48 pages • 1 hour read
Jessica GeorgeMaame
Jessica GeorgeFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Money
Money is an important motif in Maame because financial stress exacerbates Maddie’s mental health. Making money is a constant struggle because she has jobs that don’t pay well and her father’s deteriorating health requires professional care; furthermore, her mother relies on her for money. Maddie ends up supporting both parents when she should be saving money for her own future. Her happiness is complicated by money because she doesn’t believe a lucrative job will necessarily make her happy. She doesn’t see money itself as a goal, despite her mother, an immigrant, raising her to think otherwise for the family’s sake. Maddie is temporarily freed from financial stress when her father leaves her 50,000 pounds in his will. This money is symbolic of his appreciation of her sacrifices, giving her an opportunity to pursue her own passions.
The Birthday Cake
Maddie is supposed to bake a birthday cake for her father, a gesture that signifies how much she loves him. It symbolizes her role as his carer, someone who celebrates him even in his lowest moments. However, she chooses a night out with Jo and Cam over staying home to bake the cake, certain she’ll do it later. By procrastinating, Maddie is choosing one life—her own—over another. She ends up sleeping through her father’s birthday and death. The cake therefore turns into a representation of grief and guilt. Maddie fixates on the fact that she could have saved her father, when, in reality, it was simply an unfortunate turn of events and she should instead focus on all the past cakes, the past birthdays, the two shared.
Love
In the novel, the most important type of love is presented as self-love, with Maddie’s coming of age comprising life experiences and therapy to better her life. She also loves her family, but their dynamics make her question her value. Her mother expresses love by pushing her to get married, have children, and get rich. Intertwined with this is Maddie’s mother’s love of religion. Maddie learns through therapy that the ways in which people express love must be honored, even if they don’t align with her beliefs. As for romance, she turns to dating and sex as means of actualizing herself but ends up finding the most fulfilling relationship in Sam, a kind and patient man who understands her needs and wants.
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