Ijeoma feels she has been 'shed' by her mother when she is sent to stay with teacher and his wife. Is this fair?

Ijeoma feels she has been 'shed' by her mother when she is sent to stay with the grammar school teacher and his wife. Is this fair?

I think there is a real basis for her feeling this way. In the end her mother could have taken her with rather than forcing her to go and live with the school teacher and Ijeoma rightly felt that her mother was simply getting rid of her for her own benefit not out of some idealistic reason that she would get an education.

I can understand Ijeoma's feelings. I think any child who is given away by the mother would have that feeling. Ijeoma's mother had said she would be getting an education, and it turned out she was really more of a house girl, almost a slave. When the mother came, and she saw how the mother was living, she realized the mother was capable of having Ijeoma living with her, she choose not to.

She is very young and her father is dead and her mother leaves her with others and her feelings are probably justified. Her mother's world was also turned upside down as she was dealing with grief and the pressing need to make a life so her actions are also pretty justified. I am not sure that it was fair or unfair but I think it was the only solution her mother had available to her.

Ijeoma was not an infant or baby. At her age, she became a big help for the teacher and his wife. She could just as easily been a big help to her Mother. At her age, she was old enough to recognize and move forward with an emotional journey with another young girl. These are basically my reasons to believe that her Mother should have taken her child with her wherever she went. I am left wondering how many of her readers could actually drop their child off somewhere and move on without her? The bond between a Mother and daughter/child are very tightly woven together. This is one Mother who knows that nothing or no one could come between us. To me, the argument that the Mother was grieving, too weak, etc. is not strong enough to make her decision a wise choice. If one can do it...then two would only make it stronger. What about being a role model? Setting the example? Was it self-serving and selfish? Perhaps this is more acceptable in other cultures?? Of course, I do understand that when an author is writing the plot line, these types of problems and issues are the ones that move the plot forward and have a reason for being in the story line.

Yes, she was shed by her mother and she knew it. There was no communication during that period and that just reinforced her feelings.

I hated this part of the book, although it was necessary for the story to continue. Ijeoma was 'shed' by her mother. I felt her mother wanted to get rid of her to have a new and different life without the care of a daughter. I also feel that getting rid of Ijeoma helped to rid her mother of the memories of her husband. I don't understand how a mother can cast off a child the way she did at twelve years of age.

Yes, she was justified in feeling this way. Her mother was a complicated character, one I didn't like very much most of the time, but in the end, she was there for her daughter.

I wonder why her mother could not keep her. I assume she thought she was sending her to a safer place but did not handle it well. I'm sure Izeoma must have felt rejected by her entire family. Being sent to be a servant was no help.

I felt that way as well when it happened. I didn't think her mother would be coming back for her. The thing is, her mother was grieving, and needed to try to find a safe place to rebuild her ( their ) lives. She knew Ijeoma would be safe with the teacher and his wife. And once she got established she went back and got her...so maybe she really was trying to do the best for her daughter. I can see why Ijeoma would feel abandoned or "shed". She really was but maybe the reasons for it weren't so terrible.

How could she not feel that way? I cannot imagine losing my father then having my mother turn me out to be a servant.

How could she not feel that way? I cannot imagine losing my father then having my mother turn me out to be a servant.