Ruined

Scene 1 opens with Fortune still standing outside the bar. Mama Nadi and Sophie sing together, while Josephine engages with soldiers and a miner. Mr. Harari and Christian are present, and Christian is drunk. According to the stage directions, Josephine dances expressively, using her movements to communicate her intense emotions, which begin with playfulness and build up to fury. Sophie supports Josephine when she stops, as Josephine has exhausted herself.

At the start of Scene 2, Mama and Salima discuss Fortune. When Sophie expresses some optimism, innocently saying “[i]f he doesn’t love you, why would he still be there” (66), Mama Nadi scolds her with a harsh reminder of the reality of the situation: “The woman he loved is dead” (66). Mama comforts Salima by taking her into her arms and reminding her that “Mama takes care of you” (66). When Mama leaves to tend to the miners in the bar, Salima explains her story to Sophie, lamenting that Fortune does not know she is pregnant. Salima begins by describing the dishonor Fortune experienced when she returned home, she who was “made poison by their fingers, that is what he said” (67).