As any reader of ‘‘Marriage Is a Private Affair’’ will note, the Nigeria of the early 1950s was in a period of rapid change, some of it occurring too fast for those who adhere to traditional values to understand or accept. The story, one of Achebe’s very earliest efforts, indirectly dramatizes some of the effects…
Tag: Marriage is a Private Affair
Marriage is a Private Affair – Setting
Nigeria in the 1950s In the 1950s, Nigeria was still under British rule. The British had controlled the country since the late nineteenth century, and it was the most important of British possessions in Africa during the height of the British Empire. The British brought with them Christian missionaries, and in Ogidi, Achebe’s home village,…
Marriage is a Private Affair – Literary Devices
Nature Symbolism When the conflict between father and son first erupts, it is December, and the weather is hot and dry, the sun ‘‘parching.’’ Many years later, just before Okeke realizes the error of his ways, the weather is very different. There are black clouds, and soon the rain begins. This is the first rain…
Marriage is a Private Affair – Themes
Tradition The story centers around the clash between traditional values and a more modern way of conducting one’s affairs. It also suggests the differences between life in the city and life in the country. The theme revolves around three characters: Okeke, who represents the traditional ways; Nene, who embodies the modernity of life in the…
Marriage is a Private Affair – Characters
Nene Atang Nene Atang is the young fiance´ e and later wife of Nnaemeka. She is a Christian, and she teaches at a girls’ school in Lagos, a city she has lived in for her entire life. Nnaemeka tells his father she is from Calabar, which is a city in southeastern Nigeria. Perhaps he means…
Marriage is a Private Affair – Summary
‘‘Marriage Is a Private Affair’’ is set in Nigeria, West Africa, in the early 1950s. The story begins in Lagos, the capital city. Nnaemeka, a young man, is visiting his girlfriend, Nene Atang, in her room. The couple has recently become engaged, and Nene asks her fiance´ if he has written to his father to…