NOTES ON: THE ALIEN WOMAN (OCEN LAURY L)

Compiled By:  Lawrence Sunday Ogwang

Background of the novel (setting)

The Alien Woman is a novel written by Laury Lawrence Ocen and published in 1999 as his first novel.

The Novel is set in the period of 1990s. The climax of insurgency and insecurity in the greater North. The effects of LRA and cattle rustling by Karamojong are inescapable around the time. The spillover gave birth to grueling/demanding poverty, social break down of services such as Education and Health, an imbalance that roars its heads to the present day. It is not surprising therefore that Ocen Lawrence makes reference to some of these issues as part of his themes in the Novella (ch 14; pgs109 - 110).

Through his novella, Ocen L. takes us through Rural and town life and lays bare the conflicting ideas between the two – notably, the views on education; intermarriages and witchcraft as perceived by the folk of Bungatira.

Bungatira, an imaginary District in Northern Uganda is basically rural, its people practice witchcraft; they are against Education and believe that cattle and land are the only sources of wealth. More so, they are firmly polygamous. It’s only the family of Bicencio Olugo who stands in sharp contrast to the mentality commonly held in Bungatira.

Meaning and relevance of the title (The Alien Woman) to the Novel

The word Alien means: belonging to a different country, race or group, usually, the one you do not like or are afraid of. It is also used to describe something or somebody strange and perhaps threatening because of not being part of the normal existence.

In the Alien Woman, the word is mainly in reference to Margaret Nagawa. She is a Muganda young woman who falls in love with another young man from Northern Uganda, a Langi. Among the langi people, history has it that a person belonging to the Bantu speaking group is referred to as an ANAM, a foreigner who has come from across the waters (Beyond Karuma). Just because of this it warrants Maggy the name alien.

Although the title is mainly in reference to Margaret, the girl that Opito brings home Gladys is also treated like an Alien and the family of Olugo sends her away in shame.

Even the spirit that seized Opito in the form of Gladys is referred to as an Alien because it is something strange and brings fear.

Even when Opito goes into circumstantial marriage to Jacinta Ajwang, all is not well with the coming of the spirit.  People of the village (Abela) enlisted the help of a medicine man from Kiwola; Odukany. When Opito is freed from the clutches of the spirit, he is convinced that Jacinta can as well go with the spirit because she does not laugh and she is gloomy all the time. He fears Jacinta may be another Alien and as a resort, the marriage is called off. An attempt to reunite the two by Ologo’s only saw failures.

GENERAL SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL.

The plot centers on the family of Bicencio Olugo, his wife Awino Cerina and their two sons Fred Opito and James Obina and their love exploits.  

By Bungatira’s standards Olugo is a poor man, he has only one wife, no large heads of cattle and limited land. His only pride is his role as a local administration. Despite his lack of wealth, Olugo decides to send his children to school with the hope that after education of his sons, they should lift his family out of poverty, an idea ridiculed by villagers of  Bungatira especially Ogang Apur for whom Education is “too long a way of acquiring wealth” [pg 2] and sheer building of castles in the air [pg 3]. Ogang is wealthy but he refuses to educate his children. His conduct is odd, anti-social (pg 2) and he practices witchcraft.

Despite their humble background,

Opito and Obina both study hard and do well at school. Albeit they look alike, their ideas of the future are very different Opito doesn’t participate in cultural activities and hopes to marry an educated woman even if she is from another tribe a hope that worries his parents. Obina still believes in cultural norms. So he is set to marry from his own people.

When Opito goes to the school of technology, he finds the woman of his dreams, Gladys. But she is rejected by his people and sent away in utter embarrassment. She decides to call – off the relationship. Opito is heartbroken.

Ogang, who all along is jealous of Opito’s progress and wishes him bad, sends him a spirit, an Alien Woman which resembles Gladys – it keeps him company at night. Out of desperation he is forced into circumstantial marriage of Jacinta Ajwang, a village girl which according to him was the only way to escape from the clutches of the spirit but it all turned out catastrophic, the spirit still comes. It is Odukany, a medicine man from kiwola who sets him free from the clutches of the spirit. After he was set free and his wife hopes for a normal marriage, Opito rejects her in fear that she might be another Alien Woman since she is moody and never laughs! (pg 5).

