THE NOTION OF MASCULINITY IN FEMALE WRITINGS: A STUDY OF FLORA

NWAPA’S EFURU

ABSTRACT
Studies in masculinity are no longer new even in African literary studies, as several writers have
researched on this literary trend. Masculinity is believed to be a response to feminist literary
criticism and it is said to simply be a set of qualities, characteristics and roles generally
considered typical of, or appropriate to a man. This study investigated and analyzed how Flora
Nwapa, a feminist writer (unconsciously) depicts masculinity in her novel Efuru while preaching
feminism. This is with a view to appraising the representations of different aspects of
masculinity, particularly in terms of the sexist notions of power, sexuality, emotion and poverty,
in the selected novel. Feminism and Masculinism are used as the theoretical frameworks due to
their relevance to the interpretation of the selected text. The novel was subjected to critical
textual analysis and as observed in this study, masculinity, just like feminism, is not a constant,
universal essence, but an ever-changing flowing collection of meanings and behaviours in every
human society and is largely dependent on the view of the writer in focus.
Key words: Masculinity, Gender discourse, Hegemony, Sexuality, Nigerian Novels

Introduction

Female Writers: Thoughts and Writings

In the beginning was Africa/orality/the word and the word was

women’s. Can one claim reasonable knowledge of modern women
writers without taking a measured walk in their mothers’ gardens?
Can African women writers suffer historical amnesia and still
survive as writers, Africans and WOMEN? As the Igbos say: ‘onye
amaro ebe nmili si welu maba ya adighi ama onye nyelu ya awka
ka onwelu fichaa aru’1(1).2

To have a clear understanding of why African female writers write the way they write,
one must take a critical look at the history of their cultural tradition. Researchers in the field of
African oral tradition have documented the active participation of women, at professional and
non professional levels, in the crafting, preservation and transformation of most forms of oral
literature.` The human race is ever grappling with different controversies, which trail the

1
One who does not know where the rain began to beat him/her will not know who provided the cloth with which
he/she dried himself/herself.
2
Nnaemeka Obioma. (1994) From Orality to Writing: African Women Writers and the (Re) Inscription of
Womanhood In Research in African Literatures.

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relationship between humans in society (men and women). The major reason for this being a lack
of proper conceptualisation of what a woman is and what a man should be, and what the society
expects from them. These controversies have given rise to the different genders (especially the
female) appropriating remedies, which take into account the selfish interest of either of the
genders. The male gender is believed to be privileged due to some factors like biological
advantages, physical strength and a more robust psychological balance, and has adopted these to
construct a society that suits him at the detriment of the female folk. This society is termed
patriarchal3.

From earlier reviews, literature is not in any way alien to Africa as we had the oral form even
before the arrival of Europeans. However, written literature in English language only started
after the arrival of the colonizers. Today, several types of written genres of literature exist, even
though our concern is restricted to the novel of a female writer in Nigeria. Female writing in
West Africa, especially Nigeria, does not have a very long history as their writings are relatively
new especially as women only started writing skeletally in the late 50’s and more in the 1990’s.
This is attributed to the social stand of women in times past. According to Obioma Nnaemeka,
these writings seek to show how women, as speaking subjects, have been transformed into
written objects through the collusion of the imperialistic subject and the patriarchal subject and
how these beleaguered written objects are re-inscribing their relevance as speaking/writing
subjects (1994: 138).

Again, Obioma Nnaemeka, quoting Maryse Conde asserts:

There are very few female African writers…..what are the

explanations for this dearth of talent? The educated woman is
becoming such a common feature in Africa (university lecturers,
doctors, members of parliament, a function which does not
necessarily accompany education though, and civil servants of all
ranks) that is seems very superficial to attribute this female silence
to educational gap between girls and boys. When so many women
can stand up and shout slogans for emancipation or deliver
political addresses for the benefit of the ruling parties, what
prevents them from taking a pen and writing about themselves.
(132) (139)

This view was however expressed some decades ago and cannot be said to still be relevant as we
have witnessed the emergence of several women writers, especially in Nigeria (being our focus).
In today’s society, there are more female writers, especially of the novel genre, than the male
counterpart just as there are now a lot of girls/women in schools, almost more than boys/men.
The writer in view, Flora Nwapa, is the first female novelist to have her novel Efuru (1966)
published, thus one of the reasons for its pick for this research. The novel’s thematic concern,

3
“Ruled or controlled by men; giving power and importance only to men”. Hornby A.S. (2010) Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary. 8th Edition. Great Clarendon: Oxford Press.

