Prayer and Faith in Maame: Symbol Analysis

(1,000–1,600 words)

In Jessica George’s Maame, prayer and religious faith are not static comforts but a living, shifting symbol of Maddie’s evolving relationship with grief, guilt, and self-worth. What begins as a habitual, almost transactional ritual becomes a site of doubt, a source of family conflict, and finally a flexible language for connection—both with the dead and with the living. By tracing where prayer appears and how its meaning bends, we can see how the novel uses faith to measure Maddie’s emotional growth and her slow release from the burden of being “Maame.”

What Prayer and Faith Literally Are in the Novel

Prayer in Maame is depicted as a personal, often private act. Maddie kneels by her bed, faces the window so “God can see me,” and recites a nightly prayer for her family. This routine is so fixed that she has repeated the same words for over ten years. Faith also has a communal dimension: Maddie attends church, either a small Pentecostal congregation in Croydon with her mother or a large contemporary church in central London with her friend Shu. The novel presents these spaces as places of anonymity and relatability, where sermons address modern pressures and Maddie does not leave feeling inadequate as a Christian.

The symbol is not limited to Maddie. Her mother, Mum, uses prayer as both a coping mechanism and a prescription. She tells Maddie to “pray harder” when Maddie is struggling, and she reveals that she prays constantly about her own guilt. Prayer, then, is a family language—one that Maddie inherits but must learn to speak in her own way.

Where Prayer Recurs and How Its Meaning Changes

1. The Habitual Prayer: Comfort and Stagnation

Early in the novel, prayer is a nightly ritual that provides structure but little emotional release. Maddie’s prayer is a list: take care of my mum, my brother, and my dad. It is a habit she performs even when she does not want to attend church, as she reminds God in a later prayer: “Please remember all the times I went to church even when I didn’t want to go.” This transactional quality—prayer as a bargaining chip or a duty—mirrors her role as the responsible daughter. She does what is expected, but the act does not yet address her inner turmoil.

2. The Crisis of Prayer: Doubt and Disconnection

The most significant shift occurs after her father’s death. In Chapter Eighteen, Maddie kneels to pray and hits a wall: “This is the part where I would say Dad… but what do I say now?” She does not know whether to pray for her father’s soul or to stop praying for him altogether. This moment crystallizes her grief—the old formulas no longer work, and she is left without a script.

Her doubt deepens in Chapter Twenty-eight. Watching an online church service, she hears the pastor pray for those suffering from loss, anxiety, and illness. She cries “not because I agree, but because it hurts that I don’t.” She wishes she could believe the words, but she cannot. This is a crucial turning point: prayer no longer offers comfort; it highlights her isolation from the faith community she once belonged to. She even reflects that she has not been to church since her father died, joking that God must understand she is “on annual leave from everything.”

3. The Reconstructed Prayer: A Personal Language

By the end of the novel, prayer transforms again. In the epilogue, Maddie visits her father’s grave and speaks to him directly, updating him on her life—her work, her writing, her relationships. Her mother had advised her to speak to his soul rather than his empty body, and Maddie embraces this. When sunlight reflects off the headstone onto her face, she laughs, interpreting it as her father’s “subtle sign.” This is not a traditional prayer, but it is a spiritual connection—one that is personal, flexible, and rooted in love rather than obligation.

Character and Theme Connections

Maddie: From Duty to Authenticity

Maddie’s relationship with prayer mirrors her broader arc. Early on, she prays because it is expected, just as she cares for her father because no one else will. Her crisis of faith coincides with her crisis of identity—she is questioning what she believes, what she owes her family, and who she is outside the role of “Maame.” By the epilogue, her prayer-like conversations with her father are voluntary and meaningful. She has moved from performing faith to owning it.

Mum: Faith as Penance and Prescription

Mum’s faith is intertwined with guilt. She reveals that she stayed with Maddie’s father out of penance, believing her suffering was punishment from God. She prays constantly about her guilt over Kwaku and her long absences. For Mum, prayer is a way to manage shame, but it also becomes a way to control Maddie—telling her to pray harder instead of seeking therapy. However, Mum’s faith softens over time. In Chapter Thirty-seven, she admits that therapy might help Maddie “seek Him” for bigger questions, even as she prays about the counselor. This evolution shows that faith, for Mum, is not rigid but adaptable, and it allows her to eventually accept help beyond prayer.

