NOVELIST'S BACKGROUND
Bayo Adebowale was born
on June 6, 1944 in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. He is a novelist, poet,
librarian and short story writer. As a literary scholar, he has written a lot
of literary texts, which include Out of his mind, Village
harvest, Lonely Days etc.
Bayo Adebowale was a
senior principal lecturer in English and former Deputy Rector of The
Polytechnic, Ibadan. He is the founder of the African Heritage Research
Library (AHRL), Ibadan, Oyo state.
BACKGROUND OF THE NOVEL
In a typical African
society where women are treated as objects, it is almost normal, if not normal,
to see widows being encapsulated in victimization, marginalization and ill
treatment by members of such society who claim to act within the confines
of some barbaric laws and tradition of that society. This inhumane act leaves
these widows in a pitiable state, and those who can't endure the torture,
join their deceased husbands afterwards. However, amidst such unpleasant
circumstance, few women still summon up courage to defend themselves even with
the last drop of their blood. These women, most times, emerge victorious in
their fight against society.
The above assertion is
evident in Bayo Adebowale's Lonely Days as it showcases the
unpleasant circumstances which come with being a widow within the context of a
Yoruba community in the western part of Nigeria. The novel shows the horrible
traditional widows' rite women go through after the death of their husbands
just to prove their innocence. With Yaremi being the most victim, the rights of
other widows (Fayoyin, Dedewe and Radeke) are trampled upon by the custodians
of tradition. These widows are denied access to better life, and at worst,
thrown into outer loneliness. Although Yaremi has been a friend of loneliness since the death of her husband, she is a strong resistance to societal dominance. Her
unshaken refusal to abide by the custom and tradition of her society
makes her distinct from other widows.
ALSO SEE: A Comprehensive Analysis of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun
ALSO SEE: A Comprehensive Analysis of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun
PLOT ACCOUNT OF LONELY DAYS
With the major events
revolving around Yaremi, the protagonist, Lonely Days showcases
the inhumane treatment suffered by widows in Kufi land after the demise of
their husbands. Yaremi is the widow of Ajumobi, a very brave and successful
hunter who gave in to the cold hands of death after a brief illness that
couldn't be cured by the village herbalist who was called to cure him. After
the death of her husband, Yaremi suffers all kinds of ill treatments from her
kinsmen and the villagers, ranging from accusation of murder and horrible
traditional widows' rites. She is always overwhelmed with sorrowful thoughts but
finds solace in the fact that her husband, Ajumobi, did not die an abominable
death. She is left to stay with her grandson, Woye, who assists her in domestic
chores and taffeta business. Woye also keeps Yaremi company, and this, to a
large extent, fills the vacuum which the death of Ajumobi created. No wonder
Yaremi does everything possible to restore the health of Woye when he is sick.
Woye eventually becomes well again, and Yaremi's joy knows no bound.
More often, Yaremi
reminisces on her past relationship with her husband who was a strong defence
to her. She recollects his caring attitudes and constant provision of bush meat
to her. Unfortunately, his death has created an irreplaceable vacuum in her life
and subjected her to abject loneliness. At first, she tries hard to face the
new life of loneliness but later becomes accustomed to her predicament. She
moves on with life and forges ahead in business through which she becomes an
independent and important figure in the village of kufi to the admiration
of all and sundry. Yaremi's success is success for all women in the village of
Kufi as she usually makes food donations such as corn, pumpkins, pottage, flour
etc. to them. However, Yaremi's outstanding success becomes a threat to the men
of Kufi because according to them, "no woman of the land had ever been
allowed to worm her way into a position of prominence in village matters"
(p. 89). While most men see her as someone to be avoided, some others long for
her company. The authenticity of the latter clause is validated in the novel
when some men like Olonade, Ayanwale and Lanwa, before the cap-picking
ceremony, woo Yaremi for second marriage with their sweet tales and display of affluence
and talents but to no avail. Yaremi violates the widows' traditional rite of
picking a new cap, that is, selecting a new man for marriage, by maintaining
her love for her late husband, Ajumobi.
