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Failed Oedipal Substitution in Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun and Purple Hibiscus
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background to the Study
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of the accomplished contemporary African writers. Many critics attribute this fame to the topicality of her subjects matter–at least the grand subjects of war (Nigerian-Biafran War of 1966-1970) and love treated in her Half of a Yellow Sun; the religious zealotry of Purple Hibiscus; the self-imposed exile or search for Eldorado by African Diaspora in Americanna all justify the topicality of her subject which invariable underscore the popularity of the writer. To some other critics, it is Adichie’s unique and charming weave of words that has projected her writings, the reason for which she is being considered the literary daughter of Chinua Achebe since these critics see similitude in Achebe’s style and Adichie’s.
In the midst of all the assessments that Adichie’s works have been subjected to, this study stands out because, other than the thematic study or a survey of the historical reality reflected in the works of Adichie, the work here advocates that certain personality traits characterize the fictional personages we find in Adichie’s novels which is of interest to psychoanalyst critic and which ultimately underscores the literary value of this work. More specifically, Sigmund Freud’s explication of the phenomenon of the Oedipal substitution under his psychoanalytic theory comes in handy here. Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus and Half of a Yellow Sun have been subjected to diverse literary and scholarly criticisms and the efforts of these critics largely reflect social reality. Though there are critics who tend to read these novels in the light of psychoanalysis, most of the contributions do not unveil the conscious and unconscious factors which determine the formation of disoriented behavior of the characters and as such still leave gaps desiring to be filled. Thus, with psychoanalytical tools, this study investigates the psychodynamics of these characters, the aim being to identify the genuine motivations for their overheated actions. The desire to contribute towards filling this gap has necessitated the choice of the novels under investigation and this research as well.
