Wole Soyinka examines several gender issues throughout the play The Lion and the Jewel. One of the most significant gender issues in the play concerns the role of women in society. Soyinka depicts how women are treated as property in Yoruba culture through the payment of the bride-price. Men are free to buy as many wives as they can afford and women occupy a lower social status than men. Throughout the play, women...
Wole Soyinka examines several gender issues throughout the play The Lion and the Jewel. One of the most significant gender issues in the play concerns the role of women in society. Soyinka depicts how women are treated as property in Yoruba culture through the payment of the bride-price. Men are free to buy as many wives as they can afford and women occupy a lower social status than men. Throughout the play, women are valued for their outward appearance and sensuality. Sidi becomes relevant only after her beauty is displayed in a foreign magazine, and Sadiku reminisces about her days as a young woman, when she was the Bale's favorite. Women are also portrayed as the less intelligent gender, which is evident in the way that both Sidi and Sadiku fall for Baroka's trick.
Soyinka also explores the idea of masculinity throughout his play. Baroka's assumed impotence makes him subject to ridicule throughout the village, and he loses his prestige. Also, Lakunle is viewed as less than a man because he is not physically imposing, athletic, or violent. In Yoruba culture, men are physically strong and valued for their ability to produce offspring.
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