The Lion and the Jewel : Quotations

Quotations

 You are as stubborn / As an illiterate goat. (Lakunle, Morning)

Exp: Although Lakunle attempts to display chivalry toward Sidi in the village square, he insults her intelligence, showing that no matter how modern he pretends to be, he still clings to the belief that women are inferior to men.

Will you make me / A laughing-stock?  (Sidi, Morning) 

Exp:  Sidi has no interest in love or romance. If Lakunle wants to marry her, she expects him to pay the traditional bride price.

Be a modern wife, look me in the eye / And give me a little kiss. (Lakunle, Morning)

Exp: Lakunle wants to embrace modernization at any cost, regardless of how it makes other villagers, including his intended wife, feel. Lakunle’s continued insistence on kissing Sidi despite her disgust with the practice highlights how he actually wants not an equal partner, but rather modernization at any cost.

It is five full months since last  I took a wife. (Baroka, Morning)

Exp: Baroka reveals his longing for Sidi and his desire to add to his long list of wives. He lusts after young, beautiful virgins because they make him feel masculine and powerful.

I am withered and unsapped. (Baroka, Noon)

Exp: Baroka laments losing his “manhood,” or his ability to perform sexually. He claims to want to marry Sidi to revive his desire. This shows the objectification and commoditization of women in Nigerian culture.

 Will the smell of the wet soil be too much for your delicate nostrils? (Sadiku, Night)

Exp: Sadiku mocks Lakunle’s refusal to pay Sidi’s bride price by suggesting that he’s less of a man because he works a “soft” job rather than a physical one.

She’ll be found … in a dark corner

Sulking like a slighted cockroach. (Baroka, Night)

Exp: Baroka compares his “Favorite” wife to a cockroach after she accidentally injures his armpit. Statements such as this highlight how little men value women, even their wives.