Unbowed

As the author of this memoir, Maathai is the most fully realized character in the book. As she tells us, she has been known by different names throughout her life, including the English name Miriam and her father’s name (Muta), which she dropped in favor of her second name, Wangari. Upon converting to Catholicism, she changed her English name from Miriam to Mary Josephine (a feminization of Mary and Joseph) and was known as Mary Jo while at college in the United States. Once she returned to Kenya, she dropped her English names and became simply Wangari Muta: “That was what I always should have been” (96). Once she married Mathai, she took his last name, but she added an “a” after her divorce, changing her last name to Maathai, as a way to acknowledge both her new unmarried state and her ongoing bond with her former husband. Her name is therefore hard-earned—like much else she has achieved in her life.

On the one hand, Maathai’s taking different names demonstrates her openness to influence—such as when she converts to Catholicism. On the other hand, her name-changing also shows her independence and determination to control her own destiny.