Oko Sekyi is at once a sympathetic and an abhorrent character in thenovel. He loves his wife Esi dearly, not only for her beauty but also for herindependence and intelligence. But at the same time, Oko resents her for exactlythe same reasons. He is bothered by the comments made by his friends, who arebeginning to regard him as less and less of a man because of his wife’sindependence from him. Oko’s response to his friends’ ridicule is to rape hiswife—an act that leads directly to Esi’s decision to divorce him, given that hedoes not even apologize. Like all of the characters in the novel, Oko isstruggling to understand his relationships in a changing world. Following hisdivorce, Oko’s mother presents him with a gift: a young girl who can play therole of a compliant and obedient wife. Even though there may very well be someappeal to such a relationship, Oko continues to love his strong-willedex-wife.
See Also
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