James Obina is obedient to the traditional customs, but when he goes to Makerere University, he meets the angelic and irresistible Margaret Nagawa, a daughter of a prominent business man in Kampala who possess real beauty, and with her strong feelings for Obina, she filled him with a new outlook on life.

But to this strong feeling of love, Obina cannot reciprocate them because Margaret is from a different tribe.    (An Alien  woman). He tells her:- “For us, a boy who marries a muntu, has sold his people …” (pg 72). When Margaret suggests they avoid the village once they marry; he says:- “If a wife deserts society, It means she regards the society with contempt. A young man, who does that, brings ridicule and disgrace to his people …” (pg 72).

Even though Obina admits that Margaret is a beautiful girl, he observes that:- “Beautiful is accorded the lowest point in the choice of a spouse …those …end up choosing wizards, stingy misers and harlots. These are qualities sugar coated by beauty” (pg 63).

Despite the many obstacles, Margaret is determined to marry the man of her choice, Obina, by this, she is determined to frustrate or thwart the efforts of her father in arranging for her to marry a wealthy Australian named Peterson for a husband, a thing Margaret hated with the wildest abhorrence.

The events that follow show her usual determination. She is treated with lots of indifference and given lots of hard work in the hope that she can be discouraged and go back to her people. Margaret stays and endures all – even a burn from her rival – Obina’s betrothed that nearly killed her. She rises from misfit to an adorable woman, reversing the sentiments that her in-laws held towards her and Olugo and the family is won over.

Eventually their union is inevitable, something that seemed all illusion at the start. The marriage between Obina and Margaret, an Alien woman is agreed upon. It is a story of love’s triumph against all odds.

One may ask, Had Gladys persisted, would she have won the hearts of Opito’s parents the way Margaret did?

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

Chapter one (pgs 1 – 3)

After a terrible quarrel with Ogang Apur in a drinking place at Oder’s home, Bicencio Olugo comes back home towards midnight with signs of a fresh quarrel hovering on his face. 

The two men Olugo and Ogang are arch rivals that do not see face to face, they are constantly quarreling about petty village and family issues that revolve around culture.

The mentality of the two rivals towards education are brought to light while Ogang for one thinks that any dream about success in education is a sheer building of castles in the air, he along with other old men in Bungatira regarded education as too long a way of acquiring wealth. Bicencio OLugo, on the other hand, is revealed as a man who has a passion for education and he struggles to promote it.

Chapter Two (4 – 6)

Very determined to meet with success, chapter two opens when Opito is on his way to Ogang’s home. As a matter of fact, he has gone to ask to be allowed to exchange one of his heifers for a bull at Ogang’s kraal. Ogang has no objection but asks Opito to come back in the evening on condition that he fulfills his conditions of paying respect to the fetishes that Ogang claims have granted him riches.

Opito is supposed to drop a chunk of meat to some or four tortoises and bow down in adoration a thing he refuses to perform and a quarrel ensues between them until Abila, Ogang’s son intervenes.   

Chapter three (pgs 7 – 12)

In a state of confusions, Cerina Awino stares at the apparent drama staged by chickens around the courtyard in their quest for courtship. Albeit she watches this drama, her mind is far and full of worries about her son Opito.

Apparently, the boy has expressed interest in marrying an educated girl, moreover of another tribe from Bantu tribe, a woman considered to be an alien (an Anam).

She shares this with her husband Olugo who is equally perturbed that if that is what the boy has decided, then it is abominable, marriage with these people is considered a sacrilege. Young men who went against this and married from Bantu were condemned.

In a flashback, the relationship between the people of Bungatira and foreigners (Buganda) is traced to be characterized by suspicion. A muganda man, Mukasa, who once tried to do business with a native, Okullu, was killed for attempting to develop Akirang swamp. This history will definitely work against Opito’s intended marriage to a foreigner!

Meanwhile, a cattle disease has broken out. Ogang’s entire herd is at risk if nothing decisive is done immediately. Ogang and Oduka Aler suggest that they arrange for the performance of rites to ensure that health of the animals is protected but Abila disagree; he says a veterinary doctor be called to treat the animals.

