Marriage and Tribalism

Marriage, which is one of society’s most important institutions, is treated with great importance in The Lady with a Beard by Alobwed’Epie. Marriage is perceived as important and honourable in the novel through the eyes of the villagers, except Emade, who openly criticises the villagers for marrying outside their community. Her tribalistic nature prevents her from acknowledging Mr Okorie’s efforts to give his mother-in-law a proper burial. Instead, she criticises him for being an outsider.

Emade also openly criticises the young men of Muabag for failing to fulfil their responsibility to marry Wobe as illustrated on page 43 as she asked them

 “… were you not men when an Igbo man seized her?”

According to her, Mr Okorie is not a proper “muyo” ( son- in- law)  for them. She is particularly angry because Mechane’s choice of a husband outside the community brings about the extinction of her father’s lineage in Muabag. This is symbolically represented by the closing of the family house, with the key thrown away.

On page 84, the narrator writes: “For the second time in her life, she was witnessing the permanent closing of the door of a dead person to proclaim that the lineage was extinct.”

This statement highlights the importance attached to marriage, lineage and tribal identity in the community. It also reveals how marriage outside the community is perceived as a threat to the continuity of the family lineage.