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
Adunni’s wedding was “like a movie”; she recalls going through the motions of kneeling and praying without understanding what was really happening. “From under the white lace cloth covering [her] face,” she saw the guests huddled under the mango tree, everyone wearing blue clothing, her friends Enitan and Ruka dancing happily, and the bountiful spread of food and drink. Adunni remembers “watching herself” as Morufu pressed honey to her forehead three times, telling her that her life would be sweet like honey. Papa gave her away to Morufu, telling him to “do her anyhow you want. Use her till she useless,” while the guests looked on and laughed.
Adunni’s memory of her wedding as “like a movie” suggests that she has repressed the details of it, essentially removing herself from the horrific events in which she was forced to participate. Her disassociation seems to be a coping mechanism she uses to survive the trauma of her wedding. The guests’ laughter in response to Papa’s invitation for Morufu to “do [Adunni] anyhow you want” (essentially, to do whatever he wants to her sexually) highlights how normal it is for young girls in this society to be married off and treated as sexual objects.
Themes
Now, Adunni sits beside Morufu in his taxi as he drives away from the compound. She fixates on the henna Enitan drew on her hand. Morufu asks how she is feeling. Adunni stays silent and looks down, which enrages Morufu, who demands that Adunni look at him. Morufu informs Adunni that his two wives, Labake and Khadija, will be jealous of Adunni. Though Khadija “is having small sense,” Labake might be mean to Adunni, and if she is, Adunni should tell Morufu so he can beat her. Adunni wonders if Morufu will beat her too, one day.
Morufu’s promise to beat Labake if she is mean to Adunni shows that Adunni is entering into the cycle of gendered violence and oppression that Mama wanted her to avoid: Adunni is now the wife of a man who, like Papa, beats his wives into submission.
Themes
Morufu and Adunni drive for 20 minutes and arrive at a large compound with a cement house situated in the middle of it. This is Morufu’s house, which he built himself. He gestures toward another car that sits by the house and brags to Adunni about having two cars, which is very rare in the village.
Morufu’s second car and large house are indications of his wealth compared to poorer families like Adunni’s.
Themes
Adunni steps out of the car and sees a plump woman emerge from the house. The woman’s face appears white, as though covered in chalk, and she holds a candle in her hand. The woman turns to the candle and calls it a “husband snatcher” and an “Ashewo,” or prostitute, before extinguishing it with her breath. Morufu tells Adunni to ignore the woman, Labake, insisting that “her head is not correct.” Then, he takes Adunni’s belongings from the car and orders her to follow him inside so that she can meet Khadija.
When Labake calls Adunni a “husband snatcher,” she positions Adunni as her enemy, insinuating that Adunni is purposely trying to upend Labake’s marriage. In reality, Papa and Morufu arranged Adunni’s marriage without her consent, which makes Adunni just as much of a victim as Labake: both women are mistreated and disrespected by the men in their lives. Labake’s jealousy blinds her to the reality of the situation, though, and she takes out her anger on Adunni, who has done nothing wrong.
Themes
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