AN ALLEGORICAL READING OF CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE’S PURPLE HIBISCUS: FEMINIST AND POSTCOLONIAL PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus has been widely celebrated for its nuanced exploration of domestic violence, adolescence, and religious tension. However, less attention has been given to its function as a multilayered allegory that reflects the socio-political, religious, and gendered dimensions of postcolonial Nigeria. This study examines the novel through a combined feminist and postcolonial lens, arguing that Adichie uses domestic spaces, familial hierarchies, religious authority, and symbolic motifs to critique patriarchal oppression and colonial legacies. Drawing on scholarship by Stobie (2010), Wallace (2012), Nwankwọ (2018), Ahire (2025), Karthiga et al. (2022), Suleiman et al. (2023), and Van Klinken (2024), the study demonstrates that the Achike household functions as an allegorical microcosm of authoritarian power, while Aunty Ifeoma’s household represents resistance, cultural negotiation, and gendered autonomy. The purple hibiscus itself emerges as a symbol of transformation, hope, and liberation. This paper contends that by blending intimate familial narratives with national and cultural critique, Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus offers a profound allegorical meditation on the intersections of patriarchy, postcolonial identity, and the struggle for self-determination. This study adopts a qualitative, interpretive literary methodology grounded in close textual analysis and informed by feminist and postcolonial theoretical frameworks. The research analyses Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus as an allegorical narrative that reflects intersections of domestic patriarchy, religious authority, and postcolonial power structures.