1. Is Esi too an African woman? She not only is, but there are plenty
of them around these days. . . these days. . . these days.
Esi’s husband, Oko, has these thoughts in the first few pages of the
novel as he watches his wife from bed. In his mind, the fact that the house
in which they live is a benefit of her job, not his. This causes him to feel
insecure about their relationship and his role as a man in his household. He
even wonders if, given her accomplishments and dedication to her career, she
can still be considered an African woman. Compared to the women who raised
Oko, Esi’s independence is startling and even unthinkable. Nonetheless, Oko
answers his own question regarding Esi’s African identity. He knows that she
is still an African woman despite gaining independence from the men in her
life. There is a strong sense of nostalgia implied in Oko’s thoughts by the
series of ellipses surrounding the words “these days.” In part, this is
nostalgia for an era in which women were relegated to the household while
men were responsible for earning a living. In that bygone era, Oko would not
have felt so threatened and emasculated. Immediately following this thought,
Oko tells Esi that his friends are beginning to mock him for not being a
man, and shortly afterwards, he proceeds to rape her.
