Variations on a theme of motherhood
The book includes a motif of motherhood by exploring various types of relationships women might have to motherhood. Ona resists motherhood, and then gives birth to a prized daughter, but dies because of motherhood when her second-born causes complications. The child dies too in that case. Nnu Ego struggles with the emotional challenge of not being able to conceive a child, which makes motherhood into a dilemma of identity for her. She manages to conceive, but this time, she lives and the child dies. Together, these show that motherhood is sacrifice, and that it is painful and at times horrifying, but also meaningful and an essential aspect of life to many women.
The inheritance of family
Nnaife inherits his brother's family, which means that he is placed in a role symbolically, pointing to the differences between him and his brother. He is asked to be the father he literally could not be, which means that this is a symbol for his self-esteem perhaps, and the question arises of whether he should feel at all validated by this. He is a symbol for the confusing self-esteem questions that arise from parenthood, and his story questions the definition of "family."
Nnu Ego as the mother of four
By not killing herself, Nnu Ego earns a better fate for herself. She gets to live, and she finally figures out that she actually can have children. She has four children, a sign of good fortune, because she would have been thankful for even one child. This portion of the story shows through allegory the way that a mother works to improve the fates of her children. She sacrifices so that the children can be educated. Education serves as a symbol for improvement in life.
Prostitution
The opposite symbol of motherhood is prostitution. Prostitutes don't start families with their partners typically. Men use prostitutes as tools for their own pleasure and entertainment, but in light of her relationship to her husband, and in light of the double standard of her culture which allows men to have many wives, the choice actually symbolizes the way in which the culture already abuses women in their society.
The ending
The symbolic ending is dark. Nnu Ego's life is extremely difficult for her emotionally, and her community starts a myth about her that her shrine is a place that women can come to pray for children when they struggle to conceive. The myth is that she ignores the prayers. But this is a symbolic irony—it points to Nnu Ego's opinion of what is best for a woman. By "ignoring" the would-be mothers, the story suggests that she is answering them in the best way she could, which is by not giving them motherhood at all. Motherhood is shown to be an absolute sacrifice, not a path toward happiness, but an abandonment of one's own life. By saying no, the story suggests that perhaps she is doing the best she can for them.