2
which is the negative treatment of women in the society and present developments corresponding
to any improvement in the status of women in the Nigerian society, is another reason for its
choice.
It has been speculated that Female writers, especially feminist female writers, focus on women
and at the same time try to down play some of the male characters they create, not as totally bad
but that men are also capable of having flaws like the women folk.
According to Mojola, as quoted by Mba (43:2011)
Nwapa’s fictional universe is a world of women, for all her central
characters and the most of her secondary characters are women.
Their daily activities within and outside the home, their cultural
and religious observances and beliefs, their individual and
collective interaction with one another and with men constitute a
solid structure documenting certain aspects of the traditional way
of life of the Igbo people. (Nigerian female writers: 9).

Mbah (2011) posits that through this documentation of the activities of women, which perhaps
help project women positively, that Nwapa hopes to create a more just society by awakening the
consciousness of women to their empowerment. One work widely recognized and accepted as a
significant precursor of contemporary feminist thought is Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of One’s
Own (1929). Early works on Woolf emphasized her role in modernism through her attempts at
charting a woman’s tradition in writing; this is based on the idea that women’s differences are
enshrined in their works. It is on this writing that most African female writers hinge their views.
African women writers are nevertheless sustained by a fear of living on the praecipe and is
further complicated and intensified by the sexual politics of their environment (Obioma
Nnaemeka: 142). African female writers are fully aware of the powerful gaze and criticisms from
critics and scholars, majority of who are male, thus, this gaze sort of compel them to negotiate
the creation of their fictional characters, especially female characters.

Methodology

The methodologies adopted in this research are the feminist and masculinity literary approaches
to the deconstruction of the Flora Nwapa’s Efuru. The study focuses on the male characters
created by this female writer, looking at the characters, events, speeches and interactions with
both male and female characters. An attempt was made to critic the issue of the male and
subjugation, male and dominance, and the supposed demonization of male characters (as evil and
beastly) by female authors.

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Masculine Deconstruction of Flora Nwapa’s Efuru
Flora Nwapa represents the ‘old guard4’ steeped in the tradition of the land” (Ojo-Ade 72) in
Obioma Nnaemeka (142) a she belongs to the first generation of writers in Nigeria. Her creation
of the character Efuru reflects her attempt to create a strong, free-spirited and independent
woman. This is also reflected in the number of male characters she created. We have about
nineteen male characters in the novel and of the nineteen, only about seven have some form of
description. In view of this finding, focus was on the three major characters in Efuru’s life –
Adizua, Nwashike Ogene and Eneberi Uberife (Gilbert); Adizua’s father (who was simply
spoken about), and Nwosu (Ogea’s father), totalling five characters whose masculine traits are x-
rayed.

Lazy Adizua: Efuru’s First Love

From the very first page, we see Nwapa reveal Efuru’s strong character that one begins to
wonder if she is the male or the female in the relationship. Her first gesture is to contravene the
law of tradition and marriage by living with a man who is yet to meet her parents and without the
payment of the dowry.
They saw each other fairly often after a fortnight’s courting she
agreed to marry him, but the man had no money for the dowry. He
had just a few pounds for the farm and could not part with that.
When the woman saw that how was unable to pay anything, she
told him not to bother about the dowry. They are going to proclaim
themselves … and that was that (7).

In this extract, the author is yet to reveal the names of her characters, but it is visible that the
male character is painted as an incapable, low spirited male. Rather than the man dictating what
happens with the relationship, the female character is calling all the shots; a male-wife and
female-husband situation. Nwapa then goes ahead to introduce Efuru to us, adorned in very
beautiful adjectives, while Adizua, the man gets little introduction. She even added a note of
finality to her decision ‘…that is that.’
Efuru was her name, she was a remarkable woman. It was not only
that she came from a distinguished family, she was distinguished
herself. Her husband was not known and people wondered why she
married him (7).

Efuru’s suitor, Adizua, is neither popular, rich nor a titled chief; in fact he is “not known” (p. 9).
This is the very first male character Nwapa creates and he is totally feminine, not meeting
qualities expected in a traditional man in an African world view:
I have no money for the dowry yet (8).

This young man is nobody. His family is not known (9).

4
The early writers whose belief system was the traditional ways of life, and this they captured in their historic
writings.

4
 But your husband must fulfil the customs of our people. It is very
important… tell your husband, he must see your father, let him not
be afraid…my husband is not rich. In fact he is poor. But the
dowry must be paid. I must see that this is done (10).

It is not just Adizua who is a nobody, his entire family is unknown. Throughout the novel, Efuru
is fully in control of the relationship, she dictates the pace while Adizua and his family follow
her dictates. Efuru refuses to go to the farm with her husband as “she is not cut-out for farm work
(10). While she is successful in her trade business, her husband gets lazy by the day, had a poor
harvest and eventually joins his wife in trading. It is not out of place to have this kind of scenario
in a real life situation, where the wife is the bread winner of the home, thus Nwapa’s creation can
be said to simply depict society.
Life in the farm was becoming unbearable. Adizua no longer
worked as hard as before. In the morning he slept while others
went to work… he was so lazy that his neighbours gossiped…
Adizua is stupid. Every morning you see him sharpening his knife
but he will not work (20).

