48 pages • 1 hour read
Maame
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Themes
Cultural Identity and Belonging
The title of the novel, Maame, is a testament to cultural identity and belonging. Maame is Maddie’s Ghanaian nickname, which means “woman” or “mother”—implying her role as a caregiver. Maddie’s relationship with Maame becomes tenuous due to external pressures, most of which have to do with her family. Ultimately, she learns to embrace both parts of her identity without sacrificing authenticity. She was raised by Ghanaian parents in England, so her identity is split between her Ghanaian culture and English lifestyle. Because Maddie has grown up in England, she feels out of touch with her Ghanaian identity. She no longer speaks Twi or visits Ghana, and she can’t remember most of her relatives and friends from Ghana. In Ghana, Maddie feels out of place, so she stops visiting, but in England, she also feels out of place. As a Black woman in a predominately white society, she constantly faces racism, tokenism, and fetishism that she wouldn’t face in Ghana. Her boss at Orange Tree Publishing (OTP), Penny, initially treats her like a waitress, and men like Ben treat her as a sexual conquest. Maddie keeps her immigrant parents’ dynamics a secret because she recognizes that her family is different from other British families. Thus, she is a woman of two worlds but also of neither world. She doesn’t fully belong in England, nor does she fully belong in Ghana.
Through therapy, Maddie learns she doesn’t need to pick between her two worlds nor seek their approval. In empowering herself and seeking happiness, she creates her own identity. She is her own person, and the interwoven nature of her two cultures need not hold her back: They can work together, manifesting as her commitment to family above personal gratification and belief that work should be meaningful rather than lucrative. Jessica George’s perspective on these cultures is inspired by her own experiences as a Ghanaian British woman. Through Maddie, George articulates what it feels like to be a Black woman in England and a British woman in a Ghanaian community. From Maddie’s confrontation of microaggressions to her hair care, the novel frames Ghanaian British identity as unique, an identity that enriches rather than detracts from individuality.
Coming of Age
Maame is a coming-of-age story, tracing a formative year in Maddie’s life in which she develops from uncertain to confident. She starts out the novel inexperienced, uncertain how to plan for her future but old enough to shoulder adult responsibilities. She is a few years out of university, having studied literature out of passion, but doesn’t know how to translate this passion into a career. Maddie gets jobs as a personal assistant in creative fields but is strictly delegated to service work. These jobs allow her to test out different industries, but, without a clear goal, she doesn’t know how to advocate for her future. Her career struggles are relatable for young people in corporate environments, as they often spend years in low-level positions to get a foot in the door. Maddie’s career prospects are further complicated by her financial and cultural realities. Because she has to provide for her family, she can’t afford to explore her own wants. She has been raised to see work as a means to a financial end, though she herself seeks work that is meaningful. However, being the only Black woman in a room can be alienating. Maddie takes a major step in self-advocacy by proposing pitches at OTP and confronting her boss about being credited. In standing up for herself, she ends the novel passionate and on her way to being promoted.
As part of her coming-of-age story, Maddie explores her sexuality. Of no fault of her own, she is embarrassed about being a virgin and never having a boyfriend. She internalizes society’s expectations that people her age should be carefree and experienced in sex. Rather than respect what she wants, Maddie pushes herself to date and have sex. With Ben and Alex, sex is painful, to the point of her disassociating from her body. However, she learns sex can be connective, as her boyfriend Sam is kind and patient with her. He doesn’t objectify her, and therefore Maddie finds their sex pleasurable. As for her family, though saddened by her father’s death, she both honors their similarities and seeks a different path for herself. She attends therapy and comes to terms with her resentment toward her mother and, in doing so, embraces her Ghanaian nickname Maame—which helps contextualize her identity as not fixed but ever in transition.
A Balanced, Happy Life
As a coming-of-age story, Maame highlights the importance of finding balance and, therefore, happiness. Maddie pressures herself to be happy because she’s spent much of her life depressed and anxious. When she decides to change her life, she does so in extreme ways that exacerbate her problems. She moves out of her parents’ apartment to seek a life of her own. However, Maddie doesn’t visit her father after the move and thus chooses one life over the other when she needs balance. Later, she has sex with Ben because she believes she has to at her age. Rather than connect with a man who is truly kind, she has sex because she views her life in extremes.
Through trial and error and therapy, Maddie learns happiness is not a permanent way of life but a process. She works on herself so she may cultivate this process. Her therapist, Angelina, a fellow Ghanaian British woman, helps her find balance within her identity. Maddie has long struggled with her two selves—her Ghanaian self who wants to commit herself to her family and her British self who wants to pursue career and love. She resents her Ghanaian nickname, Maame, because it places her in a role of caregiver for others. When she learns both selves are important to her, she finds peace and starts a new chapter in her life. Maddie is both Maddie and Maame, a balanced person who honors herself and others.
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