Love and Romance in Americanah

 

In Americanah, Adichie writes about the concept of romance and love and how it connects to the immigrant experiences of Ifemelu. The novel touches on many different relationships between different characters, showing the difference of how love is viewed from an array of different people. Ifemelu is introduced to many different relationships throughout the novel from her parents and other people she has met to her own romantic relationships. These relationships she views and is a part of help mold her idea of what love and romance is and what it should be. 

From the start of her time in America, Ifemelu only romantically knows her relationship with Obinze. As time goes on she is introduced to other men, and whether her experiences are bad or good, they leave a lasting effect on her idea of romance. She has moments with Don, Kimberly’s husband and was also was sexually assaulted by the tennis coach when trying to make money. These experiences skewed her idea of what romance should be. Seeing the disturbing parts of what men in America find to be intimate caused Ifemelu to cut off her communication with Obinze and struggle with getting back to romantic relationships. 

The novel explores themes of feminism and race with Ifemelu's relationships. With these topics, the question of what romance and love truly is arises. Through the novel Ifemelu is with Curt, Obinze, and Blaine. With Curt, a White-American, Ifemelu struggles to connect with him emotionally and culturally partly because he is trying to give her a good American experience. Curt also emotionally detaches from Ifemelu, they are together in their relationship but they don't completely understand each other. Blaine, a Black American, is also in part different from Ifemelu. They have a connection she couldn't have with Curt because he is black, and they form strong intellectual connections but her being “American-African” and him being “African-American” led to a divide between them. Obinze was her first true love. They fell in  love first when they were in Nigeria but lost contact when Ifemelu moved to the states but remain in each other's minds. Obinze essentially taught Ifemelu to love and reminded her of that after her poor relationships in the U.S. They connected on a level she didn't with her other partners because they were so close emotionally but also culturally, both being from Nigeria.

Ifemelu's experiences with love in America change her perspective on what she desires. Her relationships in America inevitably become intertwined with race because of the race issues she faces in America. Race, emotional standing, and ideas of femininity cause her relationships to falter or strengthen teaching her what to think and what to believe in love. Through these relationships she has stopped using an American accent, wearing her natural hair, embracing herself. Ifemelu’s journey of love in the novel is a substantial part of her experience in America and by the end allows her to become aware of herself and connected with her culture.