"Purple Hibiscus" - post 3

In this post I will be discussing Kambili's relationship with her cousin, Amaka.

Although the girls are about the same age, their different upbringings lead them to be very different and seemingly always in confrontation. Kambili, as we know, is raised in a rich, strict, Catholic, family in the city. However, her life is far from the perfect one that Amaka judges her by; she leads an unhappy life filled with fear and hidden abuse. Amaka, on the other hand, has grown up poor in the area surrounding the university where her mother, a widow, works. Although her life can be extremely hard, it is at least one that is never dull and is filled with laughter and people who love each other. When Amaka and Kambili first interact in Abba, Amaka is very hostile towards Kambili, judging her for her family's opulence (for example, buying the TV that they don't use). This hostility and judgement almost to a point of being condescending throughout their trip to Abba and then when Kambili and Jaja come to visit Aunty Ifeoma and her family in Nsukka. Aunty Ifeoma stands up for Kambili for most of her visit, chiding Amaka to stop saying mean, judgmental things to her cousin. However, towards the end of the visit, Aunty Ifeoma turns the tables and instead chides Kambili for not speaking up for herself, or even speaking above a whisper. This moment forces Kambili to overcome the "bubbles" in her throat that prevent her voice and opinions from flooding out in order to get her cousin to stop teasing her and judging her just because she appears to have a much easier life than Amaka. This moment is also the turning point in the girls' relationship. After she stands up to her and tells her to stop, Amaka seems to respect Kambili and wants to spend time with her. She no longer begrudges her having to teach Kambili how to do basic cooking skills, and she no longer judges her for not having things like shorts or never playing soccer. She even gives Kambili her unfinished portrait of Papa-Nnukwu before Kamibli and Jaja go back to the city. Kambili is amazed by this transformation, and is very grateful not to be teased all the time any more, signifying her being accepted by her extended family. She is sad to leave Nsukka at the end of the 10 days, rather than being elated like she would have been had she gone home after one or two days. Later in the story, Amaka even invites her to her confirmation, something that Kambili was touched by and wanted to attend if she was allowed.

I think that Amaka did not respect Kambili because she had no voice, and thus was entirely dependent on someone else. She may have even tried to provoke her into speaking for herself with all of her teasing and judging. Once Kambili learned to use her voice, learned to be her own person that was capable of laughing and smiling and not just following orders, Amaka was happy to be around her. Perhaps Amaka was uncomfortable by the idea that someone who had so much and yet was unable to be her own person, whereas being her own person was something that was innate in Amaka's less fortunate family. Perhaps she realized that she was jealous for the wrong reasons, and once they were on semi-equal footing as people, Amaka could put aside her jealousy and her potential guilt. With the gaining of her voice and confidence, Kambili also seemed to stop seeing her cousin as a "wild child" and someone who was too far advanced for her to ever be anything close to resembling friends (which Kambili doesn't really have in the first place). I think that the newfound friendship and amicable relationship between Amaka and Kambili will prove invaluable in the rest of the book as Kambili recovers in Nsukka from her beating and when she returns to the city and to her father (Kambili has another family to go to, an ally in both her aunt and Amaka, and someone who can give an outside opinion should she need help).