Sidi, a young maiden must choose between the village chief and also the Westernized school teacher. It takes place in a small village, with very diverse characters. It takes place around the 1950s, right before the Nigerian Independence movement. Its overall size is good for anyone who wants a small play with a lot of content. The Lion and the Jewel is a quick read that is witty and fun to read. Whether that is good or bad is unclear to me but interesting to think about. The 'Lion', representing the traditional values and culture, was not as weak and aged as he appeared to be - I assume that is Soyinka's way of saying that the tradional culture isn't as ready to fade away either. As a Westerner myself, I started out with the preconceived notion that modernization would be a beneficial change but by the end of the play, I was not so sure.
The village is still traditional in its daily life but one senses that it is on the verge of change. The headman of the village, 'the lion', is in his 60s and has several wives and concubines already but can pay.
The play deals with the conflict between traditional ways and modernization for example, should a man pay a bride price in order to marry? The young schoolmaster, a believer in Western culture, wants to marry 'the jewel' Sidi but doesn't want to pay her bride price claiming it is old-fashioned (though the reader/viewer is also left with the impression that he can't afford it!). A thought-provoking play by the first African author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
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