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The Joys Of Motherhood Analysis

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Stephen Tower Dr. Montgomery ENGL - 2213 November 17, 2017 Commerce in The Joys of Motherhood In The Joys of Motherhood by Buchi Emecheta, women are forced by circumstances to play the principal role of taking care of their families. Unfortunately, due to patriarchy, women are not able to secure well-paying formal jobs like their male counterparts. Their only hope is to engage in different trading activities to cater for their children. Some of the trading activities include selling cigarettes, matches, candles, firewood, groundnuts, and clothes (Emecheta 162). However, women face many challenges which adversely affect their commerce. The lack of a conducive economic infrastructure frustrates their efforts to engage in a successful trade …show more content…

This is what happens when Adaku and Nnu Ego decide to form an alliance and stage a cooking strike. The strike rarely affects Nnaife because his co-workers are generous enough to share their food with him (Dubek 209). Therefore, in view of this inequity, commerce offers the women in the novel a means of survival that enables them to take care of their personal needs and those of their children. Some of the commercial activities that women undertake include selling various goods such as clothes, matches, cigarettes, groundnuts, candles, and firewood (Emecheta 162). The desire to engage in commerce is so high that some of the women would not mind selling their daughters to get money (Razinatu 468). Women in the novel view commerce as the only way to support their large families. The burden to take care of their families pushes them to an edge where they are willing to engage in any form of trade, including selling their daughters into slavery (Razinatu 468). Nnu Ego sees nothing wrong with such a venture as long as it helps her look after her other children. However, although women are determined to engage in commerce, the challenges they face make it difficult for their commercial ventures to flourish. Nnu Ego is forced to abandon her trade in several instances

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