Previous
Chapter 28
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
Fact: Nigeria has 250 ethnic groups and a wide variety of cuisines. Some of the most popular dishes are jollof rice, grilled meat skewers called suya, and bean fritters called akara. It’s Sunday afternoon, and the compound is filled with expensive-looking cars. Big Madam instructed Adunni to pull weeds, but Kofi has his hands full and asks Adunni to serve the women “stick-meat” in the parlor, cautioning her not to speak to any of the guests.
Kofi’s instructions not to speak to the guests suggests that it’s socially unacceptable for a housemaid to address these wealthy, important women.
Themes
Adunni enters the parlor and serves the women food. Big Madam comments on Adunni being worthless, and a woman with football-shaped hair recommends a better agency Big Madam can use to find foreign help. Big Madam scoffs that foreign help is too costly with today’s “exchange rate.” Some of the woman mention Rebecca, but Big Madam swiftly changes the subject each time this happens.
The fact that Big Madam calls Adunni worthless while Adunni is in the middle of doing her job and serving the guests food suggests that Big Madam cuts Adunni down to reinforce their power dynamic. It’s not necessarily that Big Madam believes that Adunni is worthless, but that she wants to maintain the power gap that exists due to her wealth and Adunni’s poverty. That Big Madam appears not to want to discuss Rebecca reaffirms that something bad happened to the housemaid, and that Big Madam probably knows more about Rebecca’s disappearance than she’s letting on.
Themes
One of the guests tells Adunni to serve the tray of meat “to the girls,” which confuses Adunni. “Which girls?” she asks, “You mean the womens?” The guests laugh at Adunni’s confusion, but a woman sitting behind Adunni reprimands them for their cruelty. The other women then proceed to mock this woman, whom they refer to as Tia, claiming that all she does “is complain about the ozone layer” and that “she needs to get laid and have a baby.”
Adunni doesn’t understand the slang the women use, and they mock her for her ignorance and for speaking up. Tia stands out from the crowd because she treats Adunni with respect, which Adunni has rarely experienced since her arrival at Big Madam’s house. That the women ridicule Ms. Tia for “need[ing] to get laid and have a baby” suggests that even in the upper-class women are judged and objectified; the criticisms reduce Ms. Tia to her ability to get pregnant. The comment about Ms. Tia “complain[ing] about the ozone layer” seems to imply that Ms. Tia is concerned about the environment, which implies that she’s educated about current events.
Themes
Big Madam warns Adunni to serve the stick-meat and be quiet. The women continue to eat and talk about all the luxury goods they look forward to buying. Someone interjects, asking if they can return to the subject of raising money for the Ikoyi orphanage, but the other women quickly redirect the conversation toward more frivolous subjects.
The women’s obsession with material wealth and lack of concern regarding meaningful subjects, such as raising money for the Ikoyi orphanage, shows how people in positions of power have the freedom to dismiss others’ suffering.
Themes
Get the entire The Girl with the Louding Voice LitChart as a printable PDF.
Adunni finally approaches Tia, who is dressed in a t-shirt and jeans. She looks younger than the other women. She is thin, her hair full of twists, and wears hardly any makeup. She smiles at Adunni and says, “we are women,” and, in a sweet voice, thanks Adunni as she serves her food. Adunni thanks the woman for her kindness, revealing to her that nobody has said thank you to her since leaving the village.
Ms. Tia’s lack of makeup might mean that she is honest and has nothing to hide—unlike Big Madam, who wears lots of makeup and is potentially concealing something about Rebecca’s disappearance. Ms. Tia’s kindness aligns her with the other women who have supported Adunni throughout her life.
Themes
Tia touches Adunni’s shoulder as Adunni turns to leave, but the touch shocks Adunni, causing her to drop the tray of meat. Horrified, Adunni bends over to clean up the food, but not before Big Madam begins to beat her, viciously, with her red shoe. Adunni hears Tia shout “Florence, what the hell?” Just then, Big Madam strikes Adunni in the forehead with her shoe, and she loses consciousness.
Big Madam’s physical abuse of Adunni is an extreme overreaction to Adunni accidentally dropping food on the floor. That Big Madam feels comfortable beating her housemaid in front of guests implies that this sort of treatment is socially accepted—after all, everyone but Ms. Tia seems totally unfazed by the beating. Ms. Tia’s concern further aligns her with the other women who have served as Adunni’s protectors.
Themes
