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She had won, indeed, but her triumph was full of air. Her fleeting victory had left in its wake a vast, echoing space, because she had taken on, for too long, a pitch of voice and a way of being that was not hers.
This quotation from the beginning of Chapter 17 marks the moment Ifemelu decides to stop faking an American accent after a telemarketer compliments her by telling her she sounds American. Ifemelu initially adopts an American accent because Cristina Tomas, the university registrar’s receptionist, speaks to her as if she does not understand English well, causing Ifemelu to feel ashamed of her own accent. However, Ifemelu is not American, and by allowing herself to accept sounding American as an achievement, she accepts that being American is something to aspire to over being Nigerian. In this quotation, she acknowledges that American mannerisms and speech are not hers naturally, emphasizing that she still sees herself as Nigerian at heart. The telemarketer’s comment therefore constitutes an empty victory because she does not value Americanness over Nigerianness, nor does she see herself as an American. This pivotal realization marks her first step to reclaiming her identity as a Nigerian woman and embracing her authentic self.
