A war novel by Akachi Adimora Ezeigbo continues from last week
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That’s where this ends!
In Secondary schools, students encounter this and it ends there! I suspect that the author is saying, don’t blow this show of same sex sexuality out of proportion. I will align it to what happens to new born babies when they are born. They suck on everything within the range of their mouth. As they continue to grow, they come to the knowledge of the truth that not everything is breast which is for sucking!
One of the most important strong messages Ezeigbo passes to us in this novel is the issue of women against women. How come it is the women who are antagonistic against their fellows?
Eloka’s mother is the catalyst that sets the chemical reaction that destroys her family. Like the stereotypical mother-in-law, instead of her to accept her son’s wife as her daughter, uniting with her to build an extension of her family that would outlive her and her husband, she takes offence at the girl; she may even be jealous of Ginika for the love and attention her son gives her. She vents the wrath of her husband’s philandering on her hapless daughter in-law, who’s left unprotected, vulnerable in her in-law’s home without Eloka’s covering.
She drives her away with hard and cruel treatment. Ruminating over Ginika’s story I cannot help but wonder how different Eloka’s mother would have behaved was Ginika her own daughter considering how she dotes on Eloka. Compare Auntie Chito’s reaction at the news of Ginika’s pregnancy. She does not judge Ginika; she believes her.
I cannot but wonder how better the world would be if women support their fellows. If mothers-in-law would remember the initial difficulties they encountered in marriage and even latter difficulties in marriage and rise up to protect and support their daughters-in-law, giving them the right hand of fellowship.
Even if Ginika has given her in-laws seven sons, a woman like Eloka’s mother wouldn’t be satisfied. She’s filled with hate as seen in her actions: she withdraws her helps from house chores and heaps unbearable chores on her daughter in law!
Mrs Odunze is not too old to be involved in house chores. As an illiterate, she must have married early: 15, 16 or latest, 18. Her son, Eloka is twenty-five. If she didn’t have children early, her equally illiterate and conscienceless husband would have married a second wife. This puts her at below 50. See also Ginika’s stepmother, Ezeigbo puts her at 40 something. She doesn’t cook. The two women are depicted as lazy, idle, hateful and against their fellow women.
These are stereotypes. They are the sources of trouble/heartache to their fellow women. Stereotypical women like mothers in-law, stepmothers, mistresses, are sources of unhappiness to other women: at the office, at the market place, in marriage, etc. These are activities of women against women.
Their cruelty is rife in real life and is depicted in both fictions and movies as seen in Half Of A Yellow Sun; in modern movies like Jennifer Lopez’s and Jane Fonda’s Monster-in-law; Crazy Rich Asians: Eleanor Young against her son’s intended, Rachel Chu, despite the fact that her own mother-in-law is mistreating her. Instead of Eleanor Yong to change the status quo by treating Rachel better, she falls into the same attitude. This is why Jennifer Lopez opted out of the wedding asking Jane Fonda if she wants the two of them to continue in the manner of Jane and her mother-in-law.
I believe what happened in the Odunze family should serve as a deterrent to all mothers.
Ginika’s stepmother scatters and adds fire. Every woman is a mother and should take up that role when duty calls. Women (mothers) should love. They are not supposed to police, terrorize, hate, and reveal secrets in the home because they are not biological mothers. When stepmothers do these, things fall apart!
So, Ezeigbo through the activities of her characters, show her readers what life at wartime looks like. There are the foreboding presences of hunger, starvation, diseases and death. Auntie Chito’s house is a case study. People die suddenly without warning cut short by bullets. Many are at the mercy of refugee camp workers for food. But, what if no relief materials come? What if the refugee camp workers hoard the foods?
Some do not lose their lives, they lose their minds. People trek, no vehicles. Those who have food to eat, continue as normal life as possible. They develop feelings for other people, get married, in laws expect fruits from the marriage, ungodly men cheat their wives, girls keep more than one boyfriend as portrays by Janet, men have multiple sleeping partners, markets are functional although dangerous, etc.
At wartime, there is no security of life or property. There are breakdown of law and order even by the people who are supposed to keep the laws like soldiers arresting Ginika illegally, raping her and locking her up.
