Summary of lonely day

Summary of lonely days for literature students

Plot
The novel opens with Yaremi recalling the events leading to the death of her husband, Ajumobi and her predicament thereafter. While mourning Ajumobi’s death, Yaremi suffered great humiliation from extended family who strongly believed that she was responsible for her husband’s death. She became very lonely, not only as a result of Ajumobi’s death, but also because her two daughters, Segi and Wura, who would have kept her company, had been married off. Her only son, Alani who lived in the city had become so urbanised that he hardly visited Kufi. Yaremi had to fend for herself and take up manly roles. For instance, she had to farm all by herself and clear the bushes around her home in addition to her main job of selling taffeta products.
Yaremi was a very strong and hardworking woman. She got little help and some company from Woye, her grandson who lived with her. Yaremi enjoyed recounting her interesting childhood experiences to Woye in the form of stories while working on taffeta clothes. Through these stories, Woye learnt how to count numbers and also learnt the importance of hardwork and resilience.
Besides Yaremi, there were three other widows in Kufi who had gone through similar ordeals. They often empathised and shared their widowhood experiences with one another whenever they met on the narrow road leading to the village river. One of them was Dedewe who was tortured and humiliated by her husband’s relatives. Dedewe was made to sit alone by her husband’s corpse in a dark room and also compelled to own up to offences she never committed. Another widow, Fayoyin suffered similar fate. Her hair was badly shaved and she was forced to lick libation. The third widow, Radeke was also accused of killing her husband. These accusations stem from the people’s superstitious belief that no death was natural; hence, a husband’s death must have been caused by his wife.
Through Yaremi’s reminiscences, the author introduces his readers to Ajumobi. Ajumobi was a brave and powerful hunter who enjoyed boasting of his prowess as a successful hunter. In his lifetime, he was firm and had absolute control of his household. Ajumobi was a happy and lively man. Like most men in Kufi, he liked drinking palmwine in the company of friends. He was quite ambitious. Prior to his death, he planned to renovate his house and even take a second wife. Yaremi loved her husband greatly and in spite of their many squabbles in his lifetime, she missed his affection and companionship.
Yaremi was economically self-reliant and assertive. Most men in Kufi resented her as they expected their women to always play second fiddle or be in a subordinate position to them. Like other widows in Kufi, Yaremi was expected to remarry by all means. Radeke, Fayoyin and Dedewe had gone through the cap picking ceremony where they chose new men to replace their deceased husbands.
Yaremi resisted all pressure and chose to remain unmarried. She demonstrated her resolve by turning down proposals from three suitors and refusing to pick up a cap at the cap picking ceremony organised to facilitate her remarriage. As a result, the village elders threatened to confiscate her husband’s property and banish her from the village. The story ends with Yaremi taking off her widowhood garment and expressing a renewed determination to remain in Kufi in spite of all odds.
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