In Buchi Emecheta’s novel, The Joys of Motherhood, one may come to realize that micro-financing would be most beneficial to societies in Nigeria. There are many situations in the book where Nnu Ego, the main character, must struggle on her own to provide for her family. Throughout the book, she takes on many small trading jobs to ensure the survival of her immediate family, as well as for her husband’s other wives along with their children.
In the beginning of their marriage, Nnu Ego’s second husband, Nnaife, was barely able to provide enough money for their small family. So Nnu Ego started her own business selling cigarettes and matches beside the road. But after the death of her first child and the birth of her newest, Nnu Ego decides to devote all her time to motherhood instead of making the extra income at her market stall. But when Nnaife lost his job due to his employers moving back to England, the Nnu Ego must resume her local trade in cigarettes. When Nnaife secures another job that takes him far from home, Nnu Ego and her two sons begin to suffer in poverty. So once again, Nnu Ego had to search for more cigarettes to sell. Luckily, Nnaife returned with much money from his previous job. So with that money, Nnu Ego secured a permanent stall at the market, while Nnaife went searching for yet another job. Around the same time Nnaife finds a new job, news of his brother’s death reaches their compound and as a duty, Nnaife takes ones of his late brother’s wives to marry himself. Nnu Ego and the new wife become pregnant around the same time. There were more mouths to feed with less money to provide them with. Nnaife was forced to fight in World War II and Nnu Ego had his savings account to live by. However, Nnu Ego discovered she had not been receiving Nnaife’s yearly stipends and the family was becoming impoverished. Shortly thereafter, Nnaife spends his entire windfall, impregnates Nnu Ego as well as Nnaife’s brother’s eldest wife and brings home a new bride. Later on, Nnu Ego, with all her children fulfilling their own aspirations, dies alone on the roadside.
There were many circumstances within Emecheta’s novel that micro-financing would have proved both beneficial and essential. Had micro-financing been an option for Nnu Ego, she would never have had to struggle for the survival of her family. Although Nnu Ego already owned a small business of her own, the economic stability from an outside source would have been easier to work with. While micro-financing might seem beneficial to all of Ibo society, I feel this only holds true under certain circumstances. For example, micro financing would have worked most for people like Nnu Ego, mothers in society that were dedicated just to motherhood and the survival of her family. This is a traditional lifestyle to lead. However, that role for women began to shift in Ibo society with the next generations. Nnu Ego’s children were all fixated on their own self-fulfillment, opposite to original Ibo society traditions, where families stay together and take part in traditions such as arranged marriages. Nnu Ego’s mother, Ona, too, might not have been so interested in becoming a part of something so dependent on another source. So overall, micro-financing would be most beneficial to societies that have yet to adopt colonialism.
The only other alternative ending I could imagine would be Nnu Ego not dying alone. But the only way this ending would be possible is if colonialism had not affected her children in the way that they wouldn’t feel compelled to fulfill their individual ambitions before returning to the close-knit family lifestyle. Unfortunately I feel that this path would be hard to steer away from.
