For a History of Sensibilities in Contemporary Nigerian Literature

Modernity and Tradition in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Notes on Grief (2021)

Abstract

The article analyzes the essay Notes on Grief (2021) by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, highlighting the interaction between traditions and modernity in the characterization of funeral rites and mourning. From a perspective of the History of Sensibilities, it is perceived that Chimamanda Adichie uses autobiographical elements to explore grief and trauma, especially in contexts related to the memory of the Nigerian civil war and the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, Adichie rescues the importance of burial rituals in Igbo culture, highlighting resistance against collective and individual traumas. Therefore, the analysis focuses on the ways in which Adichie's essay reflects on the conflicts between modernities and traditions, not as an irrational attachment to the past, but as a response to structural changes in Nigerian society.