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Nancy, in her allegiance to her husband, is complicit in his work and his downfall. She, like Obi, has come to believe their new, modern ways are better than the traditions of the villagers in Nigeria. She has designs on a new garden that will stand out from the local plants, and will mark the school yard as separate and an improvement upon its surroundings. She is excited to share in her husband’s newfound power, and imagines herself as a leader of the women attached to the school. She has read women’s magazines and knows how she should talk with her husband. However, she is also unable to step back from her fervor for modernity to consider that it is both difficult and fraught to insist that people abandon their culture. Her garden mirrors her husband’s school in that it is an uninvited entity sure of its own correctness and supremacy. They have placed themselves somewhere they know nothing about, while loudly proclaiming that the old ways must concede to modern thinking. Even in the face of reasonable and understandable objections, there is no hesitation in pushing their agenda. Both Nancy and Obi disregard the desires of the village, resulting in unnecessary tensions and consequences that will doom their enterprise.

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