The Joys of Motherhood

The novel’s timeline jumps to about 20 years before the incidents of the first chapter. Nwokocha Agbadi is a charismatic local chief in Ibuza, Nigeria. He has several wives, including some captured from nearby villages. However, Ona, his favorite lover, refuses to become his wife. By remaining unmarried, Ona hopes to conceive a son who will remain in her father’s clan since her father has no sons.

After Agbadi is severely injured on a hunting trip, Ona becomes worried for his life and insists on caring for him herself. When he awakens after five days, he begins to tease Ona about her obvious affection for him despite her earlier denials. Ona is frustrated by this and the two end up arguing. Agbadi’s friend, Idayi, reminds Ona that Agbadi needs her even if he won’t admit it. Later, Ona’s father, Obi Umunna, visits Agbadi and instructs Ona to return home as soon as Agbadi recovers.

That night, Agbadi begins to kiss and fondle Ona as she sleeps next to him in the courtyard. Waking, she initially resists his advances but is soon aroused. As the two have sex, Ona cries out in surprise; she realizes that Agbadi is just showing off to others who are listening in the courtyard.

The following morning, Agbadi’s senior wife, Agunwa, becomes ill. Agbadi, who is now capable of walking with a cane, visits her. Two days later, she dies.

Agunwa’s funeral arrives. According to custom, Agunwa’s personal enslaved servant is to be buried alive with her. The enslaved woman resists, and Agbadi shows her momentary kindness. Before she is killed by Agunwa’s sons, she promises to return to Agbadi’s household “as a legitimate daughter” (23).

Moments later, Ona falls ill and Agbadi takes her to his house; he soon realizes that she is pregnant. Ona reaffirms her commitment to bearing a son for her father’s household but agrees to let Agbadi raise the child if it is a daughter. She returns to her father’s household, where Agbadi visits her often.

A few months later, Ona gives birth to a girl. Agbadi visits her and names her Nnu Ego, meaning “twenty bags of cowries” to signify her high worth (26). He is offended when Ona announces her intention to continue living with her father even though the baby will belong to his household, and he avoids visiting her for a year.

When Ona’s father dies, Agbadi pleads with her to come live with him, but she again refuses. When Nnu Ego begins to experience headaches, a priest identifies the enslaved woman who was buried with Agunwa as Nnu Ego’s chi, or personal spiritual guardian. To appease Nnu Ego’s chi, Ona agrees to live in Agbadi’s household. She soon becomes pregnant again, but both she and the baby die following the birth.

Sixteen years later, in the early 1930s, Nnu Ego has several suitors. Agbadi selects a young man named Amatokwu to marry her, and the two families exchange gifts, including the traditional bride price paid to Agbadi as the father of the bride.

A few months pass after the marriage. To her disappointment, Nnu Ego fails to conceive a child. She visits several priests and prays to her chi, but nothing changes. Amatokwu takes a second wife who quickly becomes pregnant, and Nnu Ego moves to a separate hut. Amatokwu grows increasingly distant and puts Nnu Ego to work on the farm. Filled with anxiety, Nnu Ego begins losing weight.

When Amatokwu’s second wife’s baby boy is born, Nnu Ego helps care for him. She allows the baby to suckle at her breasts. Within a few days, she begins producing milk. When Amatokwu catches her breastfeeding the baby, he beats her and sends her to live with Agbadi.

Agbadi, meanwhile, gives up the practice of enslavement in an effort to appease Nnu Ego’s chi. He begins searching for another husband for Nnu Ego. At first, he looks for a traditional husband, but Idayi counsels him to “accept a man of today” (37). In the end, he returns Nnu Ego’s bride price to Amatokwu and arranges for Nnu Ego to be married to Nnaife Owulum, who lives in Lagos.

Nnaife’s elder brother accompanies Nnu Ego on a tiring four-day journey to Lagos via a series of trucks. They arrive at a compound in the suburb of Yaba, where Nnaife works as a domestic servant for a British couple, Dr. and Mrs. Meers. After Nnaife completes his work for the day, Dr. Meers says, “Good night, baboon” (41), leading Mrs. Meers to scold her husband.

Nnu Ego’s first impression of Nnaife, who is short with a large belly, is a negative one. Several Ibo friends and neighbors come to celebrate Nnu Ego’s arrival with Nnaife. After they leave, Nnaife spends much of the night making love to Nnu Ego, though she would have preferred simply to rest.

The next day, Nnu Ego resolves to make the best of the situation in the hopes of becoming pregnant. During a nap, she dreams that her chi gives her a baby boy but mocks her while doing so. Before leaving a few weeks later, Nnaife’s brother encourages Nnu Ego and suggests that she will learn to respect Nnaife in time.

Nnu Ego settles into her new life. Nnaife works for six and a half days each week, primarily washing and ironing clothes; she considers his profession unmanly. On Sundays, they attend a Christian church service together, which bores Nnu Ego. They also meet with other Ibo friends and relatives monthly. When Nnu Ego complains about their lifestyle, Nnaife calls her a “spoilt, selfish woman” (49). She is also offended by Nnaife’s request that she keep her newly discovered pregnancy a secret until they can be married in the Christian church to satisfy Mrs. Meers.

Later, Nnu Ego shares her concerns with Cordelia, the cook’s wife. Cordelia explains that their husbands are “too busy being white men’s servants to be men” and suggests that they are essentially enslaved (51), even though they are paid wages. With the encouragement of other Ibo women, Nnu Ego opens a small business as a reseller of matches and cigarettes.

Nnu Ego gives birth to a son, Ngozi, with the help of Cordelia and another neighbor as their husbands sleep. She accepts a gift of baby clothes from Mrs. Meers and hosts a celebration in her home. Soon, she returns to her work, carrying the baby on her back.

One morning, Nnu Ego finds Ngozi lying dead. Devastated, she runs away from home.