Ade Character Analysis in The Girl with the Louding Voice

Ade, a man from a rich family in Lagos, was Mama’s lover before she married Papa. Ade and Mama met when Ade was visiting his grandmother in Ikati. Ade’s family forbade the marriage and sent him abroad, and Mama’s family forced her to marry Papa, though she never loved him. Adunni meets Ade prior to the events of the novel, when Ade returns to Ikati to visit his grandmother’s grave. Though Ade doesn’t see Mama, he tells Adunni to tell Mama that he never forgot her. Mama’s doomed romance with Ade mirrors Khadija’s doomed romance with Bamidele, with both women being forced to give up love to enter into loveless marriages with older men.

Ade Quotes in The Girl with the Louding Voice

The The Girl with the Louding Voice quotes below are all either spoken by Ade or refer to Ade. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

Education, Empowerment, and Self-Worth Theme Icon

).

“In this village, if you go to school, no one will be forcing you to marry any man. But if you didn’t go to school, they will marry you to any man once you are reaching fifteen years old. Your schooling is your voice, child. It will be speaking for you even if you didn’t open your mouth to talk. It will be speaking till the day God is calling you come.”

Related Characters: Mama (Idowu) (speaker), Adunni, Morufu, Papa, Ade

Page Number and Citation: 24-25

Explanation and Analysis: