Ezinma calls her mother by name, not Nne. Ekwefi also allows Ezinma to eat eggs. They talk to each other more as companions. Ekwefi only has one living daughter, so she treasures Ezinma. Ekwefi neurotically worries about Ezinma, as if she might pass away as well.
Ekwefi is Ezinma's mother in the novel "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. Their relationship is close and loving, with Ekwefi showing deep concern and empathy for Ezinma's well-being. Ekwefi sees Ezinma as her pride and joy, and their bond is a central aspect of the story.
Chielo is friends with Ekwefi, and they get along well. Chielo sometimes gives bean cakes to Ekwefi to give to Ezinma. However, when Chielo becomes the priestess, she becomes like a completely separate person with no empathetic relationship with Ekwefi. Ekwefi is afraid of this incarnation of Chielo.
Ezinma was an ogbanje child and Ekwefi is her mother. Since an ogbanje child is on whom dies but comes back to cause the mother pain, this shows that this was what Ezinma was supposed to do. Ezinma is the only child Ekwefi had and this was why. Because she is the only child, Ezinma and Ekwefi are very close.
Ekwefi gives Ezinma the meal of roasted plantains and palm-oil sauce, despite Okonkwo's warning that Ezinma should not eat too much of it. This delicacy is a symbol of Ekwefi's love for her daughter and her defiance of Okonkwo's strictness.
Chielo is the priestess of the Oracle to Agbala. Her opinion as a voice to the gods and ancestors is held in high regard, particularly regarding inter-village relationships. Chielo is a friend to Ekwefi.
Okonkwo appears suddenly before dawn. He decides to wait with Ekwefi outside the Oracle's cave. Subtly, Okonkwo could be considered to be waiting for both Ekwefi and Ezinma, as he might consider it unmanly to wait for Ezinma, but would consider it manly to support Ekwefi as she waited for their daughter. Eventually both the priestess and Ezinma appear.
Ekwefi was the Crystal of Beauty in her youth, as was her daughter Ezinma.
It is not despite her fears that she follows Chielo, but because of them. Because Ezinma is an ogbanje, and additionally because Chielo took Ikemefuna from the family, Ekwefi fears that Ezinma will not be returned to the family and something will happen to her. Ezinma is her only child, and Ekwefi does not know what she would do if she lost her.
Ekwefi decided to follow the priestess who was taking Ezinma to see Agbala.
She is distraught and afraid. Eventually her worry kicks in and she decides to follow Chielo.
Motherhood is an important part to a woman in Igbo society. Ekwefi's nine other children had died
Ezinma is the only child of Ekwefi who survives past the age of 5. Ekwefi does not wish to lose her oldest surviving child to illness, like many of Ezinma's sisters and brothers. When Ezinma gets sick, part of Ekwefi is resigned that her daughter will die, (like her brothers and sisters) and she begins to grieve.