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Summary: Speaking with Our Spirits: Before Palm Sunday—Part 5
“Papa drove us to Christmas Mass at St. Paul’s.”
On Christmas Day, the family attends church at St. Paul’s in Abba. Aunty Ifeoma and her children come to lunch after Mass. Just before lunch, His Royal Highness, the Igwe himself, accompanied by his wife and four assistants, makes a formal call on the family. At lunch, Aunty Ifeoma pesters Papa to let Kambili and Jaja visit her in Nsukka. She wants them to come along on a pilgrimage to Aokpe, a village where the Blessed Virgin is said to appear. Papa reluctantly agrees. The next Sunday morning, Kambili’s period arrives. She eats some cereal to coat her stomach so that she can take a pill to ease her cramps. When Papa finds her eating before Mass, he breaks into a rage and beats Mama, Jaja, and Kambili with his belt. Then they wash up, change their clothes, and go to church. The family leaves Abba right after New Year’s. When they get back home, they all make their confessions to Father Benedict. Kambili confesses that she enjoyed watching the mmuo and receives additional penance. Despite his reservations, Papa allows Kambili and Jaja to go on the pilgrimage with Aunty Ifeoma. At Mama’s urging, Kevin packs extra supplies for Aunty Ifeoma. Papa cries as their car drives away.
Analysis
As the family attends Mass in Papa’s hometown, he further emerges as a venerable public figure, in contrast to his sadistic tyranny at home, which remains hidden from outsiders’ eyes.
During Mass, Papa sits in the front pew with only the most important people. After Mass, he writes a check so large that the priest gets up to dance and the crowd cheers. As Papa leaves the church, people reach out to touch his tunic as if he were a celebrity or a religious figure. Papa’s importance is also reflected in the things people say to Jaja because of who his father is. They tell Jaja that he will inherit riches and claim that they would sell him their daughters if they were not related. The Igwe’s visit to the Achike home also reflects Papa’s revered status. Ifeoma notes that traditionally the Igwe would stay home and welcome guests into his own home, but Papa is important enough to warrant a break in this tradition. Papa refuses to visit the Igwe in his palace because the Igwe allows traditional sacrifices to be carried out there. Meanwhile, in his own home, Papa beats his family for allowing Kambili to break her fast. His violent act is a sacrifice of his family’s well-being for what he views as the good of God.
Although they have met before, the family’s visit to Abba allows Amaka and Kambili’s relationship to progress, a development that will become important for Kambili’s growth later in the story. At first, Kambili regards Amaka with curiosity and awe. For example, Kambili can’t stop thinking about Amaka’s red lipstick during Mass. But when they have a chance to spend time together, Amaka is critical of Kambili. Amaka makes a sarcastic comment about how Kambili must be bored with their expensive stereo, and she complains that their records are dull. When they eat together, Amaka makes fun of Kambili for using a fork, knife, and napkins to eat her food. Amaka’s direct way of speaking makes Kambili uncomfortable and even fearful. Amaka piles food on her plate during lunch as if she is used to being hungry, highlighting the difference between Kambili and Amaka’s lives. Later, Amaka is not happy when her mother proposes that Kambili and Jaja come to stay with them for a week. Amaka has made many assumptions about Kambili that color her perception of her cousin, and she begins to challenge Kambili in ways that her cousin does not yet understand.
This portion of the chapter also illustrates several instances in which Kambili seeks to please Papa and fails. Kambili constantly monitors her own behavior through the lens of her father, and she regards others as they interact with her father and tries to learn from the results. Kambili recalls a time when the family visited the Igwe and Mama bowed to him, earning Papa’s scornful assessment that the act was ungodly and sinful. When Kambili later tries to prevent herself from making a similar misstep and avoids kneeling to kiss a bishop’s ring, she thinks her father will be proud. Instead, he yanks her ear and insults her intelligence. When Aunty Ifeoma asks Kambili if she would like to visit Nsukka, Kambili is unsure of how her father will react, and rather than answer the question, she produces a coughing fit. After Jaja verbally seeks Papa’s approval, Kambili wishes she had responded as such. This wish will become a refrain for Kambili as she witnesses other members of her family have successful interactions with Papa.
