Purple Hibiscus Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Purple Hibiscus is a novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, first published in the United State by Algonquin Books in 2003. It recounts the story of Kambili Achike, a young teenager who struggles in the hands of her father Eugene, a rich businessman and devout Catholic. He violently abuses his family and the wife Beatrice would later poison him. Kambili's brother, Jaja, takes the blame inorder to protect his mother and gets the life imprisonment.

Adichie wrote Purple Hibiscus during her university education at Eastern Connecticut State University. A feminist work, she set the novel in a post-colonial Nigeria. Purple Hibiscus was a coming of age story that captured abuse and explored many themes: marriage, family and religion.

Published on 30 October, the first edition gained commercial success and critics reviewed the novel favourably. It won several awards, amongst them, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in 2005.

Kambili Achike is a fifteen-year-old Nigerian girl who comes from a wealthy family in Enugu State, dominated by her devout Catholic father and businessman, Eugene. Eugene is both a religious zealot and a violent figure in the Achike household, subjecting his wife Beatrice, Kambili herself, and her brother Jaja to violent beatings and psychological cruelty.

The story is told through Kambili's eyes. She and her brother later live at their aunt Ifeoma's house with her three children. The household offers a different view of what they faced in their father's house. It practices a completely different form of Catholicism, making for a happy, liberal place that encourages its members to be inquisitive, form their own opinions and speak their minds. In this nurturing environment, both Kambili and Jaja become more open and more able to both form and voice their own opinions. While at Aunty Ifeoma's, Kambili also falls in love with a young priest, Father Amadi, which awakens her sense of sexuality.

Ultimately, a critical mass is reached in terms of the lives of Kambili, Jaja and their family as it once was. Unable to cope with Eugene's continual violence any longer, Beatrice poisons him. Jaja takes the blame for the crime and ends up in prison. In the meantime, Aunty Ifeoma and her family move to America after she is unfairly dismissed from her job as a lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

The novel ends almost three years after these events, on a cautiously optimistic note. Kambili has become a young woman now eighteen years of age who is more confident than before. Her brother Jaja is about to be released from prison, hardened but not broken by his experience there. Their mother, Beatrice, has deteriorated psychologically to a great degree.

Adichie was born on September 15, 1977, in Enugu, Nigeria, to a middle-class Igbo family, with her parents, Grace Ifeoma and James Nwoye Adichie, and her five siblings. Adichie's childhood was marked by the complexities of post-colonial Nigeria, where traditional Igbo culture coexisted with the legacy of British colonialism.

By the end of 2002 Adichie was a well-established author with two works[n 1] as well as several short stories, and other pieces.[1]

Literary influences

Adichie wasn't the first author to use Igbo oral traditions in her works. According to her, she draws on the rich storytelling heritage of her Igbo culture, incorporating myth, legend, and proverbs into her works. She is considered as part of a new generation of Nigerian writers, influenced by authors like Chinua Achebe, Buchi Emecheta and Camara Laye. Adichie reflects her engagement with Western literary traditions, including the novels of Enid Blyton.

Writing history

Adichie was 24 when she started researching and writing Purple Hibiscus .[2] She sent her manuscript to different literary agents and one agent told her to use the "African material" as background for a continued story set in America. Another rejected instantly with "NO" on the query letter and sent it back. Literary agents either asks for setting to be changed from Africa to America inorder to attract familiar readrrs or the manuscript gets rejected instantly.[2]

Djana Pearson Morris, an agent who works at Pearson Morris and Belt Literary Management, accepted the manuscript. Ngozi submitted her manuscript after a thought for the Africanisation of her English name Amanda to Chimamanda, which she shared to the agent. Morris cited challenging commercial sales since Adichie was Black. Morris sent the manuscript to publishers. It during the summer of 2002 when Antonia Fusco, an editor at the independent press Algonquin Books, received the manuscript, which was eventually accepted for publication. Elizabeth Scharlatt, then the publisher at Algonquin Books, also recounted chances of the book publication as Algonquin was not driven by market trends or shareholder pressures. Although they launch new debut novel every season and since there was a small list, all energy would be chanelled in promoting the book and Adichie.[2]

Purple Hibiscus was finally published in 2003, and the publisher created support for sales including providing copies to booksellers, reviewers, and the media. Fourth Estate published the book in 2004 in the United Kingdom. Purple Hibiscus was also published in 2006 by Kachifo Limited in Nigeria.[2]

The central character of Purple Hibiscus is Kambili Achike, a 15 year-old Nigerian teenage girl, described in the story as "a shy girl". Sources writes that Kambili may have been influenced by her father Eugene's strict religious practices and violence on his family. The professor of English literature considers that the book covers young Kambili as she narrates her lonely and unhappy family, and her improvement from childhood to Adulthood.