Dad: The Unspoken Presence

Maddie’s father is not depicted as overtly religious, but his death becomes the catalyst for her spiritual questioning. The funeral service, led by Mum’s pastor, frames death as a reunion with God and loved ones. Maddie’s eulogy, however, is more personal than theological—she speaks of his smile and his love. This contrast suggests that institutional faith provides a framework, but Maddie’s own connection to her father transcends it.

Themes: Grief, Guilt, and Mental Health

Prayer is a lens through which the novel explores grief and guilt over independence. Maddie’s guilt about missing her father’s final moments is compounded by her mother’s advice to pray, which feels inadequate. The novel critiques the idea that faith alone can heal mental illness. When Maddie tells Alex that her mother told her to pray harder, Alex counters that comparison does not help mental health. This moment links prayer to the broader theme of mental health stigma and therapy. Maddie’s eventual acceptance of therapy does not replace her faith; it supplements it.

The symbol also connects to the burden and meaning of Maame. Maddie’s nightly prayer is one more duty she performs, like cooking for her father or managing the household. When she struggles to pray after his death, she is also struggling to let go of the role that defined her.

Study Questions with Answers

1. How does Maddie’s nightly prayer change after her father’s death, and what does this shift reveal about her grief?

Before her father’s death, Maddie’s prayer is a fixed ritual—she recites the same words for over ten years, asking God to protect her family. After his death, she cannot complete the prayer because she does not know how to pray for someone who has died. This breakdown reveals that her grief has shattered the familiar structures of her life. The prayer was a form of control and duty; now, she must confront the uncertainty of loss. Her eventual shift to speaking directly to her father at his grave shows that she has found a new, more personal way to connect, one that accommodates her grief rather than avoiding it.

2. In what ways does Mum’s use of prayer both help and hinder Maddie?

Mum uses prayer as a coping mechanism for her own guilt and as a prescription for Maddie’s struggles. When Maddie is depressed, Mum tells her to pray harder, which dismisses her need for professional help. This hinders Maddie by making her feel that her pain is a spiritual failing. However, Mum’s faith also provides a framework for connection. At the funeral, the pastor’s prayer offers communal comfort, and Mum’s advice to speak to her father’s soul gives Maddie a way to maintain a relationship with him. Ultimately, Mum’s faith evolves—she comes to accept therapy as a complement to prayer, showing that her intentions, though flawed, are rooted in love.

3. How does the novel use prayer to critique the idea that faith alone can solve mental health struggles?

The novel repeatedly shows prayer as insufficient for Maddie’s depression. She prays, attends church, and tries to believe, but she remains in pain. The online sermon in Chapter Twenty-eight makes her cry because she wishes she could agree with the pastor’s words but cannot. When she tells Alex that her mother advised prayer, Alex’s response—that comparison does not help mental health—underscores the novel’s argument that faith must be paired with practical support. Maddie’s eventual therapy sessions with Angelina do not replace her faith; they offer a different kind of healing. The novel suggests that spiritual and psychological care can coexist, but neither alone is sufficient.

4. What does Maddie’s final interaction with her father’s grave suggest about her relationship with faith?

In the epilogue, Maddie kneels at her father’s grave, tidies it, and speaks to him as if he can hear her. She updates him on her life, mentions her writing, and laughs when sunlight reflects off the headstone, interpreting it as his sign. This is not a traditional prayer, but it is a spiritual act—one that is personal, reciprocal, and full of love. It suggests that Maddie has moved beyond the rigid rituals of her childhood faith and found a way to connect that is meaningful to her. Faith, for Maddie, is no longer about duty or obligation; it is about maintaining a bond with the people she loves, even after death.

Conclusion

In Maame, prayer and faith are not static symbols but evolving ones. They begin as a duty, fracture under the weight of grief, and are ultimately rebuilt into a personal language of connection. Through Maddie’s journey, the novel explores how faith can both comfort and constrain, and how true healing requires more than ritual—it requires honesty, community, and the courage to redefine what belief means.

For further exploration, see the analysis of the burden and meaning of Maame, grief and guilt over independence, and mental health stigma and therapy.