Adizua is an epitome of laziness, a man totally dependent on strong women for existence. He
rather prefers to complain about what other people think and say of him than work hard to prove
them wrong. He appealed to Efuru to let them trade together, but Efuru being the critical person
that she is, told him to harvest his crops first, then they can subsequently trade together after that.
He told her he would like to stay in town with her and not go back
to the farm. He told her the people in the farm were unfriendly to
him and that he did not want to farm any longer…she said to him
‘I would like you to leave the farm. But you have to wait until the
harvest and after that you can come to town. Both of us can trade
together’ (20).

The excerpt above confirms Efuru is still in control even after marriage, as she dictates to Adizua
who my now seem totally dependent on her and has gotten lazier than before marriage.
Considering he only put in little effort, the poor harvest was not a surprise and he made no profit
at all from that year’s planting season.
His harvest was of course very poor… He did not make any profit
at all… Efuru and her husband traded in yams (20).

Adizua was totally dependent on Efuru from the very beginning. Even after they started trading
together and made some fortunes in crayfish (21), we did not see him take the front burner in
their relationship.
Four trips gave Efuru and her husband a huge profit. The fifth trip
was not so good...it was by sheer luck that Efuru and her husband

5
 recovered their capital. ‘We won’t go again.’ She told her husband.
‘Yes we won’t go again. But what are we going to do? ‘We are
going to look for another trade.’ (21)

Rather than take charge, he leaves all the decision making to his wife, even the eventual payment
of the bride price. Nwapa’s creation of this character is simply to show the existence of weak
men in our society who are totally dependent on female characters for existence.
After the birth of their baby, Adizua could not wait for Efuru to return to the business of trading
as he was not good at trading at all and they were just not making profits, but were rather losing
the initial capital. Adizua is simply good at nothing, not even trading which Efuru introduced
him to. It seems as if anything he touches just goes bad:
Adizua was not good at trading. It was Efuru that was the brain
behind the business. He knew this very well, and so one night he
spoke to Efuru. ‘Efuru, I think it is time you should face your
trade. Your baby is old enough to be left with a nurse...You are
right. I have to get a maid who will help me with Ogonim. We are
not only making no profits, we are losing capital. (36)

After a while Adizua began to disappear from home like the irresponsible husband and father
that he was created to be by the author. He decided to run away from his responsibilities, by
initially sleeping out from time to time, and eventually absconding with another strong female
character.
... there is a rumour that Adizua wants to marry this woman. She is
not a good woman. But she is a good trader and like you, her hands
make money... The woman is well known among her age group
where she lords it over them (58).

One begins to wonder why Adizua did not marry this other woman rather than run away with
her. His marrying the woman may have given him some credibility for his good foresight at
picking industrious women especially as Efuru was not against his marriage to another/ a second
wife at all:
He is the lord and master, if he wants to marry her, I cannot stop
him (55)

It does not matter my daughter if Adizua wants to marry another

woman. It is only a bad woman who wants to have a man all to
herself. ‘No father, I don’t object to it at all. Even before I had
Ogonim, I was thinking of marrying a wife for Adizua (63).

However, it can be assumed that because the author did not intend for him to have any good
quality, he was created to abscond rather than marry a second wife, which society supports. He
and some other men were compared to a dog by Ajanupu:

6
 Some men are not fit to be called men. They have no sense. They
are like dogs that do not know who feeds them. Leave Adizua with
this woman (58).

From beginning to the end, Adizua was not presented as having a single masculine trait. He is
depicted as a pest who depended on other women for existence, an attribute he shares with his
father.
General Perceptions of Adizua.
In the entire novel, nobody seems to have anything good to say about Adizua. From Efuru’s
family, to Ajanupu, to Adizua’s age group and in short the entire community.
This young man is nobody. His family is not known. Efuru has
brought shame on us (9)

From the farmers’ discussion, the reader can equally get an idea about the kind of man Adizua is:

Why does Adizua go to the ...... so often? One of the farmers

asked...How the woman agreed to marry him still remains a
mystery to everyone...So that’s the man whose daughter that
imbecile married? (11)

Fellow farmers term Adizua ‘an imbecile’ and they could not come to terms how the daughter of
a powerful and very wealthy man could have married such a man. In a market scene also, we see
some women dialogue thus:

‘Her husband is Adizua

‘Who is Adizua? Who is his father? Is he known?
‘He is not known. And nobody knows why she even married him,
and besides, not a cowry has been paid on her head’.
‘What are you telling me?’
‘It is true. The husband has not even gone with his people to
Nwashike Ogene’ (18).

‘Poor Efuru,’ the other said. ‘We all were surprised when she
married the fool. (75).

