The Nneka principle in the fiction of Chinua Achebe: A study of the mother archetype in his selected novels
Abstract
This study is a gender appraisal that employs the nneka principle to explore literary creation
of mother archetype with focus on one of the world's renowned prolific writers and literary
critics of African origin: Chinua Achebe. The study identifies patterns and critically analyses
mother archetypes in Achebe's three novels: Things Fall Apart (TFA:1958), No Longer at
Ease (NLAE:1960), and A Man of the People (AMGP:1966). Anthills of the Savannah
(AGS:1987) is introduced in ultimate chapter to augment the argument that its main character,
Beatrice, marks the culmination of Achebe's strong women series. This study argues that, by
looking at the consistent successful accomplishments of women as they steer important roles
in the society such as education, religion and justice, nneka principle comes into focus as the
enabling factor. The thesis hinges on the fact that not much has been done on mother
archetypes in Achebe's texts rather critics have considered all women characters together as
an entity and lamented their misrepresentation. The question is what role does Achebe
prescribe for nneka principle to play in attaining total inclusion of women in day to day
running of affairs in the world? The issue of whether masculine gender failure to recognize
and respect nneka principle has any effect has also been explored. In so doing, this work has
sought to unearth the vision that Achebe, as the father of African literature, has for Africa and
the world. The study has employed archetypal theory whose main proponents are Northrop
Frye and Carl Gustav lung to aid in tracing and analyzing the mother archetypal patterns
across the novels being analyzed. The study is qualitative in nature, based on library research
involving a close examination of primary and secondary texts as well as journals and internet
sources where applicable. It employs critical works on African literature and the reading of
the four novels as the main sources of data. The information gathered is synthesized and a
detailed analysis is done to project the main arguments of the study. This thesis is configured
in five chapters in line with the set objectives and the stipulated research questions. Chapter
one details a comprehensive background of the study highlighting the problem, theoretical
foundations, review of related literature, and overall conceptualization of the thesis. Chapter
two surveys religion, education and judicial system as the societal mainstay roles that Achebe
assigns to women characters and interrogates women's effectiveness in accomplishing them.
The third chapter explores the notion that the reason behind Achebe's heroes' tragic end
results from their attempt to decenter nneka principle. The author's vision on gender is
undertaken in chapter four whereby the author's implied vision on gender relationships in
African context is revealed. Chapter five contains the summary and suggestions for further