Table of Contents
Brief Summary of the Novel
Behind the clouds is a story that shows the childlessness of a woman “Ije”. Ije has been married to her husband Dozie for years but they had no issue. She went to virtually all the hospitals to know to see if the reason for her childlessness can be solved.
On the other hand, Dozie’s mother never liked her and adding to the fact that she was childless heightened the whole issue. She kept on persuading her son to take a second but because of the love Dozie had for the wife Ije, he refused heeding to his mothers advice.
They kept managing their lives until another woman came in, who claimed that Dozie got her pregnant and she would stay with the father of her baby. Virginia succeeded in talking Dozie into allowing her stay in his house, things fell apart for Dozie and Ije but thank God for Ugo Ushie, Ije’s friend who stood by her.
It was later found out that the baby of Virginia was not Dozie and he sent her out of his house and then pleaded for the forgiveness of his trip which shows is the cause of their childlessness and they taught of a better way of solving it
Plot
The story was chronological arranged; now Ije Apia went to the hospital possibly brown as the best hospital in town to check herself, there, she met a woman by name Beatrice whole become her friend after exchanging pleasantries and some other things.
Dozie, Ije’s husband loved and showered with so much love but the mum hates her so much because she is builders Dozie stood by his wife until he got another woman involved. A single flexing of a particular night in enough on a business trip sthattered Dozie’s household. Virginia has claimed she is pregnant for Dozie and had used that excuse to pack into Dozie’s house thereby making life uneasy and miserable for Ije Apia.
Ije Apia later left she house for Virginia to stay in. When it seemed things were more than worse Dozie for a velled outride the country at that point in time he went back and sought for the forgiveness of the wife and they both reasoned to take whatever Wight have been the problem for their childlessness.
Setting
The novel is set in the modern period which is the post colonial era in a social background which depicts the want of an average Nigeria or perhaps Igbo man it was in the urban and rural areas. The urban area where Dozie and his wife lived, including Ugo Ushie and her family and also in the rural area where men comes from to visit frequently.
Diction Language
The language used in the novel is simple and understandable for every average reader.
Point Of View
The write adopted the omniscient point of view in his writing.
Mood / Tone / Atmosphere
The mood of the writer was that of the sad mood and the atmosphere was such a pathestic one for the couple
Themes
- Theme of childlessness
- Theme of love
- Theme of hatred
- Theme of unfaithfulness
Theme of childlessness is seen in the life of Ije who had no issue for years and went to different doctors to see if they can care her of her diseases which led to her childlessness. Unknown to her, the fault was not from her rather it was from the husband Dozie”.
Theme of love: theme of love is seen in the life of Dozie and Ije. They loved each other so much that they hardly keep secrets from each others. It is also seen in the life of Ugo, Ije’s friend. How she was with her in the time of her problems and misfortune.
Characters
- Ije Apia
- Dozie Apia
- Ugo Ushie
- Virginia
- Mama Dozie (Dozie’s mother)
Ije Apia: she is the main character in the novel. The centre of attraction and the bone of attraction is Ije Apia. She is a childless woman who has loved with the husband for years without an issue. She visited many doctors, trying to see if her problem can be solved. She loved her husband so much and trusted him with everything she had.
Dozie Apia: he is the husband of Ije Apia. He loved his wife so much and they shared secrets. They kept living in peace even in their childlessness until one night chattered their happiness. Dozie slept with a girl by name Virginia, and she later claimed that she is pregnant for him. Dozie had no choice but to let her stay in his house because of his supposed baby. After much said and done, he found out that the baby is not his and then he flew outside the country and had some test. It was confirmed he was the cause of his childlessness and not his wife.
Ugo Ushie: she is a friend to Ije Apia. She is married and she has three children. She played a big role in the life of Ije Apia is she was always there for her and had comforted her all the time.
Virginia: Virginia is the woman that claimed she is pregnant for Dozie Apia. She has been married before and she made had a kid for her other husband. She made Dozie take responsibility of her pregnancy because he slept with her. She later told Dozie mistakenly that he is not the father of the baby and she was sent out of his house.
Mama Dozie: she is Dozie’s mother. She never liked the fact that Dozie got married to Ije. She then made life miserable for Ije when she could not bear her son a child. She had made Ije go to many medicine men in order to purity herself and in most cases accused her of having done several abortions in her youth age which resulted to her in ability to mother a child.
Style
The style adopted by the writer is a very simple style. Ifeoma Okoye made the outcomes of our society very plane without using much imageries and suspense.