At the death of Ogonim, Ajanupu voices her opinions of Adizua and his marriage to Efuru. She
said she only supported it because he was her sister’s son and not because she deemed him fit
and capable for Efuru:

...’your son, where is he now? Your son who was married to such a
woman. Let me tell you the truth, for it is when you are angry that
7
 you say the truth. I was one of those people who wondered what
Efuru saw in that son of yours. I did not say anything then. I was
up in arms against those who criticized the marriage because
Adizua was my sister’s son, and not because he was a good match
for Efuru. Now, your son, instead of settling down with Efuru and
working hard to rebuild the family which your husband left in such
a mess, did exactly what his father did – this time your son ran
away with a woman who had left her husband (80).

This discussion also reveals that Adizua is a replicate of his father, a failure. Again, in page 134,
Ajanupu is full of insults for Adizua and cares less what becomes of him:

‘Adizua, the broken one, he can die wherever he is with that

worthless woman of his. A man who was asked to eat on a plate
and he prefers to eat on the floor. Serves him right’.

Adishiemea (Dr. Uzaru) said men at times do not value what they have until it is lost, and felt
that is what happened to Adizua:

Adizua is a fool. You were a gift given to him. He could not

appreciate what he had. He did not know the value of what he had.
We men are like that sometimes (128).

The general perception of people on the character and person of Adizua is same as all the
speeches relating to him point to this fact.

Sexuality and Emotion

In the area of sexuality, Adizua cannot be totally termed ‘weak’ as he at least fathered a child,
though no scene of sexuality was portrayed per se by the author.
Also, for the other woman to have been in a relationship with him, it can be deduced that
sexually, he is able to satisfy a woman, therefore, he is competent.

Virility is also a major trait of masculinity and Adizua in the novel fathered a child. However, if
one considers Efuru’s lament on page 53, other thoughts will come to mind:

But how can I have another baby when for nearly six months my
husband has not slept with me. How then can I be pregnant when I
am and always will be a faithful wife?

Can it be said then that Adizua is weak also even in the area of sexuality? We did not see them in
any form of romantic mood before or after marriage, except for the fact that he stayed home too
often, and this can be attributed to his laziness and not romance, love or sexuality.

8
Emotionally, it is said that the only emotion a man is allowed to express openly is anger. The
scene where we ought to see Adizua display anger at his wife was when Efuru went dancing and
refused to come home early to cook for her husband. Upon returning home despite his supposed
anger, we see Efuru disarm him so completely that he almost became tongue-tied:

Efuru did not want to go...’No, my daughter, you have to come

with me. Your husband is very angry with you’...As he was
thinking of what he was going to do to Efuru when she came back,
he heard a sweet voice from afar...Adizua was completely
disarmed...But where did you go? Efuru told him. He said nothing
more (29 – 30).

In summary, Adizua is an effeminate character in every stratum of life. Everybody around him
also have a similar opinion of him. In fact, he can be categorized as even weaker than a female if
the views of his co-farmers who called him an imbecile are adopted. He equally confirm these
pronouncements by not acting any better, thus he can be termed a misfit in the society he finds
himself. At the end of the day, even the ‘worthless woman’ he absconds with leaves him and he
is too ashamed to come back home like the prodigal son that he is, therefore confirming him as a
total failure and a failed male character.

Nwashike Ogene: A Great Man on all Sides

Nwapa’s second main character is Efuru’s father, Nwashike Ogene, who is indeed a very great
man, both while alive and in death. From the very first point of introducing him to the reader,
Nwapa reveals that he is a man of abundant greatness, and is loved by all.

...the mighty man of valour. Ogene who, single handed, fought

against the Aros when they came to molest us. Nwashike himself
proved himself the son of his father. He was a great fisherman.
When he went fishing, he caught only asa and aja. His yams were
the fattest in the whole town. And what is more, no man has ever
seen his back on the ground. Ogworo azu ngwere eru ani (11).

If we decide to stop the analysis of this great man even from this extract, we would have
done justice to his greatness. He is a man who despite his greatness is always there for his
children to support in times of trouble. He is seen counselling Efuru several times when she has
any kind of issue: childlessness, quarrel with her husband, when she had dreams etc.
When Efuru was troubled about her childless state, her father consulted a dibia 5 who was able to
proffer a solution and Efuru conceived.

Efuru was very worried in the second year of her marriage...Efuru

did not sleep that night. Early in the morning before the cock crow

5
A herbalist.

9
 she got up, dressed and went to her father. She opened her heart to
her father. ‘Something must be done my daughter...we shall see a
dibia.’ (24).

Again, when Adizua left home, he had the following words of advice for his daughter:

‘I came to see you, father about Adizua’, Efuru said...For months

now, father, my husband has come home very late. Some nights,
he has not come home at all. Sometimes he has refused to eat my
food. And now I have heard he wants to marry a woman who has
just left her husband...my life is ruined’. ‘God forbid. Your life is
not ruined my daughter...It is only a bad woman who wants to have
a man all to herself...’I can understand you my daughter. But
patience. Wait until he returns from Ndoni. I shall see him then.
Meanwhile go home and be a good mother to your daughter’ (63).

