’S BITTER-LEAFING WOMAN

The collection of short story under discussion is one that has received little or no critical attention. As a literary work, qualified to be a Nigerian literature, it comes as no surprise that some thematic concerns prominent in Nigeria literature are present in the story. In the first story in this collection, we have the story, “Dear Okonkwo”. In this story, the writer writes a letter to the protagonist in Achebe’s

The most prominent theme in this collection is on gender equality. The blurb of the book affirms this:

Bitter Leafing Woman relates the experiences of Woman as she chews the bitter leaves of patriarchal oppression in a bid to transform them into gender balanced sweetness. Here woman becomes a symbol of the oppressed; of women and men alike.(blurb)

Indeed, the issue of gender in Nigeria Literature is not novel. Writers especially women in Nigeria now write about gender oppression. Examples of such writers include: Buchi Emecheta, Akachi Ezeigbo and Chimamanda Adichie who write about how women have been constantly oppressed by the society, men and even other women. In this collection of stories, we have in the story titled, “Dear Okonkwo”, a letter to the protagonist of the classic novel by Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart. Of importance to this discourse is to describe who the character is. The novel is set in the Igbo society where there is male domination. As a result of this, Okonkwo is a male chauvinist. He hates everything women like and this is owing to the fact that he passionately detests everything about his father, Unoka whom he considers as effeminate. Thus, Okonkwo treats women like commodities in the novel. Indeed, some scholars have agreed that it is the failure of Okonkwo to balance the “feminine” part of him with the masculine part that leads to his downfall in the novel. In this story, the writer addresses a letter to him. Telling him what has happened and what she observes to be his errors while he was alive in the novel and also to drive home the theme, she points out that:

Since you were last here, much has happened in this country. Of course colonialism and the British colonists have gone for good and Nigeria is an independent nation. But some things are still falling apart. And at the centre is you. The same old yam and yamming. You see, Okonkwo, your brand of colonialism (I’m talking about male/female relationships) is still going on today. It has to do with male hegemony and patriarchy and with there being little or no female power.(7, our emphasis)

The writer makes him understand that the world has now become a global village. She notes that “female retaliation crimes are on the rise. Women, Okonkwo, are angry with men and what men have done them” (7). Using the symbol of yam to represent man, the writer teaches that there is a need for gender balance. That is there is no way, one wants to eat yam without stripping off its peel. To emphasize on gender balance, she note that one should “not too soft, not too hard” (8). What this mean is that to be too soft is considered to be feminine and to be too hard is to be masculine. Thus, it is good to balance softness and hardness.

This theme is not only seen in the story “Dear Okonkwo”, we can also see this subject in the story, “Bitter Leafing woman”. It tells how men in Nigeria through religion oppress women. The part two of the story opens thus: “it was the nature of the crime, rather than the crime itself which stupefied, which baffled many. Particularly, Nigerian men”. (143). Thus, the title of the story is significant. As bitter leaf from its name means something that is not palatable at all. It show that what women face in a patriarchal society can be compared to chewing bitter leaf. As the lady the deacon wants to marry in the story cooks bitter leaf soup for the deacon he enjoys it and as the writer says “licks his lips”. This shows that even when women are bitter, men enjoy it. In this story, the lady, in fact endures until she is able to turn the bitter leaves of the gender oppression to gender balanced sweetness in part two of the story: “With the hammer in her hands raised she strikes Deacon’s head. Forty bitter leafed year times she strikes his head” (119). This also shows the revolution the writer mentions to Okonkwo in the letter to Okonkwo.