There are literary precursors for Kambili in Adichie's own works. Reviewer sees similarities between the characters. Critic observes that Kambili's transformation to an improved figure is a parallel to that of the Jaja. Critic sees that the major character from The Love of Biafra was also an influence when creating Kambili. It is possible that Kambili's name came from the usual naming style of Adichie; she invents names to suit a particular character. This theory has been described as "a probable igbo naming system of Adichie."

When Adichie was young she lived at Nsukka which was the location of her characters. For Eugene, Adichie drew inspiration of her family's religious denomination. Associate Professor Begum writes that Adichie's characters are not submissive to exploitation relations forming the basis of exploitation of women and she challenges women to have a cripple Third World women. She calls for understanding, complementation, conciliation, societal structures through which women are oppressed. Through the character Beatrice this novel explores how wives are subjugated by their husbands.[3]

Purple Hibiscus explores several themes that are central to the story. One of the primary themes is the struggle for identity and autonomy in a patriarchal society.

Adichie's protagonist, Kambili, is a symbol of the repressed voices of women in Nigerian society.[4] Through Kambili's narration, Adichie highlights the tension between traditional Igbo culture and modernity, as well as the complexities of female identity in a society dominated by men.[5] Followed by the impact of colonialism and post-colonialism on Nigerian society, Adichie critiques the legacy of colonialism, which has led to a cultural identity crisis in Nigeria.[6] Eugene, Kambili's father, represents the complexities of post-colonial identity, as he struggles to reconcile his Igbo heritage with his strict Catholic faith.[7]

The novel also explores the theme of silence and voice. Kambili's silence is a metaphor for the repression of women's voices in Nigeria.[8]. Her journey shows how silence can be both a form of oppression and a means of resistance.[9] The theme of family and relationships is central to the novel. Adichie portrays the complexities of family dynamics in Nigerian culture, highlighting the tensions between tradition and modernity.[10]

Purple Hibiscus explores the theme of religion; it depicts the seven sacraments, especially Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is shown in the masses celebrated by Father Benedict, Father Amadi, and other priests in Abba. It also includes active participation by Papa and his family, and Aunty Ifeoma and her family. A sub-theme of the cultural absence of the Igbo culture is seen in Kambili's narration, where he narrated Father Benedict's decline of the Igbo language and culture. For instance, he allowed that the Credo and Kyrie should be recited only in Latin and that the rhythmical clapping of hands should be minimal but sustained singing in Igbo, offertory songs.[11]

×==Publication==

Purple Hibiscus, Adichie's debut novel, was published in 2003 by Algonquin Books. The novel's publication was a significant milestone in Adichie's career. The book was initially released in hardcover, with a first printing of 10,000 copies. The novel received widespread critical acclaim, with reviewers praising Adichie's masterful storytelling and nuanced characterization.

Following the novel's success, Algonquin Books released a paperback edition in 2004, and the book has since been translated into many languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese. Purple Hibiscus has been a commercial success, selling over 1 million copies worldwide. The novel's success has been credited to Adichie's unique voice and perspective, which offers a fresh portrayal of Nigerian culture and identity.

In an interview with The Guardian, Adichie discussed the novel's publication and its impact on her career, stating that "Purple Hibiscus was a game-changer for me... It was the first time I felt like I was being taken seriously as a writer".

Adichie's use of Igbo phrases and proverbs in Purple Hibiscus helped popularize the Igbo language and exploration of Nigerian culture and identity.

