Efuru

Nwashike Ogene is Efuru’s father. He is a respected man from a wealthy, distinguished family. Efuru is the daughter of his favorite wife—the only wife he chose for himself after inheriting his father’s wives. Nwashike and Efuru are close. He listens to her when she confides in him and offers rational advice. He respects his daughter’s autonomy, even when she elopes with a man of whom he does not approve.

Nwashike is a community leader. When a problem arises, members of the community seek out his advice and authority. For example, in Chapter 9, a young man comes to Nwashike because he is upset that a child from a neighboring family disrespected him. He asks Nwashike to talk to the child’s father, and Nwashike agrees. When the man leaves, Nwashike tells Efuru that this man was probably quarreling with the child’s father and exaggerated the child’s offense. Nevertheless, he will try to ameliorate the situation. Nwashike’s wisdom in this matter shows that he is experienced and observant but also compassionate when dealing with people.

Nwashike’s family’s wealth comes partly from his participation in the slave trade. Upon Nwashike’s death, the narrator notes that he was the last remaining man in the town who had direct contact with the slavers. The cannon that fires to announce his death was traded for slaves that Nwashike sold to the Europeans. Symbolically, Nwashike is a bridge between Nigeria’s past and the present.

Adizua is Efuru’s first husband, whom she marries in secret. He is a farmer and roughly Efuru’s age. No one in town knows Adizua’s family. His father is not present, and the narrative does not even provide his last name.

Adizua is a foil for Efuru, who is everything he is not. Her family is well respected, while his is unknown. She is a skilled businesswoman, whereas he is an inept farmer. He cannot pay the dowry, so she works until she can afford it. He is the embodiment of irresponsibility, which culminates in his abandoning Efuru for a married woman. Efuru, on the other hand, is the embodiment of responsibility. She is patient and waits for Adizua even after he does not return for Ogonim’s funeral. In her grief, she maintains her business and the household. She searches for Adizua herself after other search parties fail. When she married Adizua, everyone in town was surprised. They were even more surprised when he left. The question of whether Efuru should stay true to Adizua after he leaves is at the heart of the theme of women’s suffering.

Ossai is Adizua’s mother and Efuru’s first mother-in-law. Ossai has a mild temperament: She likes Efuru and does not get overly involved in Efuru and her son’s affairs.

Ossai is a foil for her sister Ajanupu because they have opposite personalities. “[Ossai] did not have that fighting spirit which Ajanupu possessed in abundance. So when her misfortune came, instead of fighting against it, […] she succumbed to it. She surrendered everything to fate” (Chapter 5, Location 1435). Whereas Ajanupu prefers to talk and argue, Ossai remains silent.

Submitting to fate like Ossai is one of the options that Efuru faces when Adizua leaves her, but Efuru does not accept the value of suffering for the sake of an absent husband. Ossai therefore also illuminates Efuru’s willingness to challenge gender norms as well as highlighting the broader shift in attitudes towards marriage across generations.

Ajanupu is Ossai’s older sister. Ajanupu is talkative and energetic. She has many children and is often carrying on many conversations at once when the children are misbehaving. Ajanupu is a leader in the family and becomes a mentor to Efuru: Efuru often comes to Ajanupu with her concerns, and they face difficult issues together. Ajanupu is protective of Efuru and defends her when others speak ill of her.

Ajanupu is skeptical of her sister’s behavior after her husband abandoned her. She calls Ossai’s suffering “not virtue [but] plain stupidity” (Chapter 5, Location 1435). She believes that Ossai wanted others to see her as a good wife even though waiting for her husband caused her a great deal of pain. Nevertheless, when Efuru decides to leave, Ajanupu tells her to stay—not for the sake of Adizua, but because she will miss her. Their relationship is an example of women’s solidarity.

Eneberi Uberife is Efuru’s second husband. He goes by “Gilbert,” the name he received at his Christian elementary school. Gilbert had to leave school for lack of funds in fifth grade. He is a seller at the market and owns a successful stall. Unlike Adizua, he observes the proper marriage traditions when he marries Efuru.

At first, Gilbert seems to be the opposite of Adizua; he is industrious, mature, and attentive. However, while he does not leave Efuru permanently, he does disappear for months with no explanation. He does not tell Efuru why he was jailed, signaling that he does not think that she, as a wife, deserves an explanation. Furthermore, just as Adizua does not return to attend Ogonim’s funeral, Gilbert does not return to attend Nwashike’s funeral. The important theme here is that when Efuru experiences grief, it is the women rather than the men in her life who are there to comfort her. Gilbert even believes Omirima’s claim of Efuru’s infidelity, proving that he does not reciprocate Efuru’s trust in him.