Riding the Horses of Speech in Chika Unigwe's Night Dancer

Abstract

This paper is an exploration of proverb use in Unigwe's Night Dancer whose preoccupation with the ambiguous relationship between mothers and their daughters celebrates a recent phenomenon in African literature. Divided into five groups, the proverbs are explicated within the context of the novel. As observed in this study, these proverbs are rendered by the elders to whom the stamp of traditionalism seems a second nature even if they are far away from home. This is contrary to the new generation of educated elite who have little or no patience for the slow but deep folk wisdom inherent in these proverbs. The novelist's generous use of proverbs, the paper concludes, not only enhances the structure and plot of the work, but also constitutes her contribution to cultural revival in Africa.