A mother is believed to be holly for they are the one that bring lives to earth. The Yoruba
’s highly appreciation to the mothers makes them respected among the society.
C. The Ambivalent Attitude as another Form of Oppression towards Women
The life of Yoruba Society in the play Death and The King’s Horseman
has become one with the traditional and cultural experience. Every action taken by the people could affect the life of the society. Their belief in the ancient gods
and after life plays an important role in determine actions. As for Iyaloja and Elesin, the traditions becomes the basis of their action besides of their personal
intention. The ambivalent attitudes are also part of the effect of the existence of Yoruba culture. In this section, there are two main points that are analyzed. The
first point is to see how the ambivalent attitudes towards women in the fact end up oppressing women and the second point about who the role of the culture in the
attitude which is intertwined in the analysis. The negative attitudes obviously can be categorized as oppressions
towards women. In summary, the negative attitudes mentioned above are the ignorance, the abuse of power, the view that women are threats, and the restriction
of right to choose. These attitudes as explained before create harm to women and limit their right in many ways. The next section analyzes how the positive
attitudes are in fact harming the female character of Yoruba Society.
The Positive Attitudes toward Women as Oppressions
In the previous section we understand that there is a complexity in treating women in Yoruba Society. In one side of the story, the male seems to
oppress women but there were some actions that portray women as a respected being, in the same place with men and even higher. This situation according to
Glick create an ambivalent attitude that shows women are being praised but in the other moment are also being degraded.
There are three female characters that undergo the ambivalent attitude in the play.
a. Iyaloja
The first is concerning Iyaloja position as the mother of the market. In the beginning of the play, she is introduced as
“mother of multitude”. Her position as a leader in the market is confirmed also by Elesin. It is seen in the scene where
Elesin wants to marry the girl, but rather than asking for her mother or her directly, he asks Iyaloja to decide the fate of the girl. It proves that he knows that
Iyaloja has the capability to act, not only in the name of the soon-to-be bride but also other women. Being, supposedly, educated in Yoruba Society at that time is
an accomplishment for a woman. Wollstonecraft points that Iyaloja’s achievement shows when women get a proper education, they could transform into fine and
notable women Showalter, 1971:5. Education is what women need to be able to create better reasons. Women will have the ability to choose to be partnered with
men not only in marriage but also in workplace. Women then will have same
probability to attend the workplace as to men. However, the idea of being able to choose working together with men in workplace is inhibited by the environment
Alan, 2006:334. Being given the respect from the society does not make her being
respected in every aspect. Iyaloja in practicing her authority is bothered by Elesin’s arbitrary action. Elesin as the current highest power holder in that cultural
society should be able to act wisely, however his personality affects his decision and behavior that disturbs Iyaloja. Yoruba women has not yet been in the position
where women can choose where to work and who to marry. Iyaloja’s position for
example is a given position by the higher authorities, which fully ran by men. Even though she is seen highly by the mere society but Elesin as the one who runs
the patriarchal system does not see her that way. The twist comes
after Elesin “ask” Iyaloja about his proposal. After seeing the girl, Elesin directly conveys his interest to Iyaloja about marrying the
girl, however, Iyaloja in the other hand voices her objection. Despite of considering her objection as the leader of the women, Elesin insists marrying the
girl using his position as the king’s horseman. Here, there are two parties that encourage Elesin to do ignore Iyaloja’s authority. First is the culture, second is his
own willingness. As mentioned early, Elesin is in the process of sacrificing himself. The culture believes that once one is at the end of his or her life, every
thing she or he wants has to be fulfilled for it causes burden to both that it could curse the society.
IYALOJA. Only the curses of the departed are to be feared. The claims of one whose foot is on the threshold of their
abode surpasses even the claims of blood. It is impiety even to place hindrances in their ways.
Soyinka, 1986: 21 When Elesin proposes his plan to
“cut the virgin knot.” Iyaloja realizes that she has no choice rather than granting his proposal. However, she tries the
second chance to fail the marriage by stating the fact that the girl is already betrothed to his son. Elesin in the other hand feeling irritated and offended for
knowing that the girl is already “a step into her husband house”. Here, the second party works. As a man of honour, Elesin has stated since the beginning that he and
the dead king used to own every single thing the conquered, including the people. So, his personality makes him feeling annoyed and challenged at the same time to
own the girl. He then insists Iyaloja using his position as the hand of the king that is in the middle of the suicide ritual to marry the girl even though he already knew
that his marriage could cause trouble to the ritual itself. He believes that for what he has done, he “deserves a bed of honour”.
PRAISE-SINGER: Iyaloja, mother of multitudes in the teeming market of the world, how your wisdom
transfigures you ELESIN. Your eyes were clouded at first.
Soyinka, 1986: 22
The cultural support added with Elesin arbitrary proposal limits Iyaloja power to stand the logic. She knows that the marriage should not happen in the
first place but she lost to the culture and Elesin’s ignorance. As the role model of
the Women of the Market, she has the duty to show a great respect to the culture.
In the end, Iyaloja position as the leader of the market is just for a formality in the eyes of Elesin and the culture.
b. The Bride
The second female character who undergoes the ambivalent attitude is the bride. Given no name, the bride plays a significance role to the plot development
in the play. The bride starts her role in the play as a girl joining the ritual crowd and then attracts Elesin’s attention. The next scene she appears, she is already in
the marriage process with Elesin. In her absence, the play focus on Elesin’s
struggle in proposing his will to Iyaloja. The girl’s absence in the decision making, and the focus on Elesin’s side shows that she has no right to make a
decision to her own self. Elesin’s wish is described by Wollstonecraft as a
libertine who exploits the innocence and unadorned girl Showalter, 1971:2. According to the Nigerian culture, unmarried girl in a family is seen as a
property to the family. The girl is trained to do chores therefore when they later in a marriage they can serve their husband well, meanwhile the son will be involved
into the family decisions making. Here, the public and the private sphere has already been separated Walby, 1990:20.
The girl in the play is known to be engaged to Iyaloja’s son, however hearing that she is going to marry an old man has nothing to do with her. She has
no right to voice her opinion whether she opposes or support the marriage planning. Her status to be just a daughter of a family puts her in a situation that
she cannot deny and just follow the decision that has been made for her. In the
