IDU

<p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>'What we are all praying for is children. What else do we want if we have children?'</span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>These two sentences from </span><em style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Idu </em><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>contain the basic theme of this novel set in a rural Nigerian community where the life of the individual is woven into that of the community as a whole. </span></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Idu the protagonist faces the challenge of infertility leading her husband Adiewere to take a second wife. Eventually Idu gives birth to a son named Ijoma but it takes four years before she becomes pregnant again. However tragedy strikes as Adiewere mysteriously dies before the arrival of their second child. Defying societal norms Idu rejects the idea of marrying her husband's brother and instead chooses to join her husband in the afterlife showcasing that children alone do not define her ultimate desires in life.</span></p><p><em style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>Idu </em><span style=background-color: rgba(0 0 0 0); color: rgba(0 0 0 1)>stands as a testament to Nwapa's commitment to portraying the lives and struggles of African women in the face of societal pressures.</span></p>