Pride, Vanity, and the Power of Images Theme Analysis

As the village belle, Sidi is exceptionally vain. She knows her worth is tied to her beauty, and she wastes no time reminding Lakunle and the other villagers that she's beautiful. However, when the stranger captures Sidi's beauty on film and returns to Ilujinle with photographs, Sidi's vanity grows exponentially. The photographs introduce Sidi and the villagers to the power of images, and the ensuing events of the play explore the power derived from imagery and its relationship to pride and vanity.

After the stranger returns to Ilujinle with the magazine of photographs, Sidi deems herself more powerful than Baroka himself. The magazine and the photographs become evidence of her beauty and her power, and they demonstrate the power of images in several different ways. First, Sidi seems to have never seen herself in a mirror before. Because of this, seeing the magazine is the first time that Sidi has the opportunity to interpret her own image herself, rather than interpreting how others see and treat her. This turns Sidi into a Narcissus-like character, obsessed with her own image. While seeing her own image allows her to take possession of her beauty and body, it also blinds her to the fact that others, too, are attempting to control her image and body. For example, while Sidi might misinterpret the particulars of Baroka's interest in her, it's undeniable that the magazine allows him to enjoy Sidi's image without Sidi herself present and it certainly influences his decision to pursue her as a wife.

When the magazine arrives in the village, Sidi isn't the only character who's shown to be vain and prideful. The village girls make it very clear that while Baroka appears in the magazine, it would've been better for him to be left out—the photo of him is tiny and shows him next to the village latrine. By only appearing once, in a small image, and next to the toilets, Baroka's power is greatly reduced. The scorn of the village girls suggests that the image, in some ways, negates the power he has in real life.

Sidi’s newfound sense of beauty and power, combined with Baroka's unflattering photo, leads Sidi to the conclusion that his offer of marriage comes from a desire to possess and control Sidi's worth. Sidi isn't wrong, and it can't be ignored that Baroka certainly wants to control her worth and keep her beauty for himself by taking Sidi as a wife. However, he also wants to control her worth by putting her photograph on a postage stamp—something that's mutually beneficial for them. By putting Sidi's face on a stamp, Baroka both appeals to her vanity and embraces the power of images. It allows Sidi to enjoy the fame that the magazine brought, while making her even more famous and distributing her image even further. However, it's important to make the distinction that while Sidi will certainly enjoy the fame and recognition that will come from the stamp, fame and recognition are all she'll get. She won't enjoy the economic power from the profits, and she won't be credited with modernizing the village by developing a postal system. Baroka will enjoy both of these things because he ultimately has the power to control Sidi's image and, by extension, Sidi herself.