Yaremi becomes steadfast
in her decision when her daughter, Segi (Woye's mom), visits to comfort her and
tell her not to accept going into a second marriage or taking a new husband.
Having the urge of going to school, Woye sets to follow his mom, Segi, as she
sets to leave her mom's house for her husband's. During this time, Alani
(Yaremi's only son), who has not been seen for a decade, returns and is taken
around by Uncle Deyo (Ajumobi's friend) to show him his father's farmland which
has been untouched since the death of his father. It is the duty of Alani to
look after his father's property since he is a son, but Alani isn't moved
because he has a booming carpentry business in the city, which he wants to face
squarely in order to marry his pregnant girlfriend. Alani's reaction compounds
his mother's problem. Things get worsened when the elders of Kufi ostracize
Yaremi and seize her husband's properties. Yaremi is thrown into outer
loneliness. The novel ends with Yaremi lamenting for the future days of
loneliness; however, she builds her hope on God.
SETTING
Lonely Days is set in the fictional
village of Kufi. The natural setting of the novel is drawn from Nigeria,
precisely the western part.
STYLE
Style is a particular
way, pattern or design in which a work is written. It comprises the
language/diction, tone, structure, narrative technique/point of view etc.of a
literary work. Some of the elements of style used in this novel are discussed below:
i. Language/Diction
The language of the novel
is simple and easy to understand.
ii. Structure
The novel is made up of
fourteen chapters. It also contains an entrance verse, a poem of twenty-five
lines, preoccupied with the woes of widowhood.
iii. Point of
view/narrative technique
The story is told from
the third person omniscient point of view. This simply means that the story is
not told by any of the characters in the novel but by an outsider, who is an
all-knowing narrator.
iv. Flashback
Adebowale employs the use
of flashback to provide the reader with information on what had happened in the
past.Yaremi's relationship with Ajumobi, her childhood and business are
revealed to the reader through the use of this technique.
v. Suspense
Woye's sickness and its
possible outcome are evidence of suspense in the novel as the reader
desperately seeks to know if Woye would be whole again. The cap-picking
ceremony also keeps the reader in suspense as he is very eager to know which
cap Yaremi will pick.
vi. Myths and folklores
Adebowale also employs
the story telling technique where the narrator tells stories (myths and
folklores) that are told in the village by moonlight; e.g., the story of the
tortoise who visited his in-law's house and messed himself up with a mess of
hot pottage in the sitting room.
ALSO READ: The Plot Summary, Setting, Language/Diction, Dramatic Technique/Style and Character Analysis of Frank Ogodo's Harvest of Corruption
ALSO READ: The Plot Summary, Setting, Language/Diction, Dramatic Technique/Style and Character Analysis of Frank Ogodo's Harvest of Corruption
THEMES IN BAYO
ADEBOWALE'S LONELY DAYS
Here are some of themes
treated in the novel:
i. Loneliness
The theme of loneliness
runs through the novel hence making it the central or dominant theme of the
novel. The novelist, Bayo Adebowale, uses the character of Yaremi to project
this theme. The sudden demise of Ajumobi leaves Yaremi in outer loneliness. She
is forced to carter for herself and face societal challenges alone unlike when
her husband was alive. He had been her only companion since the marriage of her
two daughters and long stay of her only son, Alani, in Ibadan.
Yaremi's loneliness is
aggravated when the elders of Kufi ostracize her and seize her husband's
properties due to her refusal to pick a cap during the cap-picking ceremony.
ii. The plight of
widowhood
The novel showcases the
unpleasant circumstances which come with being a widow in a typical African
society. This is projected through the characters of Yaremi, Fayoyin, Dedewe and
Radeke. These women suffer marginalization, deprivation, discrimination and all
kinds of inhumane treatments after the death of their husbands. They are made
to utter words in sorrowful tunes or confess sins they didn't
commit just to have a minimal punishment. In the novel, Fayoyin was made to
lick libation and sing a sorrowful song. She also has her hair shaved by the
people of Kufi.
