Americanah

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2013

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Chapters 45-47Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 45 Summary

Ifemelu finds a job posting for a features editor at a women’s magazine, Zoe, and goes on an interview. She meets with Aunty Onenu, the editor-in-chief, a “well-preserved” (483) older woman whose husband indulgently bankrolls the magazine. Ifemelu treats the meeting like an American interview, full of ideas for how to change the magazine and increase readership. Ranyinudo is amused by this: “‘If you had not come from America, she would have fired you immediately’” (484).

Ifemelu gets the job, and keeps thinking she sees Obinze around town. She moves into a new house in a wealthy neighborhood, one she liked as a child. She hires workers to replace the tiles, but becomes enraged by their shoddy workmanship. She berates and threatens them, surprising herself. “Where had that come from, the false bravado, the easy resort to threats?” (487).

Obinze continues to send her emails, and she continues to reply, though she does not tell him she has moved back to Nigeria.

Chapter 46 Summary

Ifemelu spends the weekends with her parents, both of whom think she is still with Blaine, and that he will be visiting soon. She doesn’t correct them. She visits her old friends, but is not wholly comfortable with them, struggling to find “some remnants from her past that were no longer there” (490). Her friends discuss engagements and weddings and make plans for their own, insisting that some Nigerian governors attend—not because they know the bride and groom, but because “‘it shows levels, serious levels’” (492). Ifemelu lies casually about her own wedding plans, sometimes even believing them, picturing herself and Blaine on a Caribbean beach.

Chapter 47 Summary

Ifemelu begins work at Zoe, the women’s magazine. She chats with Esther, the receptionist. Esther wants Ifemelu to come to her church. Ifemelu has eased into Nigerian life, but does not connect with her coworkers. Doris, the editor, is another American returnee with an unfortunate tendency to upspeak. Ifemelu then meets Zemaye, the assistant editor, who is “expressionless” (498). Doris invites Ifemelu to the Nigerpolitan Club, a gathering place for returnees from America and England. Zemaye asks about Ifemelu’s blog, and Ifemelu explains that she “‘discovered race in America and it fascinated me’” (499). Zemaye asks why all black Americans are criminals, and Ifemelu is too shocked to provide a good response.

Chapter 45-47 Analysis

Since her return to Lagos, Ifemelu has begun to see her hometown in a different, more mature light. In particular, gender roles and her inability to fit into them become clearer as she watches her female friends date and marry. Ranyinudo, her funny, intelligent friend, is dating multiple men, stringing them along until one agrees to marriage. “It surprised her how quickly, during reunions with old friends, the subject of marriage came up” (490) In America, Ifemelu pursued relationships with men she loved, whose company she enjoyed. She felt embarrassed by Curt’s wealth rather than covetous. Yet, her old friends approach their relationships practically rather than emotionally. She notes that Ranyinudo sees men “only as sources of things” (488) and Priye, another friend, advises Ifemelu that “‘You do not marry the man you love. You marry the man who can best maintain you’” (492).

Nonetheless, Ifemelu pursues Obinze quietly, though he is certainly not the man who can best maintain her, as he is already married. She becomes Nigerian again, but does not forget the things she has learned in America. She hires a driver, like any middle class Nigerian. She “complained about his speeding, threatened to fire him for being late again” (495), yet is “unable to convince even herself of her own madamness” (495). Though she has reintegrated into Nigerian society, she does not readopt Nigerian prejudices and is shocked when a coworker implies that black Americans are criminals.