Water and the Ocean: Symbol of Danger and Liberation in Cursed Daughters
What Water and the Ocean Literally Represent
In Oyinkan Braithwaite's Cursed Daughters, water and the ocean appear as both literal bodies of water and as potent symbols that evolve across the narrative. The ocean is most vividly real in the Prologue, where Monife drowns herself at Elegushi Beach, and in the Epilogue, where Eniiyi fights the curse underwater. Pools, tears, and wetness also recur—Ebun wakes to a wet foot after a dream, and Eniiyi swims in a pool only to be confronted by a spectral figure. Beyond their physical presence, these waters carry the weight of myth: Monife is called a "mermaid" and later likened to Mami Wata, a water spirit known for both allure and danger.
Where Water Recurs and How Its Meaning Shifts
Monife's Suicide: From Joyful Swimmer to Drowning Victim
The Prologue establishes water as a place of former freedom. Monife once waded into the waves "with her arms held wide open" during daylight, careless and alive. Strangers feared for her, but she always returned. At night, however, the same water becomes "cold" and "joyless." The contrast underscores that water is not inherently harmful—its meaning depends on circumstance. Monife's suicide transforms the ocean into a site of surrender and revenge: she hopes Golden Boy's heart will shatter. This first major water event links the element to the Falodun family curse, which dictates that men will slip through women's fingers like water.
Ebun's Dream: Water as a Bridge Between Worlds
In Chapter IV, Ebun dreams of Monife cradling her newborn. Monife is wet, her hair heavy and glossy, and a single drop of water lands on the baby's forehead. Ebun wakes to find her own foot wet—a small pool of water on the floor. Here, water becomes a conduit for the supernatural, blurring the boundary between death and life. The wetness suggests that Monife's spirit can physically touch the living, reinforcing the theme of reincarnation and identity. It is also a warning: the curse may extend to the next generation.
Eniiyi's Dream: Ocean as a Recurring Stage
Eniiyi dreams repeatedly of Monife standing at the ocean's edge. In Chapter V, Monife faces the water, silent, while Eniiyi sits beside her. The ocean here represents an unresolved past—Monife's death and the curse she could not escape. The setting is vivid: wind, seagulls, cold wetness. Eniiyi treats it as routine, but in Chapter X the dream shifts: Monife turns and speaks with Eniiyi's own voice, saying "Not again." This verbal intrusion marks the first time Monife acknowledges Eniiyi, signaling that the ocean is a space where boundaries of self and curse collapse. It foreshadows Eniiyi's eventual confrontation.
The Pool Encounter: Water as a Place of Terror and Mastery
In Chapter VIII, Eniiyi swims alone in a pool, feeling at peace—"she felt most at peace when she was parting water." But a shadow swims toward her: a woman in clothing, moving without rhythm. Eniiyi nearly drowns before her body's muscle memory saves her. This encounter literalizes the threat of the curse: it can infiltrate even places of safety. Yet Eniiyi's survival shows she has already mastered the water, hinting at her eventual triumph.
The Epilogue: Underwater Battle and Liberation
The Epilogue presents the climax: Eniiyi becomes "a mermaid in the deep blue sea," wrestling the curse in its beast form. She fights for hours, days, or years, and finally feels it "expire in her arms." Simultaneously, she walks through an airplane and takes seat 52A, soaring above the ocean. The shadow of the curse remains underwater as the plane lifts. Water here completes its transformation: once a site of Monife's death and the curse's grip, it becomes the arena where Eniiyi defeats that curse. The ocean is no longer a prison but a conquered enemy. The final line—"she alone was the owner of her body"—seals water as the medium of liberation.
Character and Theme Connections
Monife Falodun and the Drowning Curse
Monife's suicide is the direct result of betrayal by Golden Boy, a man who embodies the curse's pattern: men leave women like water slipping through fingers. Her death is both tragedy and rebellion—she chooses the ocean over life, hoping to break her betrayer's heart. Water becomes her weapon and her grave. Her association with Mami Wata, a spirit that lures men to their doom, further entwines her with danger. Yet Mami Wata is also a figure of empowerment in some traditions, and Monife's final act reclaims agency even in death.