iii. Women empowerment
and Independence
Bayo Adebowale, through
his novel, advocates for the urgent need for women empowerment. This will help
them free themselves from the vicious chains of male dominance. To be empowered
means to be engaged in a meaningful occupation. It is important to state here
that empowerment begets independence. This is evident in the character of
Yaremi. Aside her taffeta business, Yaremi has a farm. This makes her to be
independent and gives her the boldness to face the men of Kufi despite her
husband's absence.
iv. Traditionalism and
spiritualism
Traditionalism is the
adherence to traditional views or practices, especially with regard to cultural
or religious matters. In other words, traditionalism places customs and
traditional values over modern ideas. This is the practice in Kufi land. That
is why Yaremi and other widows are being forced to go for a second marriage
without any option of choice, which is in accordance with the traditional
values of the land but against modern ideology.
On the other hand,
spiritualism is a belief that the dead communicate with the living, especially
through a medium. This is reflected in the novel through Ajumobi when he
appears to Yaremi in her dream and declares to her that he is not asleep in
heaven and he is constantly watching over his household.
v. The relevance of
western education
Through the character of
Woye, Yaremi's grandson, the novelist brings to limelight the relevance of
western education. At a point, Woye insists on following his mother, Segi, to
Olode to attend Saint Andrew's School. Such insistence projects education as a
means of self empowerment and freedom from oppression. Yaremi might be bold to
face the men of Kufi, but she is very weak to take any legal action against the
people of Kufi because she is uneducated. Such weakness is demonstrated in the
end of the novel when she laments for her future days of loneliness but only
builds her hope on God. If Yaremi were educated, she would have dealt with the
men of Kufi legally; rather, she builds her hope on God after lamenting over
her future days of loneliness.
CHARACTERS
The characters in this
novel are grouped into major and minor characters.
Major characters in Bayo
Adebowale's Lonely Days
1. Yaremi
She is the protagonist of
the novel. Yaremi is a brave, confident, generous, self empowered and an
industrious woman. She is the mother of Segi, Wura and Alani. The death of her
husband made her a victim of marginalization, deprivation and victimization.
2. Ajumobi
He was a brave hunter.
Ajumobi was Yaremi's late husband and the father of Segi, Wura and Alani. He
was "well to do" in his lifetime. He owned a cocoa farm, trees,
banana, kolanut trees and fruiting palm trees. Ajumobi was a loving husband who
stuttered when he was angry.
3. Woye
The son of Segi and
grandson of Yaremi. He is a hardworking child and worthy companion of Yaremi.
He helps Yaremi in her taffeta business and likes listening to her stories. He
is a healthy child who likes playing football. Woye insists on going to school
so that he can read the letters of the alphabet like his mates.
Minor characters in Bayo
Adebowale's Lonely Days
1. Segi
Yaremi's first daughter
and confidant. She is the mother of Woye and the wife of Wande. She lives in Alode
with her husband.
2. Alani
He is the only son of
Yaremi and late Ajumobi. He lives in Ibadan where he has a booming carpentry
business.
3. Uncle Deyo
He was Ajumobi's bossom
friend when Ajumobi was alive. He is a responsible friend and takes his
friend's family as his even after his friend's demise. He helps Yaremi with
difficult chores like mending of the leaking roof of her house and rebuilding
the walls of her mud house.
4. Fayoyin, Dedewe and Radeke
These are the three
widows who are also marginalized and victimized like Yaremi by the customs and
tradition of Kufi land.
5. Rogba
He is the village flute
player. He displays his talent during the cap-picking ceremony.
6. Ayanwale
He is one of Yaremi's
suitors. He tries to impress her with stories of his earthly achievement so she can
pick him during the cap-picking ceremony. He is also a drummer.
7. Lanwa
Lanwa is one of Yaremi's
suitors and a wealthy man (farmer) who claims kinship with Yaremi's late
husband.
8. Olonade
He is one of Yaremi's
suitors. He brags of making Yaremi a mother of twins once she accepts him in
the cap-picking ceremony. He is also a wood carver.
9. Sokoti
He is commonly known as
"Iron man". He is a husband to Wura. He is a blacksmith and does his
work in Apon where he lives.
10. Wura
She is the second
daughter and child of Yaremi and late Ajumobi. She lives with her husband,
Sokoti, in Apon.
