This story is about two characters from different parts of Nigeria who decide to get married. “Have you written to your dad yet?” asked Nene one afternoon. . . .
“No. . . . I think it’s better to tell him when I get home on leave!”
“But why? . . . . He should be let into our happiness now.”
. . . “I wish I were sure it would be happiness to him.”
“Of course it must,” replied Nene, a little surprised. “Why shouldn’t it?”
“You have lived in Lagos all your life, and you know very little about people in remote parts of the country. . . .
“They are most unhappy if the engagement is not arranged by them. In our case it’s worse—you are not even an Ibo.”
–“Marriage Is a Private Affair,”
Chinua Achebe
How does this passage best demonstrate a patriarchal system?
The people of Nigeria belong to a variety of tribes with different customs.
The people of Nnaemeka’s village arrange the marriages of most couples.
A son has chosen to live in a city apart from his family members, who remain in a rural area.
A son believes that he must choose the right time and place to communicate with his father.