Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Girl with the Louding Voice, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Education, Empowerment, and Self-Worth
Gender Inequality and Solidarity
Wealth, Poverty, and Choice
Survival
Summary
Analysis
The chapter begins with a fact from The Book of Nigerian Facts: “Nigerians are known for their love of parties and events. In 2012 alone, Nigerians spent over $59 million on champagne.” Big Madam is having a party on Sunday, and the household has been busy with preparations. Kofi explains that the party is for the Wellington Road Wives Association, or WRWA, of which Big Madam is the president. On paper, the group is for women to do fundraising and charity work, but in reality, it’s just a reason for them “to get dressed and get drunk.” Adunni is in awe that the WRWA women would waste money this way.
The fact headings that begin many chapters from this point onward correspond to the facts that Adunni reads from The Book of Nigerian Facts. Adunni applies the information she learns in this fact about Nigerians and their party expenses to form a judgmental opinion of Big Madam and her WRWA group. Her ability to apply the things she reads to real experiences demonstrates her intelligence, as well as the extent to which an education can enrich a person’s life, allowing them to be more knowledgeable about the experiences they have and the people they meet.
Themes
Kofi tells Adunni that the neighborhood is full of “former military personnel, thieves who stole Nigeria’s wealth,” and rich businesspeople—or, at least, people who like to appear rich. Kofi continues to criticize Nigeria’s rich population. Inwardly, Adunni thinks this is hypocritical of him, since he is using his pay—money he receives from these so-called “thieves,”—to build a house in Ghana. Kofi tells Adunni that the host of the most recent party was Big Madam’s good friend, Caroline Bankole, the wife of an oil businessman. According to Kofi, Big Daddy used to work at a bank that filed for bankruptcy 15 years ago. Since then, he only spends Big Madam’s money on women and alcohol.
Adunni’s criticism of Kofi is arguably valid, but it’s not as though Kofi—or Adunni, for that matter—have any option but to accept the money that Nigeria’s wealthy population gives them. When a person has limited money and opportunities, they are often forced to do things that might go against their personal morals. Kofi’s comment about “thieves who stole Nigeria’s wealth” might refer to the massive amount of government corruption that exists in the country. The fact that Big Daddy hasn’t had a job in 15 years sets his and Big Madam’s marriage apart from the other marriages Adunni has encountered thus far, in the fact that the wife is the household’s breadwinner, not the husband. In theory, this should give Big Madam more independence and freedom than unemployed wives, such as Khadija and Mama.
Themes
It’s been about three months since Adunni arrived at Big Madam’s, so Kofi inquires what she plans to do about her salary. Adunni wants to ask Big Madam about the money but is afraid of another beating. Kofi offers Adunni a different solution, however, handing her a newspaper bearing the headline “Call for Applications: Ocean Oil Secondary Scholarship Scheme for Female Domestic Workers,” which advertises a scholarship that will cover tuition at the Diamond Special School. Applicants’ submissions must include an essay and a signed consent form from a Nigerian reference, all due by December.
This scholarship is a big deal for Adunni because winning it could give her a path out of domestic servitude and poverty. Beyond this, it could give her the chance to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher and acquire the “louding voice” that Mama encouraged her to find.
Themes
Kofi tells Adunni that the Ocean Oil chairman is his former boss’s friend, and that he picked up the application on his way home from the market yesterday, recognizing the scholarship as Adunni’s “only chance at freedom.” He warns her that Big Daddy will hurt her if she stays here.
The importance Kofi places on the scholarship reaffirms that education and a voice are Adunni’s best means of overcoming gendered violence and financial hardship. His comments about Big Daddy basically confirm what Adunni and the reader might have suspected about Big Daddy all along, which is that he will abuse his position of power to harm Adunni one way or another.
Themes
Get the entire The Girl with the Louding Voice LitChart as a printable PDF.
Later that night, Adunni lies on her bed and reviews the application. She moves to the window to read in the moonlight and spots a string of yellow, green, black, and red beads jammed inside the window. The beads remind her of something a few girls in Ikati would wear on their waist and recognizes the red bead’s color as something from Agan village. Adunni wonders if these waist beads could be Rebecca’s and, if they are, why she left them behind. She starts to wonder whether Rebecca actually ran away.
Rebecca’s waist beads serve as a stand-in for Rebecca herself, and her presence in the room reinvigorates Adunni’s quest to discover the truth about what happened to the missing former housemaid. Adunni’s determination to find out what happened to Rebecca sets her apart from the other people in Big Madam’s household who seem not to want to talk about Rebecca. In a way, Adunni is acting as Rebecca’s protector, much like Khadija and Mama acted as Adunni’s protectors.
Themes
