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Abstract
The present paper is an effort to analyse the plight of women depicted in contemporary Black fiction. The study revolves around Aku-nna and Nnu Ego major female characters in Buchi Emecheta’s The Bride Price(1976) and The Joys of Motherhood(1979) respectively. Both characters, Aku-nna and Nnu Ego are the true representatives of women trapped in the symbolic prison of domesticity and other societal responsibilities. In both novels Emecheta is very much concerned about Woman's struggle for self realization and her treatment of the issues how a woman is challenged by the Male domination. Emecheta provides pictures of Nigerian society in which treatment of women by men is far shocking. From the very first sight, it seems that both the heroines came to the world to fulfil men's unreasonable greed and selfishness rather than to live a happy life. Both characters seem to possess a great magnitude to run the responsibilities but on the contrary they are not allowed to be men's equals. It is rather disturbing for them how they have to face discrimination and prejudice in every phase of their lives. If they try to take initiative for new things or if they want to live according to their own wishes they have to cope up with illogical masculine hate. Consequently they have to be submissive, fertile, and hospitable in their roles as sisters, daughters, wives and mothers. In this manner they, as Simon de Beauvoir has powerfully asserted, they are “not born but made” women as others. She has to play every role perfectly but she cannot accomplish her own wish because she has been made a woman not only by birth but also with the inculcation of victimizing thoughts that make her weaker sex forever.