Also, wars impact on people the sense of helplessness, inadequacy, idleness, impotence, especially when a man is hiding at home when his mates are at the warfront. This lethargy is spread in the novel. Eloka, Auntie Chito’s husband, others experience this.
It’s also interesting that at wartime, people living together and facing common enemies find it hard to rally round one another, show love and solidarity. They still exhibit terrible negative human characteristics hating and cheating and maligning one another.
Life at wartime becomes difficult because other human beings out of self-seeking make it so. Wars are fought because human beings are self-seeking. Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:7 – why don’t you take the wrong? Wars are fought because no party is willing to take the wrong. Ezeigbo quotes, “Older men declare war, the youth fight and die.”
Also the issue of judgment and punishment is depicted. Although in the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:7), Jesus said, if you’re without sin, cast the first stone and the accusers disappeared one after the other. In Roses and Bullets, the adulterer, Chief Odunze (Onwaora), cast the first stone against Ginika when news of her pregnancy breaks.
This brings us to the issue of sexism. Chief Odunze, Eloka’s father is accused of adultery, his wife has gone to beat up his mistress at a refugee camp, but he continues with his authority around the house as if nothing happened. In fact, he’s angry with his wife, maybe expecting her to come begging for forgiveness. Maybe, he has even stopped performing his conjugal duties believing that he’s the lawmaker and he’s not subject to the law because he’s above it. While adultery may be acceptable in his case, it is not to be heard of in his daughter-in-law, under no circumstance, even if it’s rape!
Eloka, his son and Ginika’s husband, although not an adulterer, has been living with a young pregnant girl and his in-law Udo doesn’t know the whole story. Eloka doesn’t care; he doesn’t think it’s worth his while to explain to his young in-law living with him at the Biafran Army quarters that the girl brought the pregnancy with her. He feels he doesn’t owe anybody any explanation. He knows himself that he doesn’t touch Boma. He is master and can do no wrong.
The reader begins to see how unfair, how unjust our society is, especially to the women. Are women second class citizens? Are they subhuman? Why would society have different yardsticks to measure men’s sins and women’s sins?
Roses and Bullets is very real, very rich – No pretences! Some critics have said it’s very objective. It tells the story, journalistically, with no sides taken. It’s like an eye witness account. Take for example, Ginika, a young woman from a good home, she hesitates not to have premarital sex when she feels ‘in love’ with an opposite sex.
This is true to life. When a young woman from a good home who has no sex education from home or church, considers herself ‘in love’, she’ll strip for her lover and give herself prematurely to the man.
Ezeigbo who has passed through different stages of womanhood is telling us that it is not threats to our daughters that would make them live in abstinence until marriage, but a sound sex education that will.
Growing girls need to be taught that feelings are natural and should be fasted until a certain time in life before the fast is broken. They should be taught that they shouldn’t open to the first person who knocks on their virginity door because they feel ‘in love’ with him. This is because, there would be other opportunities, there would be more times that she would feel ‘in love’ with an opposite sex. So, what should girls do?
Girls should be taught not to give in to premarital sex. They should wait until marriage. Now, teaching is not a shouting match or a threatening activity. It is information-passing, in an atmosphere of peace and genuine care or love.
I had paused after reading Page 162 of Chapter 17 of the novel, Roses and Bullets. Eloka proposes to Ginika over her naked body in this scene. I said to myself, I wouldn’t want my daughter to be proposed to in this way. It’s too late!
I know that Art is supposed to be true to life, but Art is supposed to guide life, influence life. I believe that this is why many writers project the image of the chaste heroine, just as the heroes of great stories are not touts, thieves, fraudsters, scoundrels, gigolos; heroines are limned to be girls with good moral behaviours. They are not available; they are not girls who sleep around. No serious man wants a scarlet lady for a wife, no matter how developed society thinks itself to be.
So, while we tell stories that depict real life, we also shape our stories to point to the right path. Ginika, a virgin girl from a strict father, is already undressed before a man who’s half-dressed, in an enclosed space waiting to be touched, without a promise of commitment!
Intentional writers should guide words, our tools, to paint right actions.
