Introduction
Adua is a novel by Igiaba Scego that combines traditional folklore, African fables, and personal experiences to tell the stories of the cultural alienation of Somalis living in Italy since 1930. Iguana, who fled Somali in 1969 and relocated to Italy, brings out the themes of politics, race, colonialism, gender, and mental health in her novel. Adua, the character in the novel, is a reflection of Igiaba. Even though her ambitions are different, in regards to her career choices, they reflect the pain and suffering Igiaba and her family went through in order to settle down in Rome.
Overall, the novel narrates how Igiaba perceives women in society as opposed to how society itself has defined gender. Issues of identity loss and willingness/unwillingness to reclaim lost identity are also brought out in Adua’s story. This paper analyzes the themes highlighted in the novel. Indeed, through the analysis, it will be proven that Igiaba used Adua, the character, to give voice to her story that was crafted by a nation at war, misplaced loyalties, and abuse of power.
Analysis
Politics
In 1969, Somalia went through a coup d’état. The country has gained independence eight years back but was greatly divided due to the fact that colonialists had segregated the country into two parts. The two parts were British Somalia and Italian Somalia (Njoku 2013). Even though the two sections had agreed to self-rule, there was still a lot of division, both politically and ethnically. Igiaba introduces the impact of politics in the first chapters of the book.
The political condition in the country forced Adua and her family to flee. Interestingly, without stating it directly, Igiaba informs the reader that Adua was from the Italian Somalia section. It is this reason that made it easier for the family to seek Asylum in Italy as opposed to Britain.
Ingiriis, who also wrote on the same coup d’état, shares the same opinions with Scego (2016). Ingiriis argues that the 1969 coup d’état shaped the future of not just the country but of individual families (2016). Whereas some countries fled the country, like Igiaba’s, some remained in the country and suffered the impact of poor governance for the next decade (Ingiriis 2016). Igiaba focuses on the families that fled the country looking for better opportunities.
However, politics in other countries also affected their stay as refugees. Even though the refugees were welcomed into Italy, the government did not do much to ensure they settled into the country easily (Ingiriis 2016). For example, Adua and her family dreamt that Italy will give them cultural and personal freedom. However, when they arrived in Italy, they had to face racism, discrimination from both the public and the government when it came to getting their documents.
Colonialism
Colonialism is a big theme in the book. Both politics and colonialism shape the choices Adua has to make. One can argue that growing up, Adua looked up to the Italians. They had the power and freedom she craved for since she was a little girl. Not only could they do whatever they wanted, but they were also not tied down to the restrictions of both culture and religion. Through her interactions with the Italians in her country at the time of colonialism, Adua created a mental image of the type of person she wanted to become. Colonialism did not just change the perception of life and politics for Adua, but for the two spheres in the country. Whereas one sphere wanted to imitate some elements of the Italian culture and approach to governance, the other wanted to copy that of the British.
On the same note, colonialism as expressed by Igiaba in the novel brought out the element of misplaced loyalties. Towards this end, the Somalis were not loyal to themselves, their culture, and their religion (Scego 2017). One can argue that the coup d’état mentioned previously was fueled by such displaced loyalties. Considering the historical injustices of the colonizer, Adua also expresses feelings of guilt for working and living with Italians (colonizers).
Towards this end, the story of Adua is also the story of the relationship between the colonized and the colonizer. Igiaba argues that Adua did not feel shame often for her choices in life, but often wondered whether she was doing the right thing by interacting deeply with the Italians who had become her country folk. These concerns led to her identity crisis as will be discussed later on in the paper.
Race
Adua focused on developing a strong career that would make her influential while she was in Italy. She did not want to depend on men especially after living through the oppressive rule of her father (Scego 2017). While at the Piazza, she notices a sculpture of an African elephant and, as she stares at it, she is also aware of all the people looking and pointing at her as she is the only black person there (Scego 2017).
This is just one example of the many times the issue of race comes up in the book. However, this is a significant example as it was the first time Adua felt different from other people. She realized that she not only had to fight the limitations bestowed upon her by her culture and religion, but also by her race. Despite this, she still went on to invest her time and effort to become an actress.
