The Girl with the Louding Voice

Adunni does not want to marry Morufu, who already has two wives and four children. Although the death of her mother was a harrowing experience, she did not allow herself to mourn for long. Adunni decided that she must work hard to take care of her father and her 11-year-old brother Kayus, even though the memories of her mother are painful and raw. Before she fell ill, Adunni’s mother was very busy in the village. She earned the money for the family and helped to feed many of the older people in the village. One of the older people is a woman named Iya. Adunni’s mother begged her father not to arrange a marriage for their daughter, and this memory is particularly painful for Adunni. Now, her father has forgotten his promises. 

The next morning, Adunni watches Kayus sleep and worries about him. Because the family cannot afford school fees, she has taken on the role of his teacher. She also has a 19-year-old brother nicknamed Born-boy. He works as an apprentice mechanic but has little time for his younger siblings. Adunni wakes Kayus, and they talk about a girl named Asabi who refused to marry an older man. Asabi was locked in a room as punishment, and her young lover was hanged. As her father listens to the news on the radio, Adunni leaves the house. She wants to talk to someone about her marriage so visits her friend named Enitan. Her father gives her money to pay Enitan’s family for food. Adunni is suspicious about his sudden desire to spend. Adunni walks to Enitan’s farm where her friend teases her about the marriage. Enitan does not understand why Adunni does not want to get married. Adunni thinks about her childhood. She has always been quick-witted and able to make people laugh. Her dreams never involved marriage, and she considers running away. However, she is scared that she will be caught and punished. Adunni also worries what will happen to her family in her absence. Meanwhile, Enitan tries to make Adunni see the positive side of the marriage. 

Adunni remembers an incident from before her mother’s death. A wealthy man named Ade arrived at the house to visit her mother. Ade lives in London and flew back to Nigeria to visit his grandmother’s grave. He told Adunni to give her mother a message that he “came back to look for her” (17). Later, when Adunni told her mother about Ade, her mother cried. Eventually, she revealed to Adunni that Ade is from a rich family. They were in love, but his family blocked their marriage because she was too poor and then sent Ade to London to get him away from her. Later, she married Adunni’s father even though she did not love him. Adunni compares her mother’s situation to her own. Her mother wanted Adunni to be educated so that she could escape poverty and marry whomever she pleased. Adunni swore to herself that she would deliver on her mother’s dreams and would speak with own voice, which she calls a “louding voice” (18). Adunni tells her father that she does not want to marry Morufu. She pleads and begs, but he will not listen. The next day, Morufu brings goats and chickens to the house. Pretending to be sick, Adunni refuses to see him. 

The day before the wedding, Enitan and Adunni experiment with makeup. Enitan dreams of being a makeup artist, and Adunni pretends to appreciate her work while fighting back tears over her impending marriage. She worries about her future as she watches Born-boy draw water from the family well. Her grandfather accidently killed himself in the well and was not found for days. Adunni catches herself hoping Born-boy would die in the well so that the wedding would be cancelled. Later, Adunni sits outside mindlessly preparing corn. She stops and wanders through the house at night. The wedding will bring many people to the home, and the preparations are well-underway. While her family sleeps, Adunni lays awake. She bites down on a piece of cloth to stop herself from screaming. Stirring beside her, Kayus gets up from his sleep and then begins to loudly kick the door to the room while shouting Adunni’s name. She goes to him, and they sit together in silence. Eventually, they fall asleep. 

Adunni takes part in her wedding but does not feel present. She hardly feels anything as her father hands her over to Morufu. The guests cheer as she feels her heart shatter into “small, small pieces” (25). After the wedding, Morufu drives Adunni away in his taxi. As he talks, she tries to hide her true feelings from him. Morufu warns Adunni that his other wives, Labake and Khadija, will be jealous of her. She nods along but cannot stop herself from crying. Morufu warns Adunni that she “better wipe that tears and begin to laugh” (26). They arrive at Morufu’s large home. They are greeted by Labake, who calls Adunni “husband snatcher” (27). Morufu tells Adunni not to worry.

Labake is a large and intimidating woman with a white face. Khadija is smaller and heavily pregnant. Morufu also has four female children ranging in age from 18 months to 14 years old. Adunni already knows the 14-year-old, Kike; they used to play together. Morufu instructs Adunni to kneel and greet the two senior wives. After the children are sent to bed, Morufu talks to his wives. He informs Adunni that he is “the king in this house” (28) and she must not talk back to him. If she disobeys him, he will beat her. Morufu is desperate for two sons but only has daughters. He devises a schedule for the wives: Adunni will sleep with him three nights a week, Labake for two nights, and Khadija for one night. The final night he will keep to himself. Adunni never considered the idea of sex with Morufu and does not want him to see her naked. He leaves the wives to talk among themselves. Labake warns Adunni that she will “suffer in this house” (30). Khadija, meanwhile, tries to comfort Adunni. She has been married to Morufu for five years and hopes that she will give birth to a boy. She needs the baby to be male, otherwise Morufu will stop helping her family. Khadija tells Adunni to try to be happy and to try to keep Morufu happy.

Khadija shows Adunni the house. As they tour the kitchen, Adunni learns where to gather water from the well. After walking through the compound in the rain, Khadija leads Adunni to Morufu’s bedroom. She warns Adunni to never enter Labake’s room. Khadija and Adunni will share a room when neither of them is with Morufu. When Adunni confesses that she is afraid, Khadija is sympathetic. She tells Adunni to think of positive memories when having sex with Morufu.

Adunni enters her husband’s bedroom. Slowly and nervously, she walks across the dark room toward Morufu. He tells her to lie down on the dirty mattress beside him and to relax while he touches her body. She cries as he climbs on top of her. When Morufu is finished, he rolls off Adunni. He tells her that they will have sex every night until she is pregnant with a son, causing Adunni to cry even harder.

The next morning, Adunni feels as though she is choking on the air. Although her body is in pain, Morufu sends her to collect his breakfast. She cries as she enters the kitchen where Khadija greets her. They talk about the night before. Khadija offers to help with the pain. She cooks breakfast while Adunni washes herself. She curls up on the bathroom floor and tells herself not to cry.