When Adizua finally left home and refused to return even at the death of his only child, Efuru’s
father sent for her:

Have you heard the voice of your husband?

No I have not heard.
What are you going to do?
Nothing. Perhaps I shall continue to wait...
He is not thinking of coming home. Perhaps you can consider
going there yourself...in case you decide on going. I shall give you
some people to go with you. Or, if you don’t want to go yourself,
our people will go for you (78-9).

This extract shows a concerned father’s love for his child’s wellness. He did not advice her to
leave her husband despite the fact that she didn’t get his blessing before plunging into the
relationship, but suggested a means to getting the issue resolved. When all suggestions failed and
Adizua still refused to return, Efuru moved back into her father’s house and he welcomed her
and gave her all the support and encouragement she needed. When, it was time to get married
again, he encouraged her, prayed for her and advised her on how to behave to her husband and
his people

Efuru, my daughter, come here...You married Adizua without my

consent. But I prayed our ancestors to make your marriage a
success. We are forgiving in our family. This is your husband.
Take care of him and he will take care of you. Don’t speak harshly
to him. If he annoys you, wait until you go to bed. Then ask him
softly why he annoyed you and he will explain. Respect your

10
 husband and your husband’s people. Always greet them well
(135).

Nwashike Ogene is indeed a great man. At death, several cannons were fired in his honour and
the entire village participated in the burial. The ceremony was quite successful even though
Gilbert (Efuru’s second husband) was not around to play his role as son-in-law.

A great man has left us. You don’t fire cannons when an ordinary
man dies. Cannons can be seen only in wealthy men’s house.
Cannons are the sign of greatness (199).

‘Efuru, listen to me. Your father lived well, and died well. He was
a great man and he died great... How many are we that death
should kill such a great man? Nwashike Ogene, the great man?
Nwashike Ogene, the great man of our time, so, death can reach
you, even you...Nwashike Ogene the truthful, the tall handsome
man, it is a great pity (204 - 5).

Nwashike Ogene in all ramifications is a successful male, a hegemonic male. He meets all of
society’s prescription of a hyper-male.

Liberated Gilbert Enebeli

This is the second husband of Efuru and he comes at an appropriate time when Efuru is in search
of a new husband, as Adizua has absconded and refuses to return. He is first introduced while
Efuru is still in Adizua’s house. He is described as the ‘tough boy’ who rescues Efuru from an
oppressor ‘rough boy’ (p. 84) when they were quite younger. He had just returned back to the
community as he had been sent to school at over sixteen years of age. He is educated therefore
educated and enlightened as against the unschooled Adizua, or even Nwashike Ogene. Nwapa
portrays Gilbert’s confidence and self assertion when he insists Efuru cannot break kola nut
where he is, for he is the man and she a woman. He strongly believes in the socio-cultural belief
of man’s superiority to woman and is in no way swayed by Efuru’s prowess.

Besides I am a man and you cannot break kola in my presence

(85).

Aside from being educated, he is also an industrious young businessman who travels to buy
things and resells. He seizes opportunities when he sees one and does not wait for someone to
propel him into doing things like the lazy Adizua.

I went to Onicha to buy provisions for my stall in the market.

Whilst there, I learnt that the yam trade was good so I plunged into
it and made a good profit...I did about five trips and made quite a

11
 profit. Many people don’t know this. Next year I am going again
(111 – 2).

This extract opens the contrast between Adizua and Gilbert. While Adizua is devoid of ideas,
weak and very lazy, Gilbert on the other hand is ambitious, hardworking and very enterprising.
He is a man who goes all out to get whatever he wants without fear of rejection:

‘I must marry her’, Gilbert kept on telling himself. All night he

thought of nothing but Efuru and what a good match they would
make, ‘I must marry her’ (116).

He is totally unlike Adizua, who let Efuru take the decision about their marriage; rather, he
comes out strongly and proposes to Efuru. He however is equally fair and rational as he advises
Efuru to give his marriage proposal a careful thought before giving a response:

I have come to ask you to marry me. And I want you to give it very
serious thought before you give me a reply...Think of it seriously
and give me your answer on Eke day. In four days, I shall come to
hear what you have to tell me’ (117).

Gilbert Enebeli epitomises a complete man, he is portrayed as being very romantic and this is
seen on page 118:
Before she knew what Gilbert was doing, she felt his hand round
her shoulders. She did not move away. ‘You are pleasing to me. I
shall see you again tomorrow night.’

At the gate, Gilbert embraced her.’...Gilbert embraced her again.

He did not kiss her. The men do not kiss their women folk. They
stood still in their embrace (122).

