Summary
Chapter 7
Beatrice reflects on her life and the public perception of her in the beginning of this chapter. She pays particular attention to the idea that she is ambitious, an idea that brings tears to her eyes. She tells the reader that she has never sought attention, not even as a child. She grew up with three sisters, a mother, and a father. The father was abusive towards her and her sisters, and while she suspects that he may have hit her mother as well, she never saw it happen. She was not close with her sisters, who often circled around her to exclude her from their lives. Growing up, she had the sense that she was alone in her own world; her parents had their own world as did her three sisters.
She uses the evidence of a solitary upbringing to prove that she is comfortable being on her own and that she did not try to become close to powerful men through any type of scheming, rather it was an accident. While she bristles at the idea of being called ambitious, Beatrice also has some strong feminist beliefs. When Chris was courting her, she was not immediately interested in him because she wanted to put her career first: "I was determined from the very beginning to put my career first and, if need be, last. That every woman wants a man to complete her is a piece of male chauvinist bullshit I had completely rejected before I knew there was anything like Women's Lib" (92-93).
Some women, Beatrice reflects, panic and are willing to compromise out of fear: "Or else they panic and get stampeded by the thought that time is passing them by. That's when you hear all kinds of nonsense talk from girls: Better to marry a rascal than grow a moustache in your father's compound; better an unhappy marriage than an unhappy spinsterhood; better marry Mr. Wrong in this world than wait for Mr. Right in heaven; all marriage is how-for-do; all men are the same; and a whole baggage of other foolishness like that" (92).
Beatrice and Ikem are also old friends, and she has known him longer than she has known Chris. She's insulted that people think of him as one in her trio of lovers. She says he was like a brother to her, not a lover—the use of the past tense indicates that Ikem may no longer be living. She recalls the last time he visited her in August during a tropical storm. She sensed that something may be wrong, but she had hoped it was just the storm making him act funny. He addresses his strange behavior and tells her that she was right about how he treats women. He has come to terms with the ways in which he has been a part of the machine that oppresses women in society. He reads her a love letter that he has written, reflecting on his behavior and thoughts on the government. At the end, he embraces her and they kiss, to which she tells him that he better get going. They both thought it was a goodbye for now, but it would later come to light that it was goodbye forever.
Chapter 8: Daughters
The chapter starts with a story about a Daughter of God Idemili and her creating civilization with the help of water. When her people started to spread she had a task of choosing a chief among them. The man wanting to become a chief had to go through various tests. If he completed them successfully he would become the leader, but if not then Idemili would kill him. Beatrice, however, is not familiar with this knowledge. "But knowing or not knowing does not save us from being known and even recruited and put to work." The chapter returns to the moment when Beatrice is leaving His Excellency's party, guided by a soldier who is trained in torture techniques. After Beatrice has arrived home, Chris calls and asks how it went. He can sense the irritation in her voice and drives to her house.
Beatrice is angry with Chris for even letting her go to the party, which she explains to him. She is furious because he is just checking on her now, after many hours have passed. Beatrice believes that Chris has avoided checking on her because he didn't want to find out that she slept with his boss, which Chris objects to. After Chris and Beatrice make amends, she tells him that trouble is building and that it will come for Ikem first. She wants Chris to resolve whatever has been going on between him and Ikem because "the thing is no longer a joke" (118). When Beatrice finally tells Chris how His Excellency solicited her, he is furious and can barely eat. Slowly Beatrice revives Chris' spirit, and he begins to help her piece together parts of the evening, like who was who. Beatrice makes another plea for Chris to patch things up with Ikem, saying, "What I heard and saw last night frightened me. Ikem was being tried there in absentia and convicted" (121). He tells her that it will be difficult because they differ on style, not substance, so it is harder to reach an agreement. Chris is also worried that drawing attention to themselves, especially in the way Ikem does, will only lead to detention or worse. Ikem disagrees because he views it as cowardly behavior.
Chapter 9: View of Struggle
Ikem is driving towards the presidential palace for personal reasons rather than professional ones when the chapter opens. The Abazon delegation is technically only six people, though many Abazon indigenes who live in Bassa joined the official delegation as it approached the presidential palace. Ikem is celebrated as a son of Abazon, and while he regrets that he has been unable to participate in monthly meetings and the like, the chief of the delegation forces him to stop apologizing and thanks him for everything that he has done for the people of Abazon in his writing and advocacy. The Chief praises the power of the story and its ability to go beyond the war and the warrior. Ikem is an intellectual leader for Abazon, and through a long monologue, the Chief speaks about how he trusts Ikem's opinion on all matters related to His Excellency's rule. The Chief is unsure if their efforts will make a difference in the way Abazon is treated by His Excellency, but he hopes that future generations will be able to see that they tried.
