Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen is the Chief Librarian at North Finchley Library in London. And by reason of that, Mrs. Konrad happens to be Adah’s first boss on her arrival in the United Kingdom.
In this tutorial, I will bring to your notice the most important facts you need to know about the character and role of Mrs. Konrad in Buchi Emecheta’s novel, Second Class Citizen.
Don’t forget…
Do not forget that the novel Second Class Citizen is the more popular of the two WAEC prescribed texts for the African Prose section of the 2021 t0 2025 WASSCE Literature-in-English test.
The other option any student or tutor of Senior High School Literature for the six-year period may consider is Unexpected Joy at Dawn by the Ghanaian writer, Alex Agyei Agyir.
The Character of Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen
Let’s begin to answer the question, who is Mrs. Konrad in Buchi Emecheta’s novel?
Here are the major points to use in an essay on the character of Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen
1. Mrs. Konrad is Adah’s immediate boss at the North Finchley Library.
2. Mrs. Konrad is a Czech national. Within the period of the setting of the novel (the late 1950s to early 60s) Czech nationals belong to a united country called Czechoslovakia. The capital of Czechoslovakia was Prague at this time.
3. Mrs. Konrad’s official position in the North Finchley Library is Chief Librarian.
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4. The following are some key character attributes of Mrs. Konrad.
- Mrs. Konrad is loud,
- large in body,
- very friendly,
- kind. She sends gifts to Adah while she is in the maternity ward at the time of the birth of her baby named Bubu. Again, it is Mrs Konrad’s Christmas gifts and those of Mrs. Noble that save the day for Adah and her little children.
- has no interest in fashionable dressing. This contrasts her with her much younger colleagues at North Finchley Library.
The Role of Mrs Konrad in Second Class Citizen
All we can say about the role of Mrs. Konrad has to do with her association with Adah in the novel. This woman has had a long and memorable relationship with Adah. Theirs is a relationship that never stopped even after Adah’s employment at the North Finchley had come to an end.
Long after the birth of the boy Bubu, Adah’s third child, Mrs. Konrad continues to maintain close contact with Adah and her children.
Note these important points concerning the role of Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen.
Adah’s Emotional Stability
She leads a group of young library workers who welcome Adah and make her feel at home during her early days in London as an African immigrant.
To some extent, therefore, Mrs. Konrad contributes to Adah’s emotional stability. Mrs. Konrad is refreshing news to the protagonist at a time she must find a way to cope with her new life in a completely foreign land with a hostile climate and troubled marriage. Adah can only be grateful for coming into contact with Mrs. Konrad in her early days in London.
An Escape Route
Similarly, Mrs. Konrad helps to build a friendly and peaceful atmosphere in Adah’s workplace. This contrasts sharply with the terrible happenings back in Adah’s Ashford Street home.
Thus, North Finchley Library, with the motherly presence of Mrs. Konrad, provides a place of respite for Adah. It is where she escapes to every morning just to stay away from the numerous problems she faces in her marriage to Francis.
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Motherly Love for Adah
Thirdly, Mrs. Konrad’s gifts to Adah are instrumental in making her feel loved even as her own husband treats her very badly.
The Theme of Racial Discrimination
We cannot easily forget Mrs. Konrad’s role in the development of the theme of racial discrimination in Second Class Citizen.
Unlike the landlady in Hawley Street and other such white women, Mrs. Konrad is not a racist. She easily associates with black immigrants in London including Adah.
Maybe, her being an immigrant herself might have played a role in her friendly attitude towards Adah, a fellow immigrant. Nonetheless, it is clear that skin colour is not an issue for Mrs Konrad in her dealings with her fellow workers.
It is apparent that the author has used the character called Mrs. Konrad, a European, to send a message about the spectre of racial discrimination against blacks in the novel. And this is it: It is not every white person that discriminates against blacks in England. There are refreshing exceptions and among them is Mrs. Konrad, the Czech.
Final Thoughts
We have come to the end of our answer to the question, ‘Who is Mrs. Konrad in Second Class Citizen?’ It is clear that Mrs. Konrad, apart from being Adah’s friendly boss at North Finchley Library, is also one more character that helps to develop additional dimensions of the theme of racism in Second Class Citizen.
If you’re looking to grab the complete lists of characters in Second Class Citizen together with their analysis you can have them here.
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