The Girl with the Louding Voice

A defining feature of Adunni’s story is the bond between parents and their children, whether biological or otherwise. Adunni’s understanding of these bonds informs her life. She loses her mother at a young age and is left with an alcoholic father who cannot take care of her. Instead, he betrays her by selling her to a man who only views her as a vessel for his future son. Morufu teaches his child bridge like a parent when she is just a child. Yet he does not see her as a child; he sees her only as a parent in waiting. Adunni has the status and innocence of childhood taken from her by others. Her view of the bond between parent and child is tainted by the loss of her mother, her father’s actions, and Morufu’s twisted logic. Adunni’s evolving conception of parents and children fuels a great amount of her character growth, as she is confronted with new and horrifying realities.

Big Madam, meanwhile, is a violent woman who does not see Adunni as a child either. She sees Adunni as a tool—an employee who can be treated however she pleases. This relationship contrasts with the way Big Madam talks about her own children. She is proud of her son and daughter. Her daughter’s engagement to the son of a powerful senator is the hot topic of gossip between Big Madam and her friends. While she loves her children, their relationship with their parents is tainted by Big Daddy. Big Madam tells Big Daddy that his children resent him. They know about his infidelity and his financial and moral corruption. They want nothing to do with a man who they believe mistreats their mother. The bond between parent and children is strong on the matriarchal side but broken on the patriarchal side. Big Madam shows that even a violent, cruel person can love their children, while Big Daddy shows that children may not be able to love a violent, cruel person as a parent.

Tia embodies the complicated nuances of the bond between parents and children. Her relationship with her mother is strained but improving, while her mother-in-law subjects Tia to the most harrowing experiences of her life. However, Tia is most defined by her lack of children. She spent most of her life not wanting children, and she discovers that her husband is sterile. Tia is a kind, loving woman, but she is incapable of being a biological mother. Thus, Tia is the embodiment of motherhood but, ironically, is the one woman in the book who cannot be a mother. Tia illustrates that parenthood is about more than blood relations. She is a mother figure to Adunni who provides her with the care and guidance she needs.