Systemic violence and precarious masculinity in Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah

Idowu-Faith, Bimbola (author), Aiyetoro, Mary (author), Olowojaiye, Rotimi (author)

Going by African ideals of hegemonic masculinity, a man must be financially buoyant, powerful, and able to fulfil the provider role in his home. Ifemelu’s (unnamed) father in Chimamanda Adichie’s Americanah defies this cultural expectation. With critical investigations of this character lacking in the literature, this study, through a qualitative analysis built on the concept of systemic violence, complimented by the transitivity system in Hallidayan Systemic Functional Linguistics and stylistic devices of negation, repetition, and value-laden language, investigates how the character’s varied experiences, especially his job loss, leads to his emasculation. The findings reveal that the socio-economic workings of the nation prevent Ifemelu’s father from actualizing his aspirations while empowering the privileged to oppress him. In this way, the systemic violence endemic to the workings of the system is responsible for Ifemelu’s father’s financial distress, loss of power and fatherly authority, inability to fulfil provider role at home, and thus his eventual emasculation.

• Language: English
• Keywords: systemic violence, hegemonic masculinity, third-generation Nigerian writing
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 61-81
• Numbering: Vol. 22, no. 2
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-180416
• UDC: 821.111(669).09-311.2Adichie C.
• ISSN on article: 1581-8918
• DOI: 10.4312/elope.22.2.61-81
• COBISS.SI-ID: 270924035
• Publication date in RUL: 09.03.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: ELOPE : English language overseas perspectives and enquiries
• Shortened title: ELOPE
• Publisher: Slovensko društvo za angleške študije, Slovensko društvo za angleške študije, Znanstvena založba Filozofske fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani, Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 1581-8918
• COBISS.SI-ID: 212890112

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Sistemsko nasilje in negotova moškost v romanu Americanah Chimamande Adichie

Abstract

Glede na afriške ideale hegemonistične moškosti mora biti moški finančno uspešen, močan in sposoben izpolnjevati vlogo skrbnika v svojem domu. Ifemelujin oče v romanu Americanah Chimamande Adichie se zoperstavi takim kulturnim pričakovanjem. Ker v literaturi primanjkuje kritičnih raziskav tega lika, ta študija s kvalitativno analizo, ki temelji na konceptu sistemskega nasilja v povezavi s Hallidayevim sistemom prehodnosti in stilističnimi sredstvi negacije, ponavljanja ter vrednostno obremenjenega jezika, raziskuje, kako različne izkušnje lika, zlasti izguba službe, vodijo do njegove izgube moškosti. Ugotovitve kažejo, da družbeno-gospodarsko delovanje države Ifemelujinemu očetu onemogoča uresničevanje njegovih ambicij, hkrati pa privilegiranim omogoča, da ga zatirajo. S tem je sistemsko nasilje, ki je endemično za delovanje sistema, odgovorno za finančno stisko Ifemelujinega očeta, izgubo moči in očetovske avtoritete, nezmožnost izpolnjevanja vloge skrbnika v domu in njegovo končno kastracijo.

• Keywords: sistemsko nasilje, hegemonistična moškost, nigerijsko pisanje tretje generacije