He is both a good business man as well as a good fisherman. He is a man with a lot of masculine
attributes.
He had learnt to fish as a boy, and now he was almost an
expert...That night, Gilbert caught many fishes and he returned in
the small hours of the morning just when the cock was crowing.
He selected very big fish like asa, atuma and aja and sent them to
Efuru first thing in the morning (118-9).

Nwapa most likely wanted this male character to be close to perfect. In all areas of social and
economic life, he is masculine as he is seen playing, swimming and drinking when he should; he
also farms, fish and trade when he should. He knows what to do in due season. He is also a man
who does not play with his stomach as he has a large appetite.

12
 Efuru brought out some pounded yam and soup...It was delicious
and, like all men, Gilbert did not play with his stomach. He ate up
nearly everything on the plate...Etiquette demanded that a small
fraction of the food must be left on the plate so that the children
who clear away the dishes did not grumble (119).

In Africa, virility is as an important indicator of masculinity and it is confirmed through marriage

to a female partner and through the ability of the male to impregnate the female. In contrast, the
non-virile male’s masculinity is questioned. Such a disadvantaged male will not command
respect in his society, unlike his favoured colleagues. Merely possessing male genitalia does not
accord privileges; rather, the dividends from such a possession does. The connection between
masculinity, marriage, and being able to impregnate a woman forecloses the acceptance of other
forms of sexual manifestations besides heterosexuality. Thus, like most men, Eneberi was not
very comfortable with not being able to confirm his virile state due to his wife’s childlessness
after years of marriage, and therefore decides to confirm his status by getting a woman pregnant
in Ndoni (190-1, 196), in fact his virility was not only confirmed when the woman got pregnant,
but that she bore him a son.

How many children have you? Sunday asked innocently.

I have a boy, but he is not the son of my wife. My wife has no
child... You see it is one of those things we men cannot avoid. I
went to Ndoni, met this girl, and the result is a bouncing baby boy
(190-1)
Everybody in this town knows that Eneberi has a son at Ndoni
(196).

From everything mentioned about Eneberi (Gilbert), it is obvious the author decided to create
another male character far better than her first (Adizua) and not matching up with Nwashike
Ogene in terms of wealth. Thus, in all, Nwapa compares three male characters and revolves the
life of her protagonist round these characters thereby, creating three types of masculinities. In
Adizua, we see a caricature of a traditional man, a Dependent masculinity; in Nwashike Ogene
we see the Hegemonic male; while in Eneberi we see a ‘Liberated’ masculine male. Despite
these, however, Efuru still ends up without a man at the end of the novel for she leaves Eneberi
after the sickness that made Eneberi ask her to confess her adulterous act and live.

‘Efuru, my wife, the gods are angry with you because you are
guilty of adultery, and unless you confess, you will die. So you
should confess to me and live. I won’t ostracise you, you will still
be my wife, and I won’t allow anybody to molest you. So confess
and live’ (216).

It was based on this conversation that Efuru feels betrayed and decides to leave her second
husband for what she terms as the lack of trust. She feels if she could trust him when he told her

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he was sent to jail not for stealing, but for a foolish act of his and she did not question him, then
he should be the one telling people his wife cannot commit adultery rather than him accusing
her. She tries proving this by inviting Ajanupu and having Gilbert put the question to her:

Ajanupu, this is what I am hearing. I don’t know whether you have

heard. My wife is guilty of adultery. The gods are angry with her
and will kill her if she does not confess. So...’
‘Eneberi, nothing will be good for you henceforth. Eneberi,
Ajanupu, the daughter of Uberife Nkemjika of Umuosume village,
says that from henceforth nothing good will come your way. Our
ancestors will punish you. Our Uhamiri will drown you in the lake.
Our Okita will drown you in the Great River. From henceforth evil
will continue to visit you. What did you say? My God, what did
you say? That Efuru, the daughter of Nwashike Ogene, the good, is
an adulterous woman. Ewo-o, I am afraid, my people, I am afraid.
Eneberi, who are you... (216-7).

The point she tries proving becomes obvious as Ajanupu’s outburst confirms her total trust in
Efuru, just as she expects from Gilbert. This act can be gtermed as female bonding between
Ajanupu and Efuru.To Efuru, where Gilbert should have protected her as is expected of men as
protectors of homes, he decides to leave her for the wolves to consume and thus his flaw and her
excuses for ending the marriage.

However, looking at it from another point, if the gods of the land that even Efuru so believes in
are the ones saying she is involved in adultery, who then is Enebiri to disprove this? In the point
of view of this research, Eneberi has done what he should as a man by saying he is willing to
stop all forms of molestation that may come and that Efuru will continue to be his wife. He has
provided enough cover for her just as is expected of him as protector of his home. It is very
possible that if Nwashike Ogene was still alive when this happened, he would have given Efuru
the same suggestion as offered by the Doctor and close confidant of Efuru.