Chapter Four (pgs 13 – 22)

The twilight of the setting sun revealed a radiant beauty of luminous streaks that brightens up the horizon. U.A.C.E examinations results are out and Opito is the best student in Bungatira District. He is to join university for Engineering because he has passed very well in his principle subjects of (PCM)

The Dilemma creeps in. Opito is to marry before going to the university because he could catch Aids if he goes without marrying. The problem now is the choice of the woman (whether a literate or illiterate)  

In the meantime, a misfortune happens; all Opito’s seven animals are found dead yet he was to sell them in order to get money for his school. His hope of joining the university is killed. What is unquestionable is that Ogang Apur is behind this misfortune as he claims that Opito insulted his idols.

Some of the sympathizers like Okullu a businessman come to the rescue of Opito by providing all the money necessary for Opita’s school. After Opito’s one year in the university, Obina is to follow. He has also passed well (HEL). He wants to do mass communication at MUK. Before he goes, a celebration is organized in honor of Obina. Oduka Aler, whose daughter (Goretti Apio) has been betrothed to Obina, takes this chance to counsel Obina on the risk and temptations at the university.

Chapter Five (pgs 23 – 32)

Torn between the excitement of university education and fear of going to a place he has never been, Obina lies on his bed wide awake on the penultimate day of his going to MUK.

The long awaited day finally comes. Obina travels to Kampala for the first time to connect to MUK. At the taxi park, his money is stolen and he is very confused. As luck would have it, he meets James Omara with whom they proceed to the university.

Life at campus is distinct from that of bungatira. Obina feels out of place because he is from a poor family. He has only three pairs of trousers, two shirts and old pair of brown leather shoes popularly known as “go back to school”.

He feels inadequate and timid among his friends. New people come into his life like Omara, Christine and Margret Nagawa. The way people at this new place express love, like kissing in the public and holding each other in compromising ways, shocks him.

Chapter six (pgs 33 – 37)

Opito has always wanted to marry a girl of his choice, an educated girl. After one year at the school of technology, Opito feels the most important thing now is getting a girl for marriage. A girl from a neighboring Secondary School, Rhino Complex Academy, called Acayo Gladys captives his attention and he woes her. She accepts him, although after a difficult time.

The football match between the school of technology and black Rhino FC attracts a big crowd of spectators, including Gladys Acayo. Opito puts up an impressive show as a very skillful goalkeeper. After the match, he meets Gladys at the Grindex Hotel for long secrete talks of promise and rededication to marry her. They finally reach a point of agreement that in the following vacation, Gladys would be taken to Opito’s village to be presented to the parents for approval.

Chapter seven (Pgs 38 – 48)

Over welcomed with his idea of marrying an educated girl, during the agreed-upon vacation, Opito takes Gladys home for approval. The reaction of Olugos to this move is very disappointing for the young man Opito. He is reprimanded for eloping with the girl instead of following the right procedures. On the side of the girl, she is called names and ultimately told to leave immediately.

This move to dismiss Gladys causes great distress to Opito. He puts up a spirited fight t retrain her love but she strongly refuses. They eventually part ways.

Opito is constantly attached by the spirit of a young woman he does not understand that keeps visiting him at night. Opito is at a crossroads pressure mounts on him to get married. Just a stone throw away from Opito’s abode, is a daughter of Ogang’s wealthy friend, Oder. Opito asks Abila and Ocom to set out for Orders home to begin the process of formal courtship. All is done and behold, Jacinta Ajwang gets a new home and a husband.

Chapter eight (Pgs 49 – 57)

When all is done and Opito settles down with his wife Jacinta. Everybody is happy. To kelementina, the mother to Jacinta, her daughter had reaped the fruit of her reputable maid hood which had been untarnished by immodest village men who cast their lustful eyes where they have no business.

In less than two months of marriage however Jacinta starts making frequent home visits that her mother Kelementina finds rather strange. She accordingly probes more to find out what is wrong. Jacinta reveals to her mother the female demon that visits Opito and this has seriously affected their marriage because Jacinta is normally displaced from the bed whenever the demon visits and it sleeps with her husband.

Bicencio Olugo and the delegation from Oder’s family sit to examine Jacinta’s complaint. Opito accepts all the accusations against him. They then enlisted the help of herbalist from kiwola town, Odukany.

Cleansing ceremony is arranged to exorcise the demon from Opito, an act that was successfully performed causing people to jump, shout and ululate and engage in various forms of merriment.

