Weep Not, Child By Ngugi Wa Thiong'O: Woman As A Source Of Strength
Weep Not, Child is a novel that defined by many critics as the dignity of motherhood and education. In this novel, Ngugi gathers a lot of qualities that are possessed by the woman in terms of leadership and education, where he clarifies that woman's pure judgment and the wisdom of her voice may be regarded as an important tool in achieving equality and freedom among people. However, the Kenyan woman in this novel suffers from polygamy as a traditional culture.
As an example of that Weep Not Child's character Ngotho who has two wives namely Njeri and Nyokabi and also Nganga who has got three wives " Nganga could afford three wives, although he was younger than Ngotho. " Ngotho, on the other hand, observes female as an object of sexual desire as well as he forms a judgment upon them according to their bodily appearance as it is mentioned in the novel 'Nobody could have taken her. So I pitied her. 'Ngugi in his novel gives a humiliating point that shows a selfishness attitude and a reason for Ngotho to marry more than one woman, for Ngotho and the Berber, a good woman is the one with "a good fleshy black body with sweat", not a thin woman like Memsahib. Although Ngotho has two wives, his family seems to be an example of the good families because whatever Njeri and Nyokabi do they do it for keeping the family united and safe. Although Ngotho has two wives, his family seems to be an example of the good families because whatever Njeri and Nyokabi do they do it for keeping the family united and safe, they are submissive women who listen to their husband Ngotho who is the center of the house.
The thing that makes female characters in this novel look somehow unsuitable is that women, if not all but most of them, are seen as weakness persons with no voice. In this point, the narrator shows that Ngotho's wives "were good companions and friends. But you could not quite trust women. They were fickle and very jealous. " Additionally, the narrator reveals that African women are getting beaten by their husbands and in such a culture wife-beating regards as a daily habit or even a normal practice where the man shows his masculinity, "when a woman was angry no amount of beating would pacify her. Ngotho did not beat his wives much. On the contrary, his home was well known for being a place of peace. "
According to this point, the one may discover that Kenyan woman during the post-colonial period was socially and politically absent, and this is mentioned in the novel by the author several times, for example, the relation of Ngotho, Jacobo and Mr. Howlands who talk to each other and have a lot of dialogues together regardless to their different social status and cultures, on the other hand, their wives have never met.
Furthermore, one of Ngugi's most important messages in Weep Not Child novel is about education which is sighted as the best way to step out from the circle of antagonism that controls the Kenyan community and as a tool that makes the educated new generation work for creating a society that is based on forgiveness and equality. For that reason, Ngugi sees that the politics of woman in terms of goal achieving is superior to man as it is highlighted in the novel; Nyokabi is the main reason that paves the way for her son Njoroge to go to school and be an educated child. The woman here is viewed as a beacon that lights the way to hope and as a source of strength when she saved her son from suicide.
