The Qualities and Experiences of Motherhood

The Qualities and Experiences of Motherhood is the book’s primary theme, and is explored in several ways – through action, through narrative commentary, and through dialogue. First, the book’s central line of action, or plot, is repeatedly and consistently defined by ways in which characters view and engage with the experience of being a mother. The most notable example of this is connected firmly to the journey of transformation of protagonist Nnu Ego, whose every choice, it seems, or every action, is defined by its relationship to her experience of being a mother, whether that experience involves expectations of others (her father, her husbands, other women); sexual activity (which has, almost exclusively, the goal of conception and procreation); pregnancy and birth; providing ongoing sustenance (material, emotional, and spiritual) for her many children; and experiencing their many, and varied growing pains...