When Ikem leaves the event, a police car is parked behind him on the claim that his parking light is not on, but Ikem knows that the police officer is trying to find a reason to stop him. A crowd gathers, defending Ikem and saying he hasn't done anything. Ikem produces his insurance papers with limited protest, and the officer gives him a citation and keeps his papers. Ikem is to report to traffic court on Monday morning. While the crowd wants to yell at the police officer, Ikem instructs them to be quiet because the officer is armed and he doesn't want anyone to be "accidentally" harmed.
On Monday morning, Ikem arranged to meet with a senior officer at the traffic office in an attempt to save time. When he arrives, someone is waiting for him. When Ikem explains what happened, the senior officer is relieved that this is the extent of the matter and apologizes to Ikem. He brings in every officer who was on duty Friday night and Ikem identifies the man instantly, who is berated by the senior officer for harassing Ikem, a man of great import.
Analysis
Chapter 7
Beatrice is affronted to think that people around her think she is ambitious. "Ambitious. Me ambitious! How? And it is this truly unjust presentation that's forcing me to expose my life on these pages to see if perhaps there are aspects of me I had successfully concealed even from myself" (88). The idea of a woman being ambitious is insulting, though it would be a compliment to give to a man. Beatrice also references Madame Pompadour here, in that journalists are trying to make Beatrice a "latter-day Madame Pompadour." Madame Pompadour was a member of the French court and the chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745-1751, taking charge of his schedule and serving as a valued adviser who had many enemies.
Beatrice's strained relationship with her parents is partially because she was the fifth girl born to them, and her mother had prayed for a boy to be born. Once again, the hierarchy of male and female is exposed in the novel. This is true both in the novel and in the real world: women are thought to be inferior to men and are preferred as silent and agreeable individuals who should not seek power or influence. If they do try to be ambitious, they are cast off from the rest of society.
Chapter 8
Chapter 8 builds the tension of the novel much more quickly than the past chapters. Beatrice confronts Chris and essentially orders him to get his act together and take charge. She informs him of the trouble that is coming and how he must do something, like reunite with Ikem, if they are going to weather the storm. While Chris slowly starts to see this perspective, he is scared and explains more of how His Excellency has threatened to jail him if he disobeys. The characters can sense that the trouble with His Excellency is culminating and it is going to be dangerous. There is no more making light of the ruler's commentary or irrational behavior. There appear to be very serious consequences brewing for the first time in the novel.
Chapter 9
This chapter describes at length the importance of Ikem to Abazon, which was not clear earlier in the novel. The Chief of the delegation scolds the Abazon indigenes for being upset that Ikem has not participated in their cultural events. His voice, says the Chief, is incredibly important for Abazon. They defer to him in all matters regarding the President's rule. One example of this is His Excellency deciding that he should serve for life. Because Ikem did not write anything in support in the Gazette nor come to speak to the people of Abazon, the people of Abazon voted no. Abazon is the only dissenting region of the country, and Ikem's influence over it puts him directly in danger. This helps to set the stage for future conflict.
Chapter 9 also has the allegory of the tortoise and the leopard, told by the Chief of the Abazon delegation: when the tortoise realizes that he will be defeated by the leopard, he asks for a moment to prepare his mind. He then begins to scratch with his hands and feet on the road and throw sand everywhere. The tortoise says to the confused leopard, "Because even after I am dead I would want anyone passing by this spot to say, yes, a fellow and his match struggled here." Similar for the Abazon delegation, their efforts may not lead to assistance for the drought. The Chief explains: "My people, that is all we are doing now. Struggling. Perhaps to no purpose except that those who come after us will be able to say: True, our fathers were defeated but they tried" (132). The Abazon delegation is outmatched and His Excellency appears to be ruling without any real concern for the welfare of his people, and yet Abazon must try because what else is there to do, even when it seems helpless?
Given the build up of tension, the moment that Ikem is harassed by the police officer first appears to be a part of a broader plan to bring him down, but it is resolved quickly by the senior officer who punishes the traffic cop in front of Ikem. While the danger for Ikem continues to grow, it does not culminate in this moment as it initially appears it will.
