Purple Hibiscus: Chapter 8 Summary & Analysis

As Kevin drives them Kambili notices all the burned and broken cars on the side of the road. At the town of Opi they come to a police checkpoint. Kevin throws the policeman some money and he waves them on, saluting mockingly. Kambili knows that if Papa were in the car, Kevin would have let the officers painstakingly search the car and his papers. Papa won’t bribe anyone because, he says, “we cannot be a part of what we fight.”

They reach Nsukka and drive down a road riddled with potholes. They come to the University of Nigeria, where Kevin asks for directions. Kambili and Jaja notice a statue of a lion on the university lawn, with the motto “To restore the dignity of man.” They drive into Aunty Ifeoma’s neighborhood and find her apartment, which is one of many in a large apartment building.

Aunty Ifeoma comes out and hugs Jaja and Kambili, and is delighted to see the food and gas cylinders, which she knows came because of Mama. She does a little dance and hugs Kambili again, and Kambili notices that she smells of nutmeg. Ifeoma leads them inside and Kambili is struck by how small and dense the flat is. The air smells like curry, nutmeg, and kerosene. The bookshelves are packed full of books. Ifeoma says that she sleeps in a room with Chima. Kambili will sleep in Amaka’s room, and Jaja will sleep with Obiora in the living room.

Kevin comes inside to say he is leaving. Kambili has a sudden urge to run after him and ask him to take her back, but she doesn’t. Aunty Ifeoma speaks casually, as if this visit were a usual occurrence. She is cooking in the kitchen, and talks and laughs as she chops and stirs. A few minutes later her children arrive—they had been visiting a family friend, a priest named Father Amadi. The cousins all hug, though Amaka hardly acknowledges Kambili. Obiora invites Jaja along with him to get soft drinks. Amaka goes into her room, and Ifeoma tells Kambili to go with her.

Amaka starts to change and talks to Kambili, who sits nervously on her bed. Amaka says that Nsukka is boring compared to Enugu, though Kambili has hardly ever been to the “happening places” in Enugu that Amaka names. Amaka asks Kambili why she speaks so quietly, but Kambili has no answer. Amaka takes off her dress and Kambili averts her eyes, panicked about sinning.

Amaka turns on some music, saying that her sound system must be nothing compared to Kambili’s. Amaka says that she likes “culturally conscious” indigenous musicians like Fela, not American pop like most other teenagers. Kambili doesn’t say that she has no sound system and doesn’t know any pop music. Instead she asks about a painting on the wall: a Virgin and Child, with both Mary and Jesus as dark-skinned. Amaka says that she painted it.

Amaka and Kambili return to the kitchen and then they all sit down on the mismatched chairs at the peeling dining room table for lunch. Aunty Ifeoma says a brief prayer and then eats, joking that she doesn’t say Mass over every meal like Papa does. They eat, and Ifeoma’s children are excited about having both chicken and soft drinks at one meal.

Everyone talks and laughs loudly as they eat, and Aunty Ifeoma jokes with her children. Kambili stays quiet and stares at her plate, confused by the foreign atmosphere of freedom. Aunty Ifeoma mostly sits back and watches her children banter and laugh, looking pleased with them. After lunch Kambili goes to the bathroom and is confused when there is no water to flush the toilet. She asks Ifeoma about it, and Ifeoma says that the water runs only in the morning.

The phone rings, and it is Papa. Kambili speaks to him, and he says that the house feels empty without them, and he reminds them to study and pray. That evening at dinner Kambili imagines Papa and Mama eating alone, and the full crates of soft drinks always in their house. Aunty Ifeoma and her children watch TV as they eat, and they invite Jaja and Kambili to join. They are forbidden to watch TV, but they don’t decline the offer.

Aunty Ifeoma says that Jaja and Kambili can stay up as long as they want watching TV. Jaja pulls out his schedule and says that Papa wants them to study in the evenings. Ifeoma looks at the schedule and then starts laughing. She tells them to give her their schedules. Jaja protests, but Ifeoma says that Papa won’t know if they don’t tell him. She says it is her house, so she will make the rules. Ifeoma goes to her room with the schedules, and Kambili feels shocked.

Amaka asks if Jaja and Kambili have schedules at home as well. When they say yes, she says it’s interesting that rich people are so bored that they need schedules to tell them what to do. Aunty Ifeoma emerges with a rosary and crucifix, and they all kneel and start to recite the rosary. Soon Amaka starts singing a song in Igbo, and Ifeoma and Obiora join in. Jaja and Kambili look at each other and decide not to sing, because it’s “not right.”

