The Reparative Potential of (Self-)Love in Daughters Who Walk this Path

Abstract

[eng] Yejide Kilanko’s novel, Daughters Who Walk this Path (2012), follows Morayo’s journey towards self-reparation and self-love amidst the backdrop of sexual abuse and societal expectations in Nigeria. This article delves into Morayo’s formation of emo-tional and sentimental attachments as an adult. I argue that her narrative powerfully explores self-love amid societal pressures. For this, the focus is on Morayo’s struggle with trauma against expectations of Nigerian “good citizenship” (Ahmed, 2014: 108), especially regarding marriage and sexuality. My contention is that Morayo’s journey towards self-reparation is self-driven as a result of the social barriers that prevent her from developing self-pride. In this respect, I explore Morayo’s agency in detaching herself from national and customary impositions, positioning her journey towards self-love as a critique of societal expectations, testifying to the transformative power of per-sonal agency. Drawing on key events in Nigerian history during the 1990s, the article examines Morayo’s evolving journey towards self-reparation and contrasts it with Nigeria’s own reparative trajectory. Additionally, the article analyzes Morayo’s rela-tionship with Kachi, her childhood love, and the tensions arising from his adherence to societal norms of masculinity and romance. In this sense, the focus turns to how Morayo’s path toward self-love is threatened by Kachi’s willingness to follow Nigerian customary laws on masculinity (Uchendu, 2008: 15) and social expectations involv-ing marriage and romantic love. Against this backdrop, Morayo’s sense of self-preser-vation and her love for Kachi will be introduced as positively contributing to repairing the damage that expectations of Nigerian masculinity exert upon Kachi’s self-esteem.