MOTHER-FIGURE ARCHETYPE IN SELECTED WORKS OF AKACHI ADIMORA-EZEIGBO

Abstract

Whereas contemporary global feminism, as propagated in the West tends to present narratives by women as fundamentally targeted at gender war against sexual inequality, many female writers in Nigeria are more given to projecting aspects of Africa’s cultural humanism that elevates womanhood without necessarily leaning on gender conflicts. One of such female writers that has impressively carved for herself a space in Nigeria’s Feminist discourse is Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo. She elevates the Mother-Figure in her works to the extent that it is possible to speak of motherhood in its archetypal sublimity. This paper examines how Adimora-Ezeigbo projects the extra-humaneness which the Mother-Figure represents, beyond the pettiness and ordinariness to which the patriarchal world has confined women. She is comprehensively selfless and does whatever is positive to improve human life. The discussion uses C. G. Jung’s Archetypal Theory to establish the extent to which the Mother-Figure reacts against men’s stereotypes of women. It shows that the modern woman has since risen above the traditional limitations imposed on her by men. The paper concludes that Adimora-Ezeigbo brilliantly constructs female characters imbued with bold and daring qualities which effectively confront some patriarchal structures in Nigeria.