A Private Experience

“A Private Experience” uses a third-person limited point of view, with the story unfolding from Chika’s perspective. The reader has access only to Chika’s thoughts, feelings, and perceptions, and this creates familiarity with her character while emphasizing her alienation from her surroundings and the Hausa woman. As such, the point of view helps emphasize the cultural divide and tension between Hausa Muslims and Igbo Christians—Chika makes guesses about the Hausa woman’s thoughts, knowledge, and life, but these are all presumptions. Immersed in her own biases, she is frequently surprised by the woman, like when it turns out she understands how medical school works. The point of view in this story helps emphasize Adichie’s theme about The Consequences of Religious and Ethnic Intolerance, showing that most of the negative assumptions people make about others are untrue.

The primary setting of “A Private Experience” is an abandoned store. It is small, dusty, and dark, and with the windows closed, it is difficult to breathe. Overall, the store induces feelings of claustrophobia, suffocation, and fear, accurately reflecting the tensions in the larger society. The fact that it has been abandoned by the government reflects the government’s neglect of the people and its unwillingness to follow through on its responsibilities, commitments, and dictates. The government expects everyone to operate as one nation and one people but does not do what is necessary to make this possible.

However, the store also plays a positive role in the narrative. It is neutral territory that does not belong to either Chika or the woman, so both can be equals there. It is too small to attract the notice of the rioters, which makes it a safe place to take shelter. It provides Chika and the woman with a temporary retreat from a violent world, a place where they can benefit from the private experiences that change their perspectives.

The store is also a place of paradox. When Chika and the woman follow societal rules and go out into the public market to shop—a space that ought to be safe—they are instead endangered. However, when they defy government edict and break into the forbidden store, they find safety, hinting at the importance of independent thinking.