Also, in the story, “The Difference is clear”, the writer makes us understand the way some Nigerian men treat their women. The minister in this story treats his wife as nothing. In addition to this, is the story named “Broken plate”. This story basically shows the way society treats women. The woman complains that she was told to drink the water of her husband’s corpse to justify whether she is a witch or not:

I nearly vomit wen my husband people dem come my house, take me go im village and wash my husband corpse im body, hand, leg — dem pour water, dem squeeze water from sponge and put for calabash and say make me drink am. Dem say if I no drink am, I be witch, dat I poison my husband and I go show dem say I no be witch. I tell dem say I no be witch o! I no kill my husband. How I fit kill my husband? I born am eight pickin. How I go be witch? Dem say dem go trouble me except I drink dead water. And I too tire, I get nobody wey go help me o and I drink the water. I vomit. Dem say if I no be witch I no suppose to vomit the witch(165)

It is an injustice on the part of the society to do this to any human being, now talk of a woman who has given birth to eight children for the man. On the other hand is the other woman who protests against her husband’s family and gets back all his property. Also, in the story “The Sokoyokotos”, we can see how men treat women. The husband marries the woman basically because she is a very good cook and it is as a result of this that even when she is sick, the man takes cooking utensils to the hospital. However, the doctors do not allow her to cook; he then, marries another wife. The writer preaches gender emancipation as the woman gets up from the hospital: “Mrs Sokoyokoto got out of bed in a surge of health and well being; dressed and he left her ward. The doctors, the nurses, the patients and visitors saw a woman with purpose in her gait”…(58)

Another prominent theme in this collection of short story is religion. This has been a recurrent theme right from the beginning of Nigeria literature. in some Nigeria works, we have seen the issue of religion especially clash of religion between the traditional religion and Christianity in most cases. In the story where the title of the collection comes from, we can see religion bigotry. The deacon being a hypocrite says:

my dear in order to be a suitable wife to a deacon of the church you must read your bible everyday and when you learn how to be a wife of a man of God I will marry you in forty years time.(148)

Although the writer does not give the age of the lady but forty years before marriage shows the level of hypocrisy in the religion. Even a woman at the age of forty, if not in menopause would be preparing to get there. The deacon tells her not to use make up and must not wear trousers so she can grow to be a good wife. This is also in relation to gender inequality. A society where men dictate to the women. The lady cooks bitter leaf soup for the Deacon and he eats and “licks his lips”. Many writers have observed that religion has been a tool for oppression — tool used by the whites on blacks; by the bourgeoisies on proletariats; and by the men on women. As it is written in the bible that: “women submit yourselves to your husband”. One of such writer, although not a Nigerian, is Ngugi Wa Thiongo. Moreover, in this story, the deacon ideologically conditioned the lady to believing that “touch not my anointed and do my deacon prophets no harm. She has tried not to judge him; to harm him”(139). Indeed, the lady, in the second part of the story used hammer to take revenge on the deacon. This is a biblical picture of the story of Jael and Sisera in the book of Judges. Thus, asides from preaching gender equality, the writer also shows the hypocrisy in religion and how it has been used to condition women.

Closely related to this theme is the theme of colonialism; because it is believe that colonialism brings religion. Although, there is need to say that the theme is not too prominent in the collection, it is also present and it is one of the major themes in Nigeria Literature. In this collection of stories, we have the theme of colonialism. In relation to the issue of colonialism, Simon Gikandi is quick to point out that not only Nigerian literatures, but also “modern African literature was produced in the crucible of colonialism” (1). As Simon Gikandi shows in that essay, “African Literature and the Colonial Factor”, Africa’s colonial experience continues to traumatize the people and the African writers’ expectation of their art. He puts it this way:

African (Nigerian) literature had, of course, been produced outside the institutions of colonialism: the existence of oral literature in all African languages and pre-colonial writing in Arabic, Amharic, Swahili, and other African languages is ample evidence of a thriving literary tradition in pre-colonial Africa. But what is now considered to be the heart of literary scholarship on the continent would not have acquired its current identity or functions if the traumatic encounter between Africa and Europe had not taken place. Not only were the founders of modern African literature colonial subjects, but colonialism was also to be the most important and enduring theme in their works. (379, our emphasis)

As can be deduced, majority if not all of African and Nigerian writings were used to reflect the “traumatic encounter between Africa and Europe”. As such, the predominant theme treated by writers was those of cultural conflict between the Europeans and the Africans. (Perhaps) Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God as well as Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman capture this theme more succinctly than others as they hoped to capture this traumatic and tragic encounter. This is why Charles Nnolim in his essay, “Trends in the Nigerian Novel”, asserts:

