In Chinua Achebe's short story "Marriage is a Private Affair" Nnaemeka, who is from the Ibo ethnic group, lives in the modern Nigerian city of Lagos where he is engaged to Nene, an Ibibio woman. In the opening of the story, Nnaemeka hasn't yet told his father, who lives in a rural village, about his upcoming marriage to Nene. He is hesitant to do so because he believes his father will object. In fact, his father, Okeke, has three major objections to Nnaemeka's choice of a wife. His biggest concern is that Nnaemeka has broken tradition by marrying outside their ethnic group. Okeke and the other village men claim that no man from their village has ever "married a woman who spoke a different tongue." The men also say that Nnaemeka must be sick and he needs to take an herbal remedy called Amalile. Secondly, Okeke is upset with his son for not marrying a village girl named Ugoye. It was typical of Ibo fathers to arrange the marriages of their offspring. In this way, Nnaemeka is also breaking tradition. Finally, when Okeke learns that Nene is a school teacher, he argues that the Bible prevents women from being teachers. He cites the letter of St. Paul to prove that women "should keep silence." The clash between father and son doesn't prevent Nnaemeka from marrying Nene.
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