The doctor was silent when Efuru ended her story. Then he asked:
‘You will not go back to him?’
I thought you were my friend, Difu? Efuru said horrified.
‘I am your friend. I have always been your friend’ (220).

‘I think you should consider going back to your husband.’

‘Difu, it is not possible. Let day break’. (221)

What Nwapa tries to achieve here is simply to create a self opinionated female character and
promote female freedom of some sort. She tries preaching that a woman can survive without a
man in her life and agitate for female emancipation. However, she tends to contradict herself at
the same time as the bulk of the problems in the novel are created by women. It is these women
that keep gossiping about issues and from most of their gossips, several facts were revealed.

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Thus, if these gossips ended up being true almost all the time, who is Eneberi to now
discountenance a gossip that had the backings of gods? In trying to create a character flaw for
Gilbert, Nwapa should have been more ingenious.

Gilbert will pass as a masculine (Liberated) character by all implications as all parameters set by
culture and society are met by him. Even psychologically, no man hears of a woman’s
unfaithfulness and remains mute; he must look into the matter due to the jealous and protective
(Darwinian) nature of men over their women and other properties.

Adizua’s Father: A Weak Male

The first revelation into the character of Adizua’s father is from Ossai, his wife when she was
lamenting the bad conduct of her son, Adizua. Adizua had started absconding from home and
stopped eating his wife’s food, thus her prayer was that he should turn out to be better than his
father:

‘The son of a gorilla must dance like the father gorilla. Our elders
were quite right when they said this. Adizua is every inch like his
father. God don’t let him be like his father (51).

This immediately tells one that Adizua takes after his father in all areas even if he is not
physically present/ seen in action in the novel. The reports about him are enough to help make
deductions on his character. He indeed is a weakling like his son who feeds on others (especially
women) for survival. Though a very handsome man, just like his son, he is portrayed as being
extremely irresponsible.

Adizua’s father married me as a woman was married in our day.

He paid the dowry in full and performed all the customs of our
people. After two year, I had Adizua. He was exactly like his
father. (59)

This extract begins to throw more light and enable a fair comparison to be made between father
and son. In looks, Adizua was exactly like is father but in character (from the above extract) he is
even better than his son as he was able to marry his wife like a man by paying the dowry, a feat
Adizua was unable to achieve without the help of Efuru. As Ossai continues her life experience
in marriage, more revelations come to fore:

Adizua’s father was in the farm looking after the yams (59)

While mother and child went into town to resettle, the father remains on the farm tending the
yams. This is also in contrast to Adizua, who abandoned the farm and came home to be fed and
cared for by his wife and mother:

Efuru’s husband was still at home. He had not gone back to the
farm yet. He too was being well looked after by his mother (17).

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Just as Adizua absconded from home, the father did the same not returning for a long time, and
like his son, he went with a wealthy woman though he eventually marries the woman

My husband refused to return...’Just exactly six years after he had

gone to Abonema to sell his yams, we heard that he was at Abor
and was married to a very wealthy woman. I did not doubt this
because my husband was a very handsome man. You can see this
in Adizua. Adizua is exactly like him – the height and
everything...Three harvests after, my husband came home without
any warning. I welcomed him; I embraced him and wept for joy.
He begged me to forgive him and promised that he would be
faithful to me. I took him for his word...One Nkwo day he
disappeared...Then six month later my husband came back. This
time he was very ill. He had contracted a disease and had come to
me to cure him. I took him to a dibia. The dibia said he had
annoyed the ancestors and the gods of the land... (60-1)

Thus, with the above, it can be concluded that Adizua’s father is a lazy and unreliable man just
like his son and equally very irresponsible. He is a parasite that feeds on others and has failed in
all areas of life as he is unable to cater for his family, neither was he there to protect them when
they needed him. As a procreator he succeeded, but as a protector and provider, he failed
woefully, just as his son Adizua did by not being able to provide for his wife and meet her
emotional and sexual needs by absconding from home.

Nwosu: Laziness or Fate

This male character as created by Nwapa throws light on another type of character who is very
hard working but who fate has just refused to smile on. Nwosu is Ogea’s father and it is seen that
he does all within his power to succeed. He releases his daughter to serve as maid to Efuru for a
loan. The first introduction to this character is captured in the following words:

She is the daughter of my cousin, Nwosu. Her father lost all his
yams in the flood, and the little yams that were left were not sold
for one tenth of the money used for the farming. Only last week the
court messengers came to his house demanding tax. His wife saw
them in time and hid him in the innermost chamber of their
house...About thirty pounds debt is on his head now, through no
fault of his. He cannot find money to feed his children let alone
pay tax...There are five of them (37-8).

