Flora Nwapa's Efuru and toxic masculinity in Igbo Nigerian society

Abstract

This work focuses on the concept of toxic masculinity in Igbo society, in relation to the two major male characters in Flora Nwapa's 1966 novel, Efuru, set in Igbo Nigerian society. The methodology applied in the study is the qualitative content analysis, using the theoretical tool of toxic masculinity. Toxic masculinity is viewed here in much the same way as it was viewed in the earlier years of its coinage (1980s). It describes the behaviour of “troubled” or “troubling” men who are labeled as “toxic” and needing therapy because of violence, or lack of engagement in family life, and employment (Harrington, 2020). This analysis reveals how the underachieving, non-committal and harmful behaviours of Adizua and Gilbert, the two leading male characters in Efuru, are indicative of toxic masculinity. Nwapa's Efuru therefore seems, at the time of its writing, a foreshadowing of the issue of toxic masculinity which has now become topical in the present day society of Nigeria. This paper reveals the urgent need for all stakeholders to devise sustainable means of breaking the incidence of toxic masculinity in real society. Literature reveals the paucity of works in the discussion of Nwapa's Efuru and indeed other African literary works from the angle of toxic masculinity. These factors collectively underscore the significance of this study.