His controlling behaviour is partly due to his strict view of Roman Catholicism as being the only way to live. He is intolerant of Nigerian traditionalists, who worship idols, like his father ‘Papa – Nnukwu’, believing they will go to hell. He is a fundamentalist, who does not tolerate any small deviation from the rules. He lashes out with his belt when he discovers Kambili eating cornflakes before Mass (thus breaking the rule that one must fast before receiving the host at Mass.) He cries “Has the devil built a tent in my house?” pg102 But afterwards he seems ashamed although he can’t admit it, asking instead, “why do you like sin?” At another time he scalds the children’s feet to teach them “that is what you do to yourself when you walk into sin. You burn your feet” pg 194. He weeps with them when he causes them pain, yet firmly believes that “everything I do for you, I do for your own good.” Pg 196. He offers ‘love sips’ to his children. Adichie uses love sips methaphorically to show how Papa has indoctrinated his family to accept pain as a form of love. Kambili says “I knew that when the tea burned my tongue, it burned Papa’s love into me.” Pg 8. Kambili clearly respects and loves her father and often describes an affectionate, loving relationship between them. We see Papa giving money to the poor and the church and we notice Papa working behind the scenes against the military coup. Kambili desperately wants to please her father. When she hears another character say something pleasing to Papa. she over and over again says to herself “I wish I had said that.” Adichie uses vivid imagery to show how Papa inspired Kambili’s adoration of her Papa. She “wanted to stay like that forever listening to his voice, to the important things he said. It was the same way I felt when he smiled, his face breaking open like a coconut with the brilliant white meat inside.” Pg 25 Once Kambili comes second in class, she says “I knew Papa would not be proud” and that she felt “stained with failure. When Papa addresses that situation he says “Because God has given you much, he expects much from you. He expects perfection.” Pg 47. This ambiguous statement not only shows what God expects from Kambili, but actually shows that Papa expects perfection from his family and himself. It is his disappointment in himself, his guilt that leads him to abuse his wife and children not just physically, but also emotionally. Andrew Vachss a child protector says emotional abuse is unique as it is designed to make the victim feel guilty. It is actually Papa who is suffering from feelings of guilt and inadequacy and he is punishing his family for this.
Papa like Ifeoma his sister was born into a traditional, poor Nigerian family but educated in a mission school where they both became Catholics. He finishes his education in Britain. Unlike Ifeoma however, Papa rejects his Nigerian background and culture, “He hardly spoke Igbo, and although Jaja and I spoke it with Mama at home, he did not like us to speak it in public. We had to sound civilized in public, ... We had to speak English” pg 13. Not only was Papa ashamed of his language, but also the way he spoke. Kambili makes this clear when she comments on how, “Papa changed his accent when he spoke, sounding British.” P 46 The other characters in ‘Purple Hibiscus speak Igbo most of the time. Adichie uses this to remind us that the story is set in Africa. She contrasts this with Papa’s little use of Igbo words’ which clearly shows us his efforts to distance himself from his cultural roots. How ever when he is out of control and angry he uses Igbo. He also rejects his own father and looks upon him with shame, “I didn’t have a father who sent me to the best schools. My father spent his time worshipping gods of wood and stone, I would be nothing today but for the priests…” pg 47 He refuses to see his ‘idol-worshipping’ father but sends him small sums of money to ease his conscience. He cannot ‘control’ his father, but in contrast he sends large sums of money to those he can control (like his church parish) While Papa refuses to respect his father on the grounds of his ‘godlessness’ he is proud of Grandfather (the children’s maternal grandfather), “Grandfather was very light skinned, almost albino… he determinedly spoke English… He knew Latin too…” pg 67-68. Adichie uses Aunty Ifeoma’s kind, sensible, tolerent character as a device to help the reader see the ‘real’ Papa. She says, “Eugene has to stop doing Gods job… If God will judge our father for choosing to follow the way of our ancestors, then let God do the judging not Eugene.” Pg 95-96. Adichie clearly contrasts the controlled, fear laden, unhappy atmosphere in Papa’s home with that of Aunty Ifeoma’s home which was full of laughter, affection and respect for differing views and beliefs. Jaja has learnt a great deal from watching life in Ifeoma’s house, where the children are encouraged to think for themselves, laugh and grow up naturally. He has obviously decided to assert himself when he returns home It is he who three years earlier to ‘Palm Sunday’ brings back from Aunty Ifeoma’s garden, shoots of the purple hibiscus to plant in their garden. He wonders whether it will grow and bloom in their garden, as much as he wonders whether he will assert himself. He notices that it has bloomed the day before he defies Papa. Adichie uses the rare colour of this common tropical flower to symbolize a change.
Papa’s absolute control of his life is damaged first by the death of Ade Coker by a letter bomb. “Papa was crumpled on a sofa in the living room, sobbing” The man who always seemed so tall - now seemed small; he looked like a rumpled roll of fabric.’– “I should have made Ade hold that story, - I should have protected him.” Pg 207.The resulting guilt, regret and anger causes him to lose his strength. When he catches his children looking at a painting of Papa-Nnukwu who has recently died, he beats Kambili to a pulp, leaving her with broken ribs close to death. He is possibly taking his sense of guilt about Ade Coker and his father out on them. When Jaja begins to assert himself, Papa realizes his power is gone. It is a family coup.
“Things started to fall apart at home when my brother Jaja did not go to communion and Papa flung his heavy missal cross the room and broke the figurines on the etagere.” The missal flung at the étagère, the shattered figurines and brittle air” in time, became reality and represented a dissembling and shattered family and things falling apart and it is Jaja’s defiance against Papa which Kambili (the narrator) states, “had never happened before;” that actually breaks the God (Papa.) The figurines and the glass etagier could also be said to represent the European influence Papa so admired. After the figurines break , everything breaks. Papa is quite ill, his face, “looked swollen,oily discouloured.” This may be because his wife is poisoning him as it is the only way she knows to protect her children from his abuse. The soldiers begin to sabotage Papa’s factories and they close down. After this Papa seems to give up, letting Jaja and Kambili go to Nsukka, to the African influence Papa despises and tried so hard to ‘protect’ them from. Finally Papa is murdered by Mama and Jaja takes the blame. Meanwhile , the military dictator dies. When Kambili hears of her fathers death, she is shocked. “He seemed immotal”. He was like one of her gods – and now he is broken.
Adichie brilliantly observes the complex mindset of a man whose ashamed of all he is, trying to be better. At first he seems to be in perfect control of everything and everyone around him and then we watch how gradually he loses his control and the ‘God like one’ is shattered.