“No, Eloka, I don’t want to do this now. I may get pregnant. And what if you don’t marry me?”
“I’ll marry you, I promise!”
“Then, let’s wait until then.”
This may not be what’s going on now, but writers must intend to influence, no matter how little the influence. Some girl somewhere might just be influenced! Or a parent or a guardian would find it useful tool for parenting.
We see true love in the novel in Nwakire’s love for his sister. It is love strong enough to kill for another. He hurts too much for her seeing that she’s hurting. Although we wouldn’t want someone to do what Nwakire did for Ginika for us, but, his love is true love. Another true love is Chito’s love for her niece. It’s selfless. She stands by Ginika through thick and thin. That’s true love. This gives the reader hope. There’s still true love in the world. We’ll not give up on love.
Eloka’s love is conditional. So is Ginika’s father’s love: if you keep yourself and continue to be a good person, you can count on my love, but if something goes wrong whether it’s your fault or not, you are on your own.
When I dropped the novel, I considered when love isn’t enough. As I pondered on love, I thought of the love of God and man’s love. I came to the conclusion that Love should be enough. Love can be enough when you love your lover like yourself – no man can kill himself or herself for being raped! A rape victim will feel ashamed, will feel distressed, unhappy, but will not hate self for what another did to them.
We need that love that Jesus counsels us to have in the holy bible. He says, Love your neighbour as yourself. It’s a selfless kind of love. If Eloka has it, he’ll accept Ginika and comfort her instead of rejecting and throwing her out, exposing her to the vultures as we see in the swooping in of the ‘vandals’ who came for Ginika’s flesh.
It is for the above Nwakire kills Eloka. He must be thinking that if Eloka has forgiven and receives his sister into their matrimonial home, she wouldn’t be exposed to the army boys. His anger is fierce.
Ezeigbo shows a great deal of dexterity of plot when she made Nwakire leave home with a pistol. I know every reader thought he was off to the Nigerian Army camp to rescue his sister. And knowing what has transpired there, we fear he might be killed, but no, Ezeigbo without giving us a hint, heads Ginika’s brother to her husband’s house to vent his anger and frustration.
The result is the death of Eloka, followed by Nwakire’s in quick succession. When you consider it, you see that it’s still the war taking its toll, gathering more victims. Eloka and Nwakire return from the war, but the war kills them with the weapons of the evils of the war. Both Eloka and Nwakire are still victims of the war!
Characterization in the novel is great. The characters come across as real. They change with changing situations like some human beings. Eloka’s love freezes at the knowledge that someone has touched his wife. Dr Ubaka’s love wanes when his daughter has marital problems. His love for personal prestige outweighs his love for his daughter.
Yet like real life, we see also some real love: Chito’s love for Ginika, her sister’s daughter, Nwakire’s love for his sister, Tonye’s father’s love for her. These are great love.
And yet, there’s the misplaced love of Captain Ibrahim who circumcised himself in other to be worthy of Ginika’s love. Any love that doesn’t accept you as you are is not true love. There’s also depicted in the novel, sensuous love – Philomena’s, the soldiers’, Janet’s, etc
In all, I feel like saying Thank you to Ezigbo. She brings war times alive to her readers: the insecurity of life and property, money failing, the hunger and starvation: kwashiorkor, death by the minute, ‘afia attack’ – wartime trading, violence, fears, inhumanity, loss of prestige, etc. These warn the readers, ‘Don’t agitate for war; seek dialogue!’
Ginika is the rising sun. She’s Biafra. She survives the war with its death, hunger, starvation, rape, hate from father, stepmother, mother-in-law, husband, the enemy as represented by the sergeants who raped her, etc. She, like the sun seems to die in the night, only to rise up the next day! With a struggle the sun climbs out of the horizon ready to soar again at noon time into another day.
The closing of the novel with Ginika gaining a scholarship at the University of Nigeria Nsukka with a possibility to go to America for her Master’s, depicts hope rising. No one can kill hope. Where there’s hope, there’s life.
At 22, Ginika is still young enough to go through another lifetime, a new lifetime, despite yesterday, just like the rising sun.