Afterwards Aunty Ifeoma goes to bed and the cousins keep watching TV. Kambili feels like her “real self” is still studying in Enugu, while her “shadow” is here in Nsukka. Kambili remembers what time her schedule said for bed, and so she goes to sleep. She dreams about Amaka flushing her down the toilet.

The next morning Amaka wakes up Kambili to fill up their containers of water while the water is still running. Jaja is there too, and he tells Kambili about his night sleeping in the living room. He seems surprised and happy. After getting water the family recites some prayers and sings more Igbo songs. Aunty Ifeoma prays for the university, for Nigeria, and that they might find “peace and laughter today.” Kambili is mystified by this last request.

They each take turns bathing and then Aunty Ifeoma makes a breakfast that seems paltry compared to Kambili’s usual one. Ifeoma wants to show Jaja and Kambili the university and be back for dinner, as she has invited Father Amadi to eat with them. Ifeoma hopes that she will have enough fuel to drive around the university. As they walk out Jaja admires Ifeoma’s purple hibiscuses. Ifeoma says that a botanist friend of hers created them. Hibiscuses aren’t usually purple. Jaja touches a petal and seems entranced.

Jaja lingers by the purple hibiscus, but then they all get in the car. To save fuel, Aunty Ifeoma switches off the ignition when going downhill. She shows them the different university buildings, and suggests that Kambili might go there one day. Kambili realizes that she has never thought about university, and she knows Papa will decide when the time comes.

They drive past a hill and Aunty Ifeoma says that from the top you can see how God laid out the hills of Nsukka. Kambili imagines God laying out the hills with his white hands, which look like Father Benedict’s. Aunty Ifeoma points out the vice chancellor’s compound, which was vandalized by students rioting over the lack of electricity and water one month. Amaka and Obiora debate about the justification for the riots, and Aunty Ifeoma laughs in her “proud-coach-watching-the-team way.”

Outside the university gates the car seems to run out of fuel. The car behind her stops and a woman gets out. She sympathizes with Aunty Ifeoma about the lack of fuel. Obiora wants to push the car, but Ifeoma turns the key again and it starts. On the way home they stop by a hawker selling fruits. Ifeoma gives Amaka some money and Amaka bargains for the fruits she wants. Kambili watches her, wondering what it would feel like to do such a thing.

Back at home Jaja and Obiora go off to play soccer, and Kambili stays with Aunty Ifeoma and Amaka to cook. Kambili offers to the peel the yam slices, but soon Amaka stops her, exasperated, saying that she is wasting too much yam. Father Amadi arrives later, and Ifeoma and her family greet him warmly. Kambili feels strange calling him “father,” as he is young and dressed only in a t-shirt and jeans. Father Amadi asks what Jaja and Kambili think of Nsukka, and Amaka immediately says that they hate it.

At dinner Kambili is entranced by Father Amadi’s melodious voice. He seems totally at home in Aunty Ifeoma’s house, and her children talk familiarly and joke with him. He asks Jaja and Kambili questions about themselves, and Kambili is grateful that Jaja gives all the answers. When he hears that they attend St. Agnes church, Father Amadi says that he said Mass there once. Kambili then realizes that the visiting priest whom Papa had disparaged was actually Father Amadi.

Aunty Ifeoma tells Father Amadi that her brother almost single-handedly finances St. Agnes, and Father Amadi is shocked to hear that her brother is Eugene Achike. He compliments the Standard for telling the truth, and says that he heard that Amnesty World is giving Eugene an award. Kambili feels a rush of pride, and wants Father Amadi (“this handsome priest”) to associate her with Papa.

Aunty Ifeoma says that she hadn’t even heard of the award, but she isn’t surprised she didn’t know anything about it as her brother never calls her. She says that she had to use the pilgrimage to Aokpe to convince him to let Kambili and Jaja visit. She says she hadn’t planned on going to Aokpe, but that she might as well now. Obiora and Amaka argue about the validity of the Virgin sightings at Aokpe, and Amaka says “it’s about time Our Lady came to Africa.” Father Amadi neither confirms nor denies the apparition, saying that we don’t need to go anywhere to find the Virgin and her Son.

Amaka half-jokingly asks Father Amadi about the “doubting Thomas” inside everyone as well, but in response Father Amadi only makes a face and Amaka laughs. After dinner they say the rosary, and Father Amadi sings an Igbo praise song. Kambili wants to sing along, but she determinedly keeps her mouth shut. Afterward they watch TV, and Kambili notices Father Amadi watching her. He remarks that she hasn’t smiled or laughed all day. Kambili wants to apologize, but no words will come. She gets up and goes to the bedroom, and hears Father Amadi’s voice as she falls asleep.