The Problem of ‘Redemptive Masculinity’ in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus

African literary texts serve an important purpose in representing and reimagining men and masculinities. The novel Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has been acclaimed for its critical take on religious and cultural patriarchy and for its progressive approach to gender. In the character of Papa Eugene, the novel problematises a patriarchal embodiment of male identity shaped by Nigerian ideals of the ‘Big Man’ as well as by conservative Catholic notions of masculinity. Alternatively, Eugene’s son, Jaja, can be seen as a character embodying what has been described as ‘redemptive masculinity’, illustrating the religious, indeed messianic, undertones of this concept. Yet the novel also demonstrates the problem that redemptive masculinity can pose to female agency. Through a close reading of Purple Hibiscus , this chapter reconstructs the novel’s complex account of masculinities, culture and religion, and critically evaluates the concept of redemptive masculinity that the novel appears to put forward.