After reading nearly 30 pages of Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, I decided I should be reading to 1) understand the novel and 2) later write this post. In attempt to read with a purpose, I went back to the book list/assignment to get a better grip on what I should be planning to write. The word Bildungsroman really caught my attention; all of the novels on the list were written about coming-of-age youth. I figured that to be important.
As I continued my journey to understanding the (very foreign) novel, I was struck by a short passage in which the narrator, Kambili, observes an interaction between her rigid, traditional father and her contemporary aunt:
"I watched their lips move as they spoke; Mama's bare lips were pale compared to Aunty Ifeoma's, covered in a shiny bronze lipstick...Every time Aunty Ifeoma spoke to Papa, my heart stopped, then started again in a hurry. It was the flippant tone; she did not seem to recognize that it was Papa, that he was different, special. I wanted to reach out and press her lips shut and get some of that shiny bronze lipstick on my fingers."
Aunty Ifeoma's reoccurring lipstick made this passage stand out. Kambili's family is homely in appearance, noting her mother's plain lips; this seems to be a physical manifestation of their traditional and Christian lifestyle. Aunty Ifeoma is a college educated single mother who refuses to shun those in the community for their refusal to assimilate to Western religion; she is bold in wearing the shiny lipstick. The obvious divide between Kambili's mother and aunt lend to what may be Kambili's moral struggle. She desperately needs her aunt to respect her father (the figurehead of Kambili's rigid lifestyle), but she desires to have a touch of unorthodox lipwear in her life. I predict Kambili will struggle to either continue with her father's strict religious life, where she finds comfort and privilege, or grow into a more independent, free-thinking young woman.
No comments:
Post a Comment