Achebe and his “sons” — Elechi Amadi, T. M. Aluko, Flora Nwapa etc — belong definitely to the first generation of Nigerian novelists who, because of their pre-occupation with culture-conflict imbued their works with a tragic sense of loss and tended to spoil the flow of their narrative with much anthropological detail. (197)

In this collection of stories, a reference is made to Things Fall Apart where Achebe documents the contact between the whites and the black that made the centre of Umuofia, a microcosm of Nigeria not to hold again. However, in this collection we have neo-colonialism in the story World of the Fat/Thin House”. Where the European’s culture wants to influence the Nigerian culture. This is observed from the perspective of dieting. Ekaete wants to diet like the westerners. She wants to be thin like the Europeans:

…Ekaete was being influenced by western media. She wanted to be thin because that’s what those societies wanted. No matter how much misery those women went through to get thin, stay thin, Ekaete wanted to be fashionably western…(48)

The influence of the culture of the whites on the blacks shows the colonized mind of the blacks. That even when they are aware that princess Diana died as a result of this, Ekaete still prefers to go the way of the Europeans.

In addition is the theme of marriage. Marriage is a very common theme in Nigeria literature. Many literary works in Nigeria are built around family. For instance, we have Chimamanda Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus, Chiagozie Obioma’s The Fishermen, The Victims by Isidore Okphewo just to mention few. It is pertinent to note that, it is uncommon to discuss gender without putting into consideration the issue of marriage. Using the symbol of food, the writer discuses the subject of marriage in “My sweet Darling Little Moin-Moin”. The man refers to his wife as “moin-moin” because that’s the food he loves most. However, against the patriarchal African culture that women should be the ones to cook, the man cooks for the wife in this story. Hence, gender balance. Also, in “Bitter Leafing woman” part one and two, the writer considers the issue of marriage.

We also have child marriage in “The Law of the Blackberry” where the man gives his daughter out to his friend. This is a culture that is common amongst the Hausa tribe in Nigeria. The old man in the story defiled the girl when she was ten years old.

Also, we have polygamy. Polygamy means a marriage where the man has more than a wife. This is a common culture in Africa generally and Nigeria in particular. In fact, more often than not in the traditional African society, masculinity is measured by the number of wives a man marries. This is the case in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Also, many writers have written on the issue of polygamy. While some discuss the positive part some take into consideration the negative part. A paradigm of the negative effect of polygamy is Okpewho’s The Victims where all the characters are victims of polygamy. Another example is Lola Shoneyin’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives. In Edi Kai IKong war where the man has more than a wife. The story begins that:

Simi was a practical woman. But when her husband’s new wife screamed screams of pleasure in his hut, the sound rivaling successfully the other sounds of the night, it hurt her. (35, emphasis ours)

From the exact above, we can see that the husband just marries a new wife even when the first wife is still alive. The story teller makes us understand about the attitude of the new wife that:

Two months of marriage has still not shown their husband that his second wife was nothing but a greedy, grasping woman who wanted to be first wife and lord it over everyone. Despite the fact that Simi, the first wife, “with her by his side he had fulfilled his dreams” (36), the man still marries another wife. Hence, the theme of polygamy in marriage.

Racism is yet another theme in Nigeria literature. It is a treatment of people who belong to a different race and most times, a violent behavior towards them. In this sense, being a black, whenever they meet with the white people, there is a form of discrimination. This is exactly what Wole Soyinka considers in his poem, “Telephone Conversation”. The issue of racism can be seen in the story titled “The Hart and the Hound” where a boy from Nigeria goes to study abroad. There is discrimination to the extent that he is named after the South African warrior, Shaka Zulu. They even pronounce the name in the wrong way; instead of Shaka, they say Chaka. When he tells them his name, they are surprised because they feel the name is meant for only Britons: “my name is John” “John asked the woman. But that’s an English name ain’t it? How come you’re Nigerian and you’ve got an English name?” (119). This, exactly shows how some whites discriminate. However, the aim of the writer is to show that despite the racism African, Nigerians in particular still triumphs.