The issue of race can also be linked to Adua’s love life. Her husband, who she refers to as her Titanic (Scego 2016, p. 12), is also a Somali. However, Ahmed, her husband, had lived in Rome longer than Adua by the time they met and got married. Adua’s choice of a husband was simple due to two things. The first was that she was comfortable with her own race and culture. There were other people of color living in Italy at that time.
However, she also looked for a husband who was Somali as she felt he would understand her better. Secondly, her experiences as a young actress also made her believe that other races (Caucasian) only wanted to use her (Scego 2017). For example, in her film, she is forced to have sex with Caucasian, Nick, who happens to be secretly gay, and they become friends due to their situations as homosexuality was also seen as a taboo back then (Scego 2017).
Gender
Gender is perhaps the most pronounced theme in the book. There are several things that highlight this theme. The first is Adua’s relationship with her father. Not only was the relationship strained but Igiaba also states that Adua’s father beat her to submission as she was stubborn, unlike her sister (Scego 2017). It is interesting that Igiaba feels the need to also justify Adua’s father by claiming that he too had been raised by a strict Somali father. Like many Somali girls, Adua had also been circumcised at a young age (Scego 2017). Igiaba writes that Zoppe, Adua’s father agreed that her mother would not have allowed for her daughter to be mutilated as he allowed (2017). Additionally, to Zoppe, it is this mutilation and the “butcher” who did it that caused the rift between father and daughter (Scego 2017, p. 72).
The relationship between Adua and her manager and his wife also brings out this theme. Both Arturo and his wife Sissi sexually exploit Adua. She realizes that they are only interested in using her body to fulfill their own fetishes and those of their audiences (Scego 2017). Despite knowing this, Adua does not quit acting as she believes it is the one thing that will change her life (Scego 2017). Forgacs explains that African immigrants were believed to have sexual prowess and this is the reason why Caucasian masters felt insecure about slaves (2014).
In Italy, in the mid-1960s, the immigrants were used in sex scenes to raise ratings of movies (Forgacs 2014). Igiaba also brings out how Adua viewed herself as a woman. She narrates that “He needed a house, a teat, a bowl of soup, a pillow, some money, hope, any semblance of relief. He needed a mama, a hooyo [mother], a whore, a woman, a sharmutta [prostitute], me” (Scego 2016, p. 16).
Mental Health
The issue of mental health comes out from Adua’s lost identity. The book begins with her holding her father’s title deed for their home in Somalia. She does not know whether she should go back to her motherland or not. She also thinks about her friend, Lua, who had so easily decided to go back to Somalia after nearly 40 years in Italy (Scego 2017). However, this is not the first time Adua is having challenges with her identity.
As mentioned previously, she feels guilty living and interacting with the Italians as they had colonized her country, and to some extent, brought on the confusion that led to the coup d’état that saw her and her family flee (Scego 2017). She blames the Italians for the things that happened to her, and even judges her friends. In all this confusion, Adua also does not know where she should call home between Italy and Somalia. She feels lost due to the fact that she cannot identify a home (Scego 2017).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the novel Adua tells the story of a refugee who was heavily affected by colonialism. The impact of colonialism trickled down to families who felt unsafe in their homes and had to flee to other countries. Adua and her family moved to Italy, where they believed they would have a better life. However, she experienced heartbreak, racism, gender inequalities, and identity loss in her new country.
All the themes that Igiaba brings out through the novel show how war, misplaced loyalties, and the abuse of power reflect on individuals. Additionally, the fact that Adua felt so much distress finding herself in her new home indicates how immigrants crave their homes despite the fact that these homes might be unsafe.
Works Cited
Forgacs, David. Italy’s Margins: Social Exclusion and Nation Formation since 1861. Cambridge University Press, 2014.
Ingiriis, Haji Mohamed. The Suicidal State in Somalia: The Rise and Fall of the Siad Barre Regime, 1969 – 1991. University Press of America, 2016.
Njoku, Chijioke Raphael. The History of Somalia. ABC-CLIO, 2013.
Scego, Igiaba. Adua. New Vessel Press, 2017.