This question is based on THE LION AND THE JEWEL. Sidi insisted on the payment of her bride-price because it indicates that she_____

Analyze the question: In Wole Soyinka's The Lion and the Jewel, Sidi refuses to marry Lakunle unless he pays her bride-price. The question asks what the bride-price signifies to her.

Explain the concept: In Yoruba tradition, the bride-price is a token of honour paid to the bride's family. It publicly affirms the bride's worth and, importantly, her chastity. Paying it acknowledges that she is a virgin and that the family raised her well.

Step-by-step solution:

1. Lakunle, who is "modern" and has read Western books, calls the bride-price a barbaric custom. He refuses to pay it and wants Sidi to marry him without it.
2. Sidi insists on it. She tells him that without it, the world would laugh at her and say she was not a virgin or was not worth the price. She would be seen as having been "cheap" or already used.
3. Her insistence is about protecting her honour and her public image. After her pictures appear in a magazine, her sense of self-worth is even stronger, and she will not give it up.
4. Checking the options: • A. is a virgin: this matches. The bride-price is the public proof of her purity and honour. • B. has a wealthy family: wealth is not the issue; the price is a token. • C. is of marriageable age: age is not what the payment signals. • D. is free from her family: the bride-price is paid to her family, not to free her from them.

Answer: A. Sidi insists on the bride-price because it signifies that she is a virgin, which is a matter of honour and dignity in her community.

Tip: In The Lion and the Jewel, link "bride-price" with "honour and virginity." Lakunle sees it as backward, while Sidi sees it as the proof of her worth. This contrast is a recurring theme in Soyinka's play: tradition versus modernity.