Americanah is a book that revolves greatly around Ifemelu’s love life. In the span of Ifemelu’s story, she experienced many types of love with different men, all of which impacted her differently. As I read Ifemelu’s relationships with these men I felt increasingly close with her, but I couldn’t help but question her motives throughout the book. At one point or another in each of her relationships, Ifemelu intentionally hurt her partner, which makes me wonder what her motives were. Was there a point to all this turmoil? I do believe each of her partners contributed to her personal growth, and in turn contribute to her most important love of all, which was the love she developed for herself.
Ifemelu’s first boyfriend in America was Curt, who entered her life when she was still trying to feel stable in her new life. The process of finding work and fitting into the American culture was much more difficult than she had anticipated, but when Ifemelu found Curt, she was finally able to relax. It was with Curt that she became “a woman free of knots and cares” which was a huge turning point in her story (Adichie 241). To me, Curt was a boyfriend that helped Ifemelu grow into a new American skin, and even in the last few moments of the book she remembers him fondly, calling him to catch up and remember their past together
After her breakup with Curt, Ifemelu reunited with Blaine, some ten years after their first meeting on the train. If the novel hadn’t stated in the first few pages of the breakup between Ifemelu and Baine, I would have believed their story to be her fairy tale. Blaine was a boyfriend who possibly unintentionally encouraged Ifemelu to confirm her own personal opinions and stance in the world, which ironically clashed often with Blaine’s own. Ifemelu’s tendency to disagree with Blaine seeped into her everyday life, even with what books she wanted to read as “she more and more avoided the books he liked” (Adichie 438). She became aware of more opinions she held, what cultures she resonated with, and what she ultimately wanted, which was to move back home.
This move brings the story back to Obinze, the boy that she dated throughout her young adult life in Nigeria. Though most of their interaction happened in their childhood, I still consider his most important role to occur at the end when they reunite in the very last page. Despite their decades apart in their lives, the love that they held for each other held so strong, that Ifemelu’s last lines spoken in the novel were of their inside joke, calling him Ceiling yet again.
I don’t think that Ifemelu would have felt content returning to her home without each and every one of these romantic relationships. It was only the combination of all three of these partners did Ifemelu finally “spun herself fully into being” (Adichie 586). This willingness and excitement to exist again is the manifestation of Ifemelu’s love for herself, which was the true underlying love story in this novel. After all of her issues, Ifemelu finally found herself content with her life, her hair, her love, and her job, which allowed her to reunite with Obinze after everything and fully give in to their love.
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