Nigeria

The novel begins in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. This is where Adah is born and raised, where she attends school, and where she meets Francis. Her parents believe that Lagos is a "bad place" (7) because they do not want their children to pick up a Yoruba accent. This suggests the considerable conflict between ethnic groups in Nigeria at this time. Adah and her family are Ibo (also called Igbo), and there are numerous instances in the novel in which Yoruba characters are hostile to Adah because of her ethnic identity, both in Nigeria and in England.

Both Adah and Francis are brought up with the cultural belief that women are inferior to men, which causes numerous problems in their marriage. Adah struggles with this belief as a child because she wishes to attend school but it is uncommon for Nigerian girls to do so. As a young woman...