After all these, Jacinta hopes for a stable marriage but to Opito, with Jacinta as his wife, he had always seen dark visions of failure. When he was freed from the spirit. Jacinta could as well go with the spirit because he was convinced that she was another kind of spirit; she was always gloomy, moreover illiterate. An attempt to unite them is a complete fiasco.

Chapter nine (Pg 58-75)

After a period of one year, Obina had torn himself free from the pods of passivity. He has gained immense popularity because of several of his intellectual aptitudes.

Among the people who advise Obina is Maggy Nagawa. She has actually fallen in love with Obina and she is determined to hook him under all means. She tries it hard including writing love letters. Omara and Obina discuss the latest development between the two secret lovers. While Omara encourages Obina to go on and pursue the girl, Obina on his part expresses his reservation. His explanations relate to the cultural demand at Bungatira as pertains relationship with a girl who is of a different tribe especially an Anam.

Chapter ten (Pgs 76 – 82)

In a bluishly lit luxurious sitting room, Mrs. Deborah Segawa and her daughter Margaret Nagawa sits to discuss Obina. As luck would have it, Deborah likes Obina. Maggy tells her mother that it is Obina she is interested in. The mother reveals to her a secret that her relationship with Obina may hit a snag/problem because her father has arranged for her an Austrian national; Peterson for a husband. The girl begs her mother to plead with her father so that she is left to exercise her freedom of choice since she is now an adult.

Margret, later asks her mother for permission to go and visit Aunt Barbara for three days. Permission is granted but she instead goes to Opito’s place, with the hope of finding Obina there; but in vain.

Chapter eleven (Pgs 83 – 88)

Bicencio Olugo and members of his family had just returned from early morning cultivation. Maggy finally finds her way to the home of Obina escorted by Opito.

The arrival of Maggy shocks Obina because he was not expecting her. His outlook changes upon seeing her, sending signal to his mother that something is not right about this girl and Obina.

Meanwhile Bicencio Olugo sermons some village elders and brings the matter up for discussion. The elders had a lengthy discussion and a resolution was reached that the girl is treated with the “medicine” of indifference. She should be given hard work to scare her so that she goes back to her parents.

Chapter twelve (Pgs 89 – 101)

The presence of Maggy is giving people a hard time. Cerina Awino is certainly confused. She regrets even producing Obina who has brought her this trouble.

Meanwhile, Maggy is getting acquainted with life in Abela village. When other people go to dig, she wakes up and cleans the compound, bathes the children creates orderliness that has never been experienced in the Olugo`s household.

When Olugo and his other family members return from the garden, Maggy gives them warm water for bathing. This surprises them.

In the meantime, the village folks of Abela have picked interest in Maggy, some three village women realize that her beauty and temperament are unchallengeable. The children too have grown used to her. From the outlook, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get rid of Margaret. The hostility against her from the family members has greatly lessened. She has learned how to speak the language and she is ready to stay in the village a little more.

Obina apologies to her for the indifference with which he has been treating her, blaming it all on the clan members and the entire family that is opposed to marrying a woman from a different tribe.

Chapter thirteen (Pgs 102 – 108)

Two days after Maggy disappeared, Barbara Babirye, sister to Deborah, comes to visit in Kampala. Deborah is surprised that her sister has not come with Maggy. After settling down, Barbara tells her that the girl never reached her place. This even throws more shock to Deborah.

Out of desperation, Michael the family driver rushes to the police station to report the unfortunate disappearance of Maggy. 

News Reached Segawa that her daughter has been abducted. He faints and is hospitalized at London clinic for two days; the police are paid much money by Deborah to launch a comprehensive search of the girl.

Segawa recovers and returns to Kampala and goes to the press with the pledge of 5 million to whoever brings back her daughter alive.

Meanwhile Obina comes to Kampala and meets with the news of Maggy. He becomes more stressed for he knows very well that Maggy is in Bungatira.

Chapter fourteen (Pgs 109 – 115)

On one dark night, over hanged by clouds, pregnant with rain, Maggy experienced one of her hardest times in the course of stay in Bungatira. Heavy gunfire rocks Abela village and the other surrounding villages in Bungatira. Cattle rustlers have attacked. Bicencio Olugo and his entire family sleep out in the cold the entire night until morning.

