Birdsong

The narrator’s lover is a round character, but he shows no change in the story despite his complexity. He is a wealthy man who travels frequently to America. Like other characters in the story, the lover is characterized through the narrator’s exposition of his behavior and dialogue in the story’s flashback sequences. He is portrayed as an egotistical man who needs the narrator to validate the power he has through his wealth and connections. He also prefers women to behave in sentimental ways such as crying (Paragraph 20) and showing explicit gratitude for his extravagant gifts (Paragraph 75).

Although he does not share the same level of dynamism as the narrator, the lover’s status and privilege reinforce the power imbalances in their relationship. As an older man who “played the game better than others” (Paragraph 5), the lover assumes the narrator understands the implied limits of their relationship. He does not account for the narrator’s naïveté, although he knows of the social pressure women face to get married (“Even my lover spoke of this desire [to settle down]. ‘You’ll want to settle down soon,’ he said. ‘I just want you to know I’m not going to stand in your way’” (Paragraph 5)). This hypocrisy occurs throughout the entire story, as he sees himself as unlike other men who have affairs because he allows the narrator some independence (Paragraph 5). His refusal to understand the narrator’s needs puts him in the position of an antagonist in the story since he understands the cultural imperatives toward women yet uses this knowledge to bolster his own power (e.g., stating that if the narrator had cried rather than insulted him, he would not have thrown her out of his house (Paragraph 47). Because of the complexity of his interactions with the narrator, the lover shows how nuanced gender roles and sexism can be present in everyday life.

Chikwado is the narrator’s co-worker. She is characterized as moralizing, nosy, and obsessed with marriage. She frequently attends church services in the hopes of finding a husband and likes to criticize the narrator’s relationship with her lover despite the narrator not asking for her opinion. She wears a hair weave which she has to constantly pat because it makes her scalp itch. She attends prayer sessions at work and gossips about other women’s relationships.

Chikwado is a foil to the narrator, as her obsessive conformity contrasts with the narrator’s independence and defiance of social norms. There is a noticeable difference in their speech patterns as well. Like other women at work, Chikwado emphasizes her dialogue through Nigerian speech patterns such as “oh” (“Have fun oh, as long as your spirit accepts it” (Paragraph 2)) and linguistic expressions (“Na wa! Look at how your eyes are shining because of a married man” (Paragraph 4)). Meanwhile, the narrator’s dialogue lacks these culturally-specific markers in her speech. This difference highlights the narrator’s distance from traditional expectations of women in Lagos.

As a foil, Chikwado’s acceptance of the gender roles prescribed to her represents an alternative to the narrator’s dilemma. Her unquestioning attitude toward life, filled with “simplified certainties” (Paragraph 3) annoys the narrator, who is more open to life’s ambiguities. Yet, when it comes to the story’s themes on gender performance, Chikwado fills in the gaps in the reader’s knowledge of Nigerian gender politics.