The Lion and the Jewel Essay
Daniela Y January 11, 2015
E3-15
The Male Dominant Image In his play The Lion and the Jewel, Soyinka expresses his opinions about society through his characters, as many authors do in their writing. One of the characters, Baroka, frequently seeks to take more wives despite his age and subjects his current wives to humiliating tasks such as plucking his armpit hairs and tickling his feet as a way of showing his power over them. Through the characterization of Baroka and the attitudes of other characters in the play, Soyinka explores the idea that a man needs to show dominance over women to be considered a man by society. Despite his age and already having a larger number of wives, Baroka is still seeking to take another wife, specifically a young one. This is most likely because he wants to exert the image that he is still desirable and his sexual ability has not been diminished with age. It is very important for Baroka to maintain this image, and this is why he is still persistent to take Sidi as a wife, even after she clearly refuses several times. Image is very important to Baroka, and his existing image had been tainted by the photograph of him by a latrine. Sidi, however, is young and has the image of the most beautiful woman in the village due to the pictures of her in the magazine. Bakora believes that making the most beautiful woman in the village his wife is the perfect way to elevate his image. While he is seducing her, he tells her “the truth of this, old wine thrives best in a new bottle.” (p. 1185) The old wine is a metaphor for himself and the new bottle is Sidi. He seeks the new bottle to enhance himself. He will not stand to be seen as less than a woman, to have his position as a man and a leader diminished. This is why in the end, he resorts to physical force to get Sidi to marry him when all else fails. By tradition, she is
E3-15
The Male Dominant Image In his play The Lion and the Jewel, Soyinka expresses his opinions about society through his characters, as many authors do in their writing. One of the characters, Baroka, frequently seeks to take more wives despite his age and subjects his current wives to humiliating tasks such as plucking his armpit hairs and tickling his feet as a way of showing his power over them. Through the characterization of Baroka and the attitudes of other characters in the play, Soyinka explores the idea that a man needs to show dominance over women to be considered a man by society. Despite his age and already having a larger number of wives, Baroka is still seeking to take another wife, specifically a young one. This is most likely because he wants to exert the image that he is still desirable and his sexual ability has not been diminished with age. It is very important for Baroka to maintain this image, and this is why he is still persistent to take Sidi as a wife, even after she clearly refuses several times. Image is very important to Baroka, and his existing image had been tainted by the photograph of him by a latrine. Sidi, however, is young and has the image of the most beautiful woman in the village due to the pictures of her in the magazine. Bakora believes that making the most beautiful woman in the village his wife is the perfect way to elevate his image. While he is seducing her, he tells her “the truth of this, old wine thrives best in a new bottle.” (p. 1185) The old wine is a metaphor for himself and the new bottle is Sidi. He seeks the new bottle to enhance himself. He will not stand to be seen as less than a woman, to have his position as a man and a leader diminished. This is why in the end, he resorts to physical force to get Sidi to marry him when all else fails. By tradition, she is