Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, award-winning novelist and feminist icon, says she feels sorry for men because they can’t experience the benefits that come with being a mother.
In an interview with Vulture, Adichie opened up about what having a child meant to her and the impact it had on her art.
“I used to think I wouldn’t be a good mother because I was so dedicated to my art,” she said.
“I said to myself, I have nephews and nieces who I adore, and I helped raise them, so those will be my children. That’s what I thought for a long time, because I felt that I couldn’t be true to both my art and my child.
“Getting older. I like to joke and say that you’re ready [to have a child] when your body isn’t ready, and when your body is ready, you’re not mentally ready.
“I guess you have the best eggs when you’re, like, 22, but at 22 you don’t even know yourself.
“Then when you’re 38 and know yourself, your eggs are not the best quality. Anyway, we’ll talk about eggs another time.”
Adichie explained that having a child interrupts her writing to an extent but also opens up a new range of emotions that can inspire art which men can’t experience.
“But my baby happened, and it’s important to talk honestly about this, because having her changed a lot,” she said.
“Having a child gets in the way of writing. It does. You can’t own your time the way you used to.
“But the other thing that motherhood does — and I kind of feel sorry for men that they can’t have this — is open up a new emotional plane that can feed your art.”