- luxurynounChapter 1 →
The freedom or privilege to indulge in something, especially an emotion or attitude, that circumstances do not easily allow. Here it means Mama cannot afford to let feelings guide her decisions.
“I don't have the luxury of sentiment.”
- sentimentnounChapter 1 →
Tender or emotional feeling, especially when it gets in the way of practical judgment. Mama uses it to mean softness or pity she cannot let herself show.
“I'm a businesswoman. I don't have the luxury of sentiment.”
- ruinedadjectiveChapter 1 →
In this play's specific usage, a woman who has been sexually mutilated or so severely violated that she is considered unmarriageable and without value in her community — permanently and irreparably damaged in social terms.
“She's ruined. You know what that means? Ruined.”
- palm oilnounChapter 1 →
A thick edible oil pressed from the fruit of the oil palm tree, widely traded and used for cooking across Central and West Africa. Here it stands for ordinary, low-value trade goods.
“A man doesn't travel these roads in the rain for palm oil and warm beer.”
- salesmannounChapter 1 →
A traveling trader who moves from place to place selling or bartering goods. In this play the word carries the added weight of someone who also traffics in human beings.
- brothelnounChapter 1 →
A place where people pay to have sex with workers who live or work there. Mama Nadi's establishment functions as both a bar and a brothel, giving it a veneer of ordinary business.
- neutralitynounChapter 1 →
The deliberate policy of not taking either side in a conflict, so that both sides will continue to do business with you and neither will target you. Mama maintains this as a survival strategy.
- abductedverbChapter 1 →
Taken away by force against one's will. Salima was seized by rebel fighters and held captive, which is how she came to be at Mama Nadi's establishment.
- rebelnounChapter 1 →
An armed fighter who opposes the official government by force. In the play, rebels and government soldiers both pass through Mama's bar, making her neutrality essential.
- facadenounChapter 2 →
A false outward appearance that hides what is really going on underneath. The laughter and drinking in the bar mask the danger and desperation all the characters live with.
- miscarriagenounChapter 2 →
The loss of a pregnancy before the baby can survive outside the womb. Here Salima deliberately causes her own miscarriage as an act of defiance, refusing to carry her rapist's child.
- hemorrhagenounChapter 2 →
Severe, uncontrolled bleeding from inside the body. Salima dies from the hemorrhage that follows her self-induced miscarriage.
- reconstructive surgeryphraseChapter 2 →
Medical operations that repair or rebuild body parts damaged by injury or disease. Sophie saves money hoping surgeons can repair the physical damage done to her by soldiers.
- escalatingadjectiveChapter 2 →
Steadily increasing in intensity, danger, or seriousness. The violence around Mama's bar grows worse and worse as the two armed factions press closer.
- vulnerableadjectiveChapter 2 →
Open to being hurt emotionally; without the usual defenses or protective hardness. When Mama finally dances with Christian, she drops the tough businesswoman mask she has always worn.
- defiancenounChapter 2 →
Bold, open resistance to a power or situation that seems impossible to fight. Salima's act is called defiance because she refuses to accept the fate others have imposed on her, even at the cost of her life.
RuinedPlay by Lynn Nottage