Ending explained Cursed Daughters Oyinkan Braithwaite

The Ending of Cursed Daughters, Explained

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

What Actually Happens in the End

The final narrative section (Chapter 111) shows Eniiyi Falodun, now twenty‑five, packing for the UK immediately after a tense encounter with her ex‑boyfriend Zubby. She feels claustrophobic in the family home and desperate to escape. At the gate, she says goodbye to her mother Ebun, her grandmother Sango, and Osagie (“Oba”). She insists on taking an Uber, refusing a lift. Her mother apologises for how things turned out. As Eniiyi leaves, the narrator reveals future events she cannot yet know: Sango will die peacefully within twenty‑four hours, Oba will propose to Ebun and she will say yes, Ebun will move out taking Grandma East with her, and the Falodun house will become “a place of ghosts.” Seven years later, Eniiyi and Zubby will lock eyes in a Lagos restaurant, unable to look away.

The Epilogue (Chapter 112) shifts to a dreamlike, symbolic sequence. Eniiyi is described as a mermaid engaged in an underwater battle with the curse, which is “more beast than person.” She wrestles it for an indeterminate period – hours, days, or years – until the curse expires in her arms. Simultaneously, she walks through an airplane and locates seat 52A. The plane takes off, skimming the ocean. She does not look down, but a “shadow” of the curse remains underwater. The final line affirms: “she alone was the owner of her body,” marking her complete liberation.

The Climax Explained

The book’s climax is twofold:

Eniiyi’s departure from Nigeria – a literal, physical break from the Falodun house and its history.
The symbolic battle in the epilogue – a metaphysical confrontation with the generational curse that has haunted the family since Feranmi was cursed in the 19th century.

The two events are simultaneous in the epilogue’s logic: while her body sits in seat 52A on a plane, her spirit or unconscious self wrestles the curse in the ocean. Water imagery recurs throughout the collection – Monife drowned herself at Elegushi Beach, and the curse was born from a violent fight between two women. Eniiyi’s underwater victory reclaims the element that killed her aunt, transforming it into a site of liberation.

Major Character Outcomes

Character	Fate by the End
Eniiyi Falodun	Leaves for the UK; symbolically defeats the curse and reclaims ownership of her body. Returns to Lagos seven years later and locks eyes with Zubby.
Ebun Falodun	Remains in Lagos, moves out of the Falodun house with Grandma East after Oba proposes and she accepts. Still grieving her cousin Monife and her own past.
Monife (Mo) Falodun	Dead by suicide early in the book (Prologue). Her spirit appears to Eniiyi in dreams; in one dream she speaks with Eniiyi’s voice and says “Not again.”
Kalu Kenosi (“Golden Boy”)	Shows up at the Falodun house after Grandma West’s death to apologise. He prostrates, weeps over Mo’s buried gifts, and returns Zubby’s bracelet. Leaves, his story “ended” per Eniiyi.
Zubby Kenosi	Implied to be still in Lagos, seven years later Eniiyi will see him in a restaurant; their unresolved tension lingers.
Bunmi Falodun (Mo’s mother)	Already dead before the epilogue; her funeral and the distribution of her belongings occur in Chapter 110.
Tolu Falodun (Mo’s brother)	Reveals he had a vasectomy ten years earlier to avoid bringing a daughter into the curse. He deleted Kalu’s answering‑machine message out of misguided protection.
Sango the dog	Dies peacefully in his sleep twenty‑four hours after Eniiyi leaves.
Oba (Osagie)	Proposes to Ebun; she accepts.

Resolved and Unresolved Threads

Resolved

The curse: Eniiyi defeats it in the epilogue, ending its hold over the Falodun daughters (at least for her).
Monife’s buried items: Eniiyi finds the tin box under the iroko tree and returns it to Kalu, providing closure for his guilt.
Ebun’s secret: The truth about Monife’s abortion and Ebun’s role in it is exposed during Kalu’s visit; Ebun apologises.

Unresolved

Eniiyi and Zubby: The glimpse of their future meeting is open‑ended – we don’t know if they reconcile or even speak.
The shadow: The epilogue notes that a “shadow of the curse” remains underwater, suggesting the curse may not be fully destroyed, only dormant for Eniiyi’s lifetime.
The Falodun house: It becomes “a place of ghosts,” but no further details are given about who else might live there.
Grandma East: She moves out with Ebun, but her fate is not tracked further.

How the Themes Are Resolved

The Falodun family curse – The central theme is explicitly confronted in the epilogue. Eniiyi’s battle and victory show that the curse can be overcome, but the shadow hints that it may not be permanently erased for all descendants.

Reincarnation and identity – Bunmi insisted that Eniiyi was a reincarnation of Monife. Eniiyi’s dream where Monife speaks with her own voice (“Not again”) leaves that ambiguity alive. However, Eniiyi’s final line – “she alone was the owner of her body” – asserts her separate identity, regardless of any spiritual connection.

Mother‑daughter conflict – Ebun’s fraught relationship with Eniiyi (rooted in Ebun’s guilt over Monife and her own abortion) is partially healed when Ebun apologises at the gate. The apology is accepted, but Eniiyi still leaves.

Generational trauma – The curse is the literal manifestation of trauma passed down. Eniiyi’s departure and symbolic fight represent a break in that transmission. Tolu’s vasectomy is another form of breaking the chain.

Autonomy versus superstition – The entire collection shows women whose lives are constrained by belief in the curse. Eniiyi’s final act of self‑ownership is a triumph of autonomy over superstition – though she does not deny the curse’s reality; she defeats it.

Epilogue Analysis

The epilogue is the only section that departs from naturalistic narration into full allegory. It can be read as:

A literal supernatural event: Eniiyi has the power to wrestle and kill the curse.
A psychological metaphor: She internalises her struggle and emerges with a new sense of agency.
A dream vision: The plane scene and the ocean battle may be occurring in Eniiyi’s mind during the flight.

The language of the epilogue is deliberately ambiguous – “she felt it expire in her arms” while simultaneously walking through the airplane. The book does not commit to one interpretation, leaving room for readers to decide whether the curse is destroyed or simply subjugated for Eniiyi.

The final line – “she alone was the owner of her body” – echoes the curse’s original verdict (“they will pursue men … suffer for man’s sake”) and reverses it. Ownership of her body was precisely what the curse denied her female ancestors.

6 Reader Questions and Answers

1. Did Eniiyi really kill the curse?
The epilogue shows the curse expiring in her arms underwater, but a shadow remains. The book never states that the curse is gone for all Falodun women forever – only that Eniiyi herself is free.

2. Is Eniiyi Monife reincarnated?
The book leaves this open. Monife appears in dreams, speaks with Eniiyi’s voice, and physical similarities are noted. Bunmi insists on reincarnation, but Eniiyi’s birthmark (which Monife lacked) and her final assertion of bodily autonomy suggest she is her own person.

3. What happened to Ebun after Eniiyi left?
Ebun accepts Oba’s proposal, moves out of the Falodun house with Grandma East, and presumably builds a new life away from the family home.

4. Why did Tolu delete Kalu’s message?
He believed the message – in which Kalu said he wanted the baby and was sorry – would only cause Monife more pain because she had already aborted. He regrets it deeply and apologises to Kalu.

5. What does “the shadow of the curse” mean?
It likely means the curse is not annihilated but remains a potential threat, perhaps for other descendants, or as a lingering memory. Eniiyi has defeated it for herself, but its essence persists.

6. Do Eniiyi and Zubby get back together?
The narrator only says they lock eyes in a restaurant seven years later, unable to look away. No reconciliation or conversation is shown – it is a cliffhanger of possibility, not a resolution.