No Longer at Ease

Obi gets a two-week leave to visit Umuofia. He spends his last night in Lagos with Clara. Before sleeping, Clara starts to cry. She hesitates to speak to Obi but eventually asks him to break off their engagement. Obi is hurt and Clara pleads with him to understand. She tells him that his parents would be against it. He tells her she does not want to marry him because of his financial situation. Knowing his claim is wrong, he kisses her.

Obi leaves for his village but decides to stay only one week to save money. His financial struggles make him nervous, and he thinks how to divide his salary to cover his brother’s school fees.

Obi’s mother has returned from the hospital and is in her room. Her room is different compared to the room of Obi’s father. Isaac’s room is full of “the written word,” books, papers, and Union cards, showing his respect for “the symbol of the white man’s power” (66). Hannah’s room includes “mundane things” like coco yums, kola nuts, and pots of palm-oil. Obi tears when he sees his mother. She asks him about his life in Lagos.