The Lion and the Jewel

The Lion and the Jewel is a play by Nigerian writer Wole Soyinka that was first performed in 1959. It chronicles how Baroka, the lion, fights with the modern Lakunle over the right to marry Sidi, the titular Jewel. Lakunle is portrayed as the civilized antithesis of Baroka and unilaterally attempts to modernize his community and change its social conventions for no reason other than the fact that he can. The transcript of the play was first published in 1962 by Oxford University Press. Soyinka emphasises the theme of the corrupted African culture through the play, as well as how the youth should embrace the original African culture.

Main characters

Supporting characters

Village girls, a wrestler, a surveyor, schoolboys, his assorted consorts and various musicians, dancers, mummers, prisoners, traders and so on.

The play takes place over the span of a day (Sunday). It is divided into three parts; morning, noon, and night.

A school teacher, Lakunle, is teaching a class the times table when Sidi walks past carrying a pail of water on her head. The teacher peers out of the window and disappears. Two 11-year-old school children start ogling her, so he hits them on the head and leaves to confront her. Lakunle is wearing a threadbare and rumpled clean English suit that is a little too small for him. He wears a tie that disappears beneath his waistcoat. His trousers are ridiculously small, and his shoes are blanco-white. He comes out and insists on taking the pail from Sidi. She refuses, saying that she would look silly. Lakunle replies, saying that he told her not to carry loads on her head or her neck may be shortened. He also tells her not to expose so much of her cleavage with the cloth she wears around her breasts. Sidi says that it is too inconvenient for her to do so. She scolds him, saying that the village thinks he's stupid, but Lakunle says that he is not so easily cowed by taunts. Lakunle also insults her saying that her brain is smaller than his. He claims that his books say so. Sidi is angry.

After arguing, Sidi wants to leave, but Lakunle tells her of his love for her, but she remains indifferent. Eventually, it is revealed that Sidi does not want to marry him because Lakunle refuses to pay her bride-price as he thinks it is an uncivilized, outrageous custom. Sidi tells him that if she did so, people will jeer at her, saying that she is not a virgin. Lakunle further professes how he wants to marry her and treat her "just like the Lagos couples I have seen". Sidi does not care. She also says that she finds the Western custom of kissing repulsive. She tells him that not paying her bride price is mean and miserly.

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Wikipedia