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Summary
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta tells the story of women’s agency, identity, self-love, and the effects of war on their lives. Drawn from the life of Ijeoma, Chinelo highlights the many ways that patriarchal systems restrict women’s lives, oppress and devalue them.
Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta is a historical fiction coming-of-age story that explores women’s agency, desires, and resistance in a society that wants to silence them. The novel is set against the backdrop of the Nigerian Civil War, published in 2015, and won the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction in 2016.
The novel follows the life of 11-year-old Ijeoma, whose mother sends her to live with a school teacher after the demise of her father when the Nigerian Civil War started in 1968. In Nnewi, she met Amina, and the two girls began a romantic relationship. When their love is discovered, it is met with intense reprisal, condemnation, and disapproval from the conservative religious Nigerian society. Through Ijeoma’s journey, Chinelo challenged the pervasive societal belief that “a woman without a man is hardly a woman at all.” The forced marriage of Ijeoma to Chibundu is a critical turning point that illustrates the deeply ingrained patriarchal belief that a woman’s value and identity are forever linked to her marital status and a husband. This marriage is a weaponised tool that gave power to Chibundu, the cunning man, who appeared innocent before the marriage but changed after the union. Chibundun’s preference for a male child highlights the deeply-seated patriarchal belief and the devaluation of the female offspring.
Ijeoma’s mother, Adaora, is a primary enforcer of patriarchal beliefs. She forced her daughter to marry Chibundun under the conviction that a woman’s value and security are entirely dependent on her marital status. She also shared the belief that Chidundun would offer a sort of protection to her and guide her to fit into the society regarding her heterosexuality. Her character shows how women sometimes are agents of the patriarchal system while being the victims.
The majority believe that the lives lost, properties destroyed, and the casualties suffered in a war end it. In truth, the ceasefire does not end the war for women. In Under The Udala Tress, Chinelo shows how women are expected to quickly solidify and assume the gender role of national reconstruction through procreation. This means they are pressured to marry and give birth to children quickly after the war. This narrative is often overlooked in the broader narrative of conflict. Women like Ijeoma were forced to compromise their true identities for societal acceptance in the post-war environment. Additionally, women disproportionately bear the burden of survival, loss, and the preservation of a conflicted society.
While the Biafara brings widespread food scarcity, starvation, blockade, and vivid images of children afflicted with kwashiorkor, women are primarily responsible for navigating this scarcity; they undertake perilous tasks to find food and provisions. This exposes them to sexual assault, gender-based violence, psychological scars, forced marriage, abuse, and internal war with oneself. In essence, Chinelo uses Ijeoma’s journey to demonstrate how war does not end with a ceasefire. It creates a fragmented world where women face psychological traumas from the loss of loved ones and economic stability. They are denied their fundamental rights to love and be themselves.
The attack on Ijeoma’s agency when she is forced into heterosexual marriage with Chibundu is a societal prescription to ensure her life adheres to the patriarchal norms. Her body becomes a vessel for the continuation of a male lineage and societal expectations. When Chibundu expressed his disappointment over having a daughter, it highlights the patriarchal belief that sees women’s bodies as mere reproductive tools for the male line. Her secret relationship with women forced her to live a double life. This secrecy itself is a denial of her agency, forcing her to be denied a part of her identity.
The most significant moment of women’s agency comes when Ijeoma decides to leave her husband and live her life. This decision is a radical act of resistance and a step towards women’s liberation. Ultimately, Under the Udala Trees uses Ijeoma’s story to demonstrate that while societal structures actively work to deny women bodily autonomy and agency, the woman must resist to create a new, authentic path towards selfhood and freedom.
