Matrimonial Institution as Site of Contest in Aliyu Kamal’s Novels: The Blaming Soul and Somewhere Somehow

Aliyu Kamal, one of the contemporI’mary Nigerian writers contributes significantly to the development of literature in English in the northern Nigerian region. Precisely, he is now regarded as the leading male novelist in the world of the northern Nigerian novel genre after the demise of Abubakar Gimba, “a giant Oak of the North”, having published sixteen novels, a collection of short stories and an anthology of poetry in two decades. This paper analytically examines two of his novels; The Blaming Soul (2005) and Somewhere Somehow (2019) to explore how he depicts matrimonial practices and contestations in the northern Nigerian socio-cultural context. As a male writer, Kamal captures the place of marriage in the traditional and modern Hausa society. Deploying New Historicism as analytical tool, the paper discusses the matrimonial life of three sets of couples; first, the one in which the husband oppresses the wife; second, is the one where the wives oppress husbands and third, is the one where the couple respect each other mutually. The paper deliberated on each of these issues ranging from injustice, marginalization and subjugation of women to the inordinate greed of some women as a result of which marital peace eludes their homes. It concludes by stating that there should be mutual respect, trust, loyalty and understanding between the couples for harmonious, equable and prosperous marital homes to exist.

Keywords: Marital Conflict Disobedience Divorce Irresponsibility Loyalty

Author

• Inuwa Mahmud
  Department of English and Literary Studies,
  Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.
  ibnmahmud00@gmail.com
  07085566884