The novel's portrayal of the complexities of Nigerian family life has been praised for its accuracy, and has helped to challenge stereotypes about the Patrichial system. Themes of feminism, identity, and cultural heritage have resonated with the novel. Adichie's use of language in the novel was praised for its lyricism and power, and has been credited with helping to create a new generation of Nigerian writers. Set in Nigeria, Purple Hibiscus became one of the major works of postcolonialism.

In a starred review by Kirkus Reviews, Adichie was praised for "creating a compelling narrative—and a surprising punch at end."[12] It was listed in 2004 by Telegraph as one of the year's best fiction.[13] Östgöta Correspondenten wrote, "Purple Hibiscus" is a painfully brutal yet wonderfully moving educational novel about getting up and walking". Again, it praised Adichie writing, "Purple Hibiscus could be a tragic, depressing read at best, but Adichie is the kind of dizzying storyteller who manages to lure the reader further and further into the story, until you can no longer resist. She fills the novel with nuances and colors, scents and flavors, and with cautious hope."[14] Journalist Hephzibah Anderson of The Guardian praises Adichie's focus, writing that it "remains fixed on her heroine, enabling her to express the political in acutely personal terms, telling an intoxicating story that is at once distinctively feminine, African and universal."[15] Sue Arnold, in a review, praised the novel's audio narrator Adjoa Andoh's characterisation of the Kambili, whose confused love/hate relationship with her father underpins the story, is stunning.[16]

• Oliveira, Leide Daiane De Almeida; Matos, Naylane Araújo (12 September 2018). "ADICHIE, Chimamanda Ngozi. Hibisco roxo. Tradução de Julia Romeu. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2011, 324 p." Cadernos de Tradução. 38 (3). Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC): 477–486. doi:10.5007/2175-7968.2018v38n3p477. ISSN 2175-7968. Retrieved 24 January 2025.

1. ^ These were Decisions (1997) and For the Love of Biafra (1998); [1]

1. ^ a b Diedrick 1987, p. 80. sfn error: no target: CITEREFDiedrick1987 (help)
2. ^ a b c d Obi Young 2021.
3. ^ Begum 2017, p. 441.
4. ^ Ezeigbo 2009. sfn error: no target: CITEREFEzeigbo2009 (help)
5. ^ Ogunyemi 2007. sfn error: no target: CITEREFOgunyemi2007 (help)
6. ^ Obioma 2013. sfn error: no target: CITEREFObioma2013 (help)
7. ^ Azuah 2011. sfn error: no target: CITEREFAzuah2011 (help)
8. ^ Nwosu 2015. sfn error: no target: CITEREFNwosu2015 (help)
9. ^ Okuyade 2012. sfn error: no target: CITEREFOkuyade2012 (help)
10. ^ Uwakweh 2011. sfn error: no target: CITEREFUwakweh2011 (help)
11. ^ Amaefule 2021, pp. 79.
12. ^ Adichie 2003.
13. ^ The Telegraph 2004.
14. ^ Corren, Östgöta Correspondenten 2010.
15. ^ Anderson 2004.
16. ^ Arnold 2008.

• Amaefule, Adolphus Ekedimma (15 April 2021). "The Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria and Liturgical Inculturation in Chimamanda Adichie's Purple Hibiscus". Ecclesiology. 17 (1): 72–90. doi:10.1163/17455316-bja10002. ISSN 1744-1366.
• Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi (17 October 2003). "Purple Hibiscus". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
• "Best fiction". The Telegraph. 5 December 2004. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
• Anderson, Hephzibah (21 March 2004). "Observer review: Some Great Thing, Long for This World, Purple Hibiscus". the Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
• "Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Lila hibiskus". Corren, Östgöta Correspondenten (in Swedish). 7 June 2010. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
• Arnold, Sue (13 June 2008). "Audio: Jun 14". the Guardian. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
• Eriksson, Magnus (6 February 2005). "Gripande om kolonialismens konsekvenser". SvD.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 24 January 2025.
• Obi Young, Otosirieze (20 September 2021). "Cover Story: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Half of a Yellow Sun at 15, Her Private Losses, and Public Evolution". Open Country Mag. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
• Begum, Syed Hajira (1 May 2017). "Women Empowerment in Purple Hibiscus". IJELLH International journal of English language, literature in humanities. 5 (5). ISSN 2455-0108.