Superstitious Beliefs

Superstition, the belief in supernatural forces or events, is also strongly depicted in The Lady with a Beard. In the novel, many of the fears and worries surrounding Emade stem from superstitious beliefs. For instance, when Ntube falls and breaks her mother’s dishes while taking food to Ewang Ename, and later falls into the brook of the serpent, these incidents raise concerns among the women. They believe that some form of misfortune may befall the child if the appropriate cleansing rituals are not performed.

On page 13, when Emade’s kitchen catches fire following Ntube’s fall, Emade jumps out of her house and declares,

 “I shall defeat the wizards of this village…”

 Her reaction shows that she does not consider the series of unfortunate events to be merely natural or accidental. Instead, she attributes them to supernatural forces. Believing that the witches and wizards of Atieg are responsible, Emade, who is conscious of her own bravery and fears no one, decides to confront them.