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This extract gives a summary of the person of Nwosu from a third person view. He later had the
opportunity of telling his own story himself later in the novel:

I am known in our farm as a great farmer of yams. Two years ago,

my yams were so big that when they were brought to the market
for sale, one was priced five shillings and I refused. I was able to
rebuild my house which was falling down and I paid all that I
owed and even took a title. Then last year I worked very hard. I got
workmen to help me. My yams were doing very well. Then just a
few weeks before harvest, the flood came. It was earlier than usual.
My wife sent for me for I went to town. I came immediately and
we started harvesting. It was too late. I worked as I had never
worked before. The flood rushed in and made a mockery of all my
efforts...I saw with my eyes the destruction of my sweat and labour
(39).

Further reading reveals that Nwosu is a man that is more concerned about what other men have
to say of him than what he or his household faces in terms of hardship. He is highly influenced
by the society he lives in, and this is simply because he feels he needs to meet up to peer dictates
and influence. He refuses to offset a loan he owes Efuru, but takes another title, yet he does not
have the wherewithal for the title at the time.

‘...Didn’t I hear that Ogea’s father took a title about a month ago?’
‘A title? But he has no money and he owes so much.’ (121)
‘Woman, you are so unreasonable. How many times have I heard
this? You know why I took the title. You know how much I was
humiliated by the members of my age-group who took titles (166).

I warned you not to take that title. You took it because some
members of your age-group laughed at you. Are you any richer
now that you have taken the title? (167)

In the above, it becomes obvious that the society plays a very influential role on peoples’ actions.
People will rather be seen as competent by others and suffer gravely in the corners of their
homes than be abused and shamed publicly. This is more like living a life of deceit, all for the
sake of being seen or termed a hegemonic male. The meagre resources that was realized from
that year’s harvest was what Nwosu plunges into that second title; an addition that adds no
economic benefit to him but a status symbol. He wants to be seen as competent at the expense of
Efuru, his children, wife and even himself. His wife asks him if he is any richer now that he has
taken a second title and obviously he could not utter a response in affirmation.

As affirmed earlier, Nwosu is a very hardworking man, yet poor due to circumstances beyond his
control. His poverty cannot be attributed to laziness; rather, his wife attributes it to something
more spiritual than physical:

17
 She could not attribute their poverty to laziness. Her husband was
not lazy. It was their chi that was responsible. Her husband had
worked very hard in his farm and she too had contributed in her
small way. But they were always in want. The sense of insecurity
had aged her a great deal (167).

Despite the poor condition of the family, Nwosu is depicted as a good husband to his wife. He
never laid hands on her for whatever reason, and he marries no other woman.

Her husband was good to her. He had never beaten her. In fact he
had never been deliberately unkind to her. Her husband had no
other wife, and her mother-in-law was dead years ago. So nobody
molested her. What molested her was poverty (168).

In the cultural setting, Nwosu will be termed a failure for not having large barns of yams, not
having more than one wife and not expressing the emotion that culture allows of the male –
anger or wife battering.

In summing up the character of Nwosu, he will be termed a failed male who cannot fend for his
family, who only has a wife, no large barns of yams, and who does not express anger by beating
his wife. On the other hand, however, he will be termed successful for: his two titles, hard work,
having children and for his possession (house). Within the same character we have both a hyper
and hypo male.

Conclusion
From the five male characters considered in this research, it becomes obvious that there are
various forms of men in any society. Nwapa has been able to replicate the various forms of
masculinity in Nigeria in her text: Adizua, a failed man, Ogene a successful male, Gilbert a
liberated masculine man, Adizua’s father, a failed man, just like his son; and Nwosu, also a
failed male. The result of this research is that out of the five men analysed, three are failures
while only two can be said to be successful to an extent. Of the two however, even one – Gilbert
– is made to eventually fail as a reason of Efuru leaving him, therefore making him be termed as
a man who cannot keep his woman. What this simple means is that only Ogene can be said to
have succeeded in almost all ramifications.
This result should however not be surprising, Flora Nwapa, it can be assumed attempted writing
a feminist work and not a masculine one therefore, the reason for the failure of the men. The
creation of characters is totally in the control of the writer, thus whatever the writer intends to
create is what is eventually created. The complexities of male roles as discovered in the research
confirm the pluralistic nature of masculinities that has been identified in the text, for not all
masculinities are identical.

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WORKS CITED

Hornby A.S. (2010) Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. 8th Edition. Great Clarendon:
Oxford Press.

Mbah, Emmanuel. (2012) The Black Woman and Society: A Comparative Analysis of Selected
Novels by Nigerian and African-American Female Writers. Lagos: PhD Thesis.

Nnaemeka Obioma. (1994) From Orality to Writing: African Women Writers and the (Re)
Inscription of Womanhood In Research in African Literatures.
Nwapa, Flora (1989). Efuru. London: Heinemann, (Reprint).
Virginia Woolf (1929) A Room of One’s Own.

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