Eniiyi Falodun and Reclaiming Autonomy
Eniiyi inherits Monife's dreams and the burden of the curse. Her journey through water—from near-drowning to mastery—mirrors her internal struggle for autonomy. The Epilogue's underwater battle directly parallels themes of generational trauma and mother-daughter conflict. By defeating the curse in the ocean, she breaks free from the cycle that has haunted her family for generations. The image of the plane skimming the water before ascent symbolizes a clean break—she leaves the shadow behind.
Mami Wata: Mythological Resonance
Mami Wata appears in the Prologue as a counterpoint to the "fabled mermaid." Described with dagger teeth and decaying hands, she embodies the danger of the water spirit. Monife is later likened to this eerie creature. The myth provides cultural grounding: Mami Wata offers both great fortune and terrible destruction, a duality that mirrors the ocean's role in the novel. The curse similarly offers no middle ground—either women suffer or they must fight for freedom. This connection enriches the reading of water as a space of autonomy versus superstition.
The Falodun Women and Water Metaphors
The curse itself is described in terms of water: men will be "like water in their palms." This metaphor recurs throughout the family history. Afoke, Kemi, and Fikayo all experience relationships that dissolve—husbands leave, betray, or die. The ocean becomes a physical analogue for this emotional fluidity. Even the Falodun home is cluttered with relics, a kind of museum where time pools, and incense thick as fog fills the air (Chapter Eleven). Water thus permeates both the literal and symbolic landscape.
Generational Trauma and Reincarnation
Water acts as a vessel for memory and trauma. Monife's ghost appears wet, dripping on Ebun's child, and speaks through Eniiyi. The ocean in Eniiyi's dreams is a static place where Monife endlessly watches the horizon—until the curse is broken. This suggests that trauma, like water, can be passed down, but also that it can be confronted and released. The reincarnation and identity theme is underscored by Eniiyi's mirror-like dreams: Monife's face becomes her own, and her voice becomes Eniiyi's. Water is the medium of this blurred identity.
Study Questions with Answers
1. How does the ocean shift from a place of joy to a place of death for Monife, and what does that shift reveal about the curse?
In the Prologue, Monife once swam joyfully, returning to shore despite strangers' warnings. The ocean represented freedom and even defiance. At night, the same water becomes cold and terrifying, and she drowns herself. This shift mirrors the curse's operation: what begins as a woman's natural desire for love and connection (joyful swimming) ends in betrayal and despair (drowning). The ocean thus externalizes the curse's trajectory—promise leading to ruin.
2. What does Eniiyi's dream encounter with Monife—where Monife speaks with Eniiyi's voice—reveal about identity and the curse?
In Chapter X, Monife turns and says "Not again" in Eniiyi's voice. This moment blurs the line between aunt and niece, suggesting that the curse subsumes individual identity. Eniiyi is not just a separate person haunted by Monife; she is in danger of repeating Monife's fate. The voice exchange indicates that the curse is a pattern that can be inherited, making Eniiyi's eventual liberation a reclaiming of her own voice and body.
3. How does the image of Mami Wata connect to the Falodun daughters' experiences with men?
Mami Wata is described as a water spirit with dagger teeth and decaying features, a far cry from the gentle mermaid. She lures men but brings destruction. The Falodun women, like Mami Wata, are often viewed by men as alluring but dangerous. Monife is likened to Mami Wata after her death, and her beauty led to Golden Boy's attention—and betrayal. The myth underscores that the curse makes women objects of desire and targets of fear, trapping them in cycles of failed love.
4. What does the final underwater battle in the Epilogue symbolize for Eniiyi's autonomy, and why does she leave a shadow of the curse behind?
Eniiyi wrestles the curse until it expires in her arms, then ascends in an airplane above the ocean. The battle represents her active resistance against inherited fate. By defeating the curse underwater—the same element that claimed Monife—she transforms water from a space of death into one of victory. That a "shadow" of the curse remains underwater, visible only if she looked down, suggests that while she has broken its power over her, its history persists. The shadow is a reminder, not a threat. Her final affirmation—that she alone owns her body—completes the symbol's journey: water is no longer something that drowns her, but something she has mastered and left behind.
For further reading on these themes, see the analysis of the Falodun family curse, reincarnation and identity, mother-daughter conflict, generational trauma, and autonomy versus superstition. You can also explore the characters most affected by this symbol: Ebun Falodun, Monife Falodun, and Eniiyi Falodun.