Nevertheless, corruption is another theme in Nigeria literature. Corruption means a dishonest or illegal behavior especially of people in authority. In Nigeria, some social critics have observed that the only reason Nigeria is not growing is because of corruption. That corruption has eaten Nigeria to comatose. Corruption comes as a result of bad leadership. Commenting on this, Achebe opines that :

The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership. There is nothing basically wrong with the Nigerian character. There is nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or water or air or anything else. (35, our emphasis)

As such, Nigerian writers write about the corrupt state of the nation. For instance is Frank Ogbeche’s Harvest of Corruption. In this collection of story, this theme is prominent in the story, “The Difference is Clear”. The story mirrors the Nigerian society during election where stomach infrastructure is the order of the day. In this story, the candidate who wants to contest for election gives 7up and the opposing party gives varieties of drink. Thus, using 7up is symbolic and it shows that whether we vote for the opposition or ruling party, they are the same; they are both corrupt just that the way they portray themselves may be different. This is one of the things we encounter in Nigeria today.

Another theme is the theme of slavery. One of Africans’ traumatic experiences is slavery. The Africans were sold into slavery and some researchers have observed that why slave trade was considered necessary. Works such as Olaudah Equiano takes into consideration the issue of slavery. In this collection of stories, we have the issue of slavery although it is not too prominent in the story. In the story titled “Picnic at Epe”, there is the usage of chain which symbolizes slavery: “better slave chains”. Here, the writer makes us understand that “From Epe slaves were transported across Atlantic “to the other land””. (126)

Indeed, Nigerian cultural heritages are also depicted in the stories. From the first story titled “Dear Okonkwo” to “markets”, the writer explores the culture of Nigeria. She examines the gastronomy in stories like “My Sweet Darling Moin-Moin”, the traditional way of life of Nigerians: how they cherish greetings in “Sitting Policeman”: “Pade kneels on the floor. “is that the way you prostrate before your elders young man? The youth of today”(158). In this story, the writer show how Nigerians cherish greeting. Also, is the way marriage is done amongst Nigerians and the kind of women Nigeria men prefer in “World of the fat/thin House”. That is, Nigeria men prefer fat ladies compare to the Europeans. From the foregoing, we have seen how the themes in Nigerian literature reflect in the collection of short stories titled Bitter Leafing Woman.

CONCLUSION

What we have done in this essay is a critical assessment of themes in Nigerian Literature using Karen King Aribisala’s Bitter Leafing Woman. For a proper analysis of the topic, we provided the meaning of the key terms: Nigeria and Literature. Thereafter, we examined what Nigeria literature generally means and the themes that are present in Nigeria Literature. Then we explain the themes that are prominent in Nigerian literature and can be seen in Aribisala’s Bitter Leafing Woman. It is important to note that the major theme in the collection is gender inequality. Thus, all other themes discussed in the stories revolve and relates to gender.

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. London: Heinemann.1958. Print.

Aribisala, Karen-King. The Bitter Leafing Woman. Lagos: Malthouse Press Limited. 2017. Print.

Chiegeonu, Ndudim. Introduction to the Study of Literature and Criticism. Oyo: Power Computers, 1999.

Eliot, T.S. “Tradition and the Individual Talent”. Perspecta 1.9. 1982:36–42. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

Gikandi, Simon (ed). Encyclopaedia of African Literature. London: Routledge, 2003. Print.

_________. “African Literature and the Colonial Factor” in The Cambridge History of Africa and Caribbean Literature. Ed. Abiola, Irele and Gikandi, Simon, vol.11, Cambridge: CUP, 2004. Print.

_________. “Chinua Achebe and the Invention of African Literature” in Research in African Literature. 32.3. 2001. Print.

Ojaide, Tanure. “Literature in Africa and The Caribbean” Africana Studies: A Survey of Africa and The African Diaspora. Mario, Azevedo. Ed. Durhan: Carolina Academic Press, 1993, 317–330.