Adesiyan, Rebecca Uduakobong and Adegbenro, Emmanuel Jolaolu (2024) A Study of Single Motherhood in Without Mercy, The Mirror of My Life, and Night Dancers. UNIUYO JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES, 28 (1). pp. 64-79.
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Abstract
Single motherhood is becoming ubiquitous today, unlike in the past, when it was almost a sacrilege. This portends serious implications for society. This paper examines the tragic conditions that a single mother and her child find themselves in while trying to navigate the difficulties imposed on them by society. Three novels on the theme of single motherhood were purposively selected from Nigeria; Abubakar's Without Mercy, Asogwa's The Mirror of My Life, and Unigwe's Night Dancers. The study adopted the content analytical method in interrogating the selected novels. A purposive sampling technique was used to select three novels a total of twelve films comprising six Nollywood and six Hollywood films. The novels were subjected to content and qualitative analysis to explore the issues of single motherhood. The study adopted Attachment Theory as the framework for analysis. Findings revealed that children raised by both parents exhibit a wholesome attitude towards life and suffer little or no rejection from people. Whereas, a child brought up by a single parent faces social rejection, and psychological depression, and becomes behaviorally dysfunctional. Every inherent character defect or otherwise displayed by a child raised by a single mother is a factor of societal attitude towards the peculiar challenge of the parent. Moreover, the tragic conditions experienced by single mothers/their children are compounded by stigmatisation, psychological pressure, victimisation, rejection, taunting, and mockery. The paper recommends that the society should reappraise its value system by accepting single motherhood as a socio-reality to save the society from violence and suicide. Keywords: Attachment theory, contemporary Nigerian novels, parenthood, single motherhood, sensitive parenting.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Attachment theory, contemporary Nigerian novels, parenthood, single motherhood, sensitive parenting. |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman P Language and Literature > PE English P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Humanities |
| Depositing User: | Patricia Nwokealisi |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Feb 2025 09:56 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Feb 2025 09:56 |
| URI: | http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/18807 |
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