An Exploration of Marxist Feministic Ideas in Buchi Emecheta's: The Joy of Motherhood

Gender inequality is a major twenty-first century concern. It ensures that this is eradicated it is core to review the portrayal of females in a text particularly on written by a female writer in the twentieth century. The percentage of women who experienced single motherhood by any pathway in Nigeria (2008) were 34%. This paper seeks to delve into how the female characters in the text are portrayed as 'the man of the house' thereby being victim of female oppression and exploitation. The fact that she is subjected to a more devastating form of exploitation on the ground that she is female gives insight to the social realities of day to day happenings. It would explore how female characters in the text are exploited, that is, unpaid or underpaid for the services they render because they are females. This would add to the bodies of literature to correct the ills in gender disparity in pay structure to ensure that females are paid as their male counterpart. It is advised that furthers research in the causes of single motherhood as portrayed in African fiction is carried out in order to flatten the curve.