Chapter 94: A Difficult Choice – Abortion in "Cursed Daughters"
⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.
Summary
Late in the evening, Ebun enters Mo’s room and confesses she cannot continue with her pregnancy. At twenty, she fears repeating their own difficult childhood without a father. She has learned of a place that performs illegal abortions and plans to go that night. Mo initially refuses, insisting the pregnancy is hers and Kalu’s, but Ebun challenges Kalu’s character and absence. After Ebun leaves, Mo reconsiders and waits in the hallway at ten p.m. The two women slip out of the house while their mothers sleep and Tolu listens to music. They take a cab to an nondescript house, where a man and a thin woman meet them under fake names. Mo pays from the cash Ebun brought. The woman gives them two plastic bags containing pills, instructing them to drink the mixture and wait for the miscarriage. Back home, Ebun retires quietly while Mo locks herself in the bathroom, mixes the bitter tablet with water, and forces herself to drink it.
Key Events
- Ebun reveals her decision to abort the pregnancy, citing her age and fear of raising a child without a father.
- She invites Mo to join her, but Mo initially says no, claiming the pregnancy belongs to her and Kalu.
- Ebun presses Mo about Kalu’s love and whereabouts, undermining Mo’s certainty.
- Mo changes her mind and meets Ebun in the hallway at ten p.m.
- The cousins leave the house undetected and hail a cab to an address written on Ebun’s hand.
- They arrive at an ordinary-looking house; a man opens the gate and a thin woman hands over two plastic bags after receiving cash.
- The woman assures them the pills are safe and will induce a miscarriage.
- Mo takes the tablet in the bathroom, alone, swallowing the bitter mixture.
Character Development
Mo undergoes a profound internal conflict. She begins by clinging to the idea that the pregnancy belongs to her and Kalu, linking it to love and loyalty. Yet Ebun’s blunt questions about Kalu’s absence plant doubt. Mo’s eventual decision to join Ebun is marked by physical heaviness and silence; she cannot speak or ask questions. Her action shows a painful submission to necessity rather than choice, revealing a character weighed down by circumstance and afraid to assert her own will.
Ebun demonstrates both vulnerability and resolve. She speaks in a low, almost self-referential tone when confessing her decision, but her voice gains strength when judging Mo’s situation. She takes the lead—arranging the address, handling payment, speaking for both of them at the house. Yet Mo notices her shivering, hinting at fear beneath the bravado. Ebun becomes a reluctant leader, pushing herself and Mo toward a solution neither truly wants.
Kalu remains off-page but is central as a catalyst. Ebun’s assertion that “whoever you thought Kalu was, he is not that person” challenges Mo’s idealized version of him, deepening the theme of romantic illusion.
Themes, Symbols, or Motifs
Illegality and Secrecy
The abortion cannot take place in a hospital; it is illegal, driving the characters to a “nondescript house” on an “overpopulated road.” The use of fake names (“Anu and Bola”), the cash payment, and the late-night escape all underscore the clandestine nature of the procedure, mirroring the societal stigma and legal risks faced by many women.
Love vs. Reality
Mo clings to “I love him” as her reason for keeping the pregnancy, but Ebun counters with “Does he love you? And if he does, where is he?” This clash between romantic love and tangible absence forces Mo—and the reader—to question whether love alone can sustain a life-altering decision.
Body Autonomy and Sacrifice
Both women are making choices about their own bodies, but those choices are constrained by poverty, family history, and the law. Mo’s silent compliance contrasts with Ebun’s more vocal agency. The bitter pill Mo drinks becomes a symbol of the painful sacrifices women make when they lack safe, supported options.
Sisterhood and Shared Burden
Although Mo and Ebun are cousins, they act as sisters in this crisis. Ebun could have gone alone but offers to bring Mo along: “Maybe we can do this together, and help each other through it.” Their joint journey—leaving the house, riding the cab, waiting at the gate—emphasizes the theme of women supporting each other in the absence of reliable men or institutions.
Why This Chapter Matters
Chapter 94 is a turning point in the novel’s exploration of reproductive choice and female solidarity. It strips away any romanticism about motherhood by forcing Mo and Ebun into an illegal, risky solution. The chapter also crystallizes the contrast between Mo’s passive hope in Kalu and Ebun’s pragmatic (if fearful) action. For the first time, the cousins share a secret that binds them irrevocably, setting up future tensions and potential ruptures within their family. The chapter’s quiet, tense tone—described through sensory details like the sound of Californication, the shivering bodies, and the bitter taste of the pill—makes the emotional stakes visceral. It challenges readers to consider what choice means when the law, family expectations, and economic reality leave almost no room for alternatives.
Study Questions and Answers
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Why does Mo initially refuse to join Ebun, and what changes her mind?
Mo refuses because she views the pregnancy as belonging to her and Kalu, and she believes she loves him. She changes her mind after Ebun questions Kalu’s love and his absence, and possibly because the isolation of staying behind feels worse than the fear of going. -
What does the setting of the abortion reveal about the social context of the novel?
The abortion takes place in a nondescript house, not a clinic, and involves cash payment under false names. This secrecy reflects that the procedure is illegal in the story’s setting, forcing women to seek unsafe, unregulated help and highlighting the lack of reproductive healthcare options. -
How does Ebun’s character shift during the chapter, and what does her shivering suggest?
Ebun begins hesitant and self-doubting but becomes assertive when judging Mo’s situation, showing how easy it is to solve others’ problems. Her shivering, noticed by Mo, suggests fear or anxiety beneath her confident exterior, revealing that her decision is as hard as Mo’s.