Subject Matter and the Themes
Bayo Adebowale’s Lonely Days exhibits the life of widows in Africa, the various customs and traditions that silences, subdues and humiliates a widow. The challenges, agonies and disappointments of widows and the possible ways of resistance and triumph for the daring among them are well spelt out.
Themes in the Text
The Plight of Widows
The humiliation, hatred and suspicion widows encounter at the death of their husbands are clearly seen in the travails of Yaremi, Dedewe, Fayoyin and Radeke. Their segregation begins with their black coloured robes they are mandated to wear until they are given out in another marriage.
Superstitious Beliefs
Most African communities are superstitious and hold to some beliefs on a number of issues of life. The people of Kofi exemplify this in the text. Kufi dwellers are suspicious of feathered creatures and believe that the appearance of such creature could be an omen or sign of an impending tragedy as the case of the hawk that perched on Ajumobi’s roof before his death.
Wife Inheritance
In the olden African tradition, a wife may be asked to marry any of the husband’s relations to keep her in the family.
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