Olugo got hold of the situation to tell Maggy to first go home until there is calmness then she comes back, but to his dismay, Maggy says she feels more comfortable here than in her fathers’ home, she, however, accepts to go but not now certainly after three weeks.

Oduka visits Olugo and he is introduced to Maggy as a father to the woman Obina is to marry. Olugo does this deliberately to hurt Maggy but she is not shaken.

Abila comes with information that Oder, the wealthy villager has been shot dead by cattle rustlers. During the burial, Olugo makes a speech that hurts Ogang, the latter promised to revenge. He soon hatches a plan to destroy Maggy with the collaboration of Goretti Apio. Goretti would boil simsim oil and waylays Maggy and pours it on her.

Chapter fifteen (Pgs 116 – 119)

Michael Okullu comes to buy Olugo’s land (Akirang swamp) but Ogang Apur interferes in the process, claiming the land in question is the grazing area for his animals.

Ogang, motivated by jealousy quarrels bitterly while threatening Okullu. Despite the bitter quarrel, the land is sold to Okullu.

After the transaction is concluded, Okullu feels a razor-cut in his right toe. The pain climbs to the pelvis, causing him a terrible hip burn. Okullu dies. Ocom and Olugo are arrested to go and make statements at the police station since they had been with the late shortly before he died.

Chapter sixteen (Pgs 120 – 129)

On the market day of Akalero, Goretti Apio was quite Sure and prepared to launch the offensive attack as planned by Ogang Apur. She waylays Maggy with the intention of pouring hot simsim oil mixed with sand to either kill or severely damage her face so that she may remain unmarried due to ugliness. She missed the target narrowly but Maggy gets burnt seriously.

Maggy is rescued and carried inside a house. Kelementina displays her expertise in administering treatment. Maggy accepts blame for all that happened to her because she intruded into a traditional betrothal.

Obina comes back determined to marry Maggy. Maggy is not moved at all. She plans to write a letter and gives it to Obina to take to her mother.

Chapter seventeen (Pgs 130 – 133)

The plan of Maggy is hatched. She writes a letter to her mother and gives it to Obina to take to Kampala.

Obina arrives in Kampala a very confused man. He finally delivers a letter to the mornington Hotel with untold fear and tension.

In the letter, Maggy assures her mother of her safety, apologizes for the lies and informs her about the motive of her disappearance. She also expressed her love for James Obina and her intention to marry him because the family has finally accepted the marriage.

She urges her mother to be nice to Obina because he is innocent in all ways.

She finally requests her mother to keep the matter between the two of them until she comes home in two weeks time. 

Chapter eighteen (Pgs 134 – 143)

When Deborah received the letter, she became anxious to see her daughter. She wanted to do this without the notice of Segawa.

She tells her driver to get ready for a journey to a distant place the next day. They pass via the Mornington Hotel where Obina spent the night to pick him up and proceed to Bungatira. By eleven O’clock they are in Bungatira Maggy is happy (excited) to see her mother but Deborah is bitter about the condition she finds her daughter in. Maggy wants to go with Obina to Kampala but circumstance cannot allow. The village is moaning: Ogang Apur and Oduka are dead

Chapter ninteen (Pgs 144 – 145)

Segawa arrives home from Nairobi only to find a grand party of jubilation at his mansion in Muyenga Hill. He finds that his daughter has returned. He joins in the jubilation. The Bishop of Namirembe Diocese, who conducts the thanksgiving service, thanks Segawa and his wife for the courage in the difficult times. Referring to the story of job in the Bible whose suffering eventually brought happiness not only to Job but to all who fear God.

Segawa accepts to bless Maggys’ marriage to Obina and to fund it entirely with a financial contribution of four million shillings already earmarked for the ceremony. He regrets his earlier attempts to arrange a marriage for her daughter with the white man.

True love transcends all social, cultural, financial barriers and beats all the odds to thrive. All’s is well that ends well.

CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERIZATION

Characterization means bringing up character traits or grouping characters in a novel or play and in this case, characters in The Alien Woman.

1)      James Obina

James Obina is the central protagonist of the story. He is Bicencio Olugo’s and Celina Awinos’ son who unreservedly respect traditional customs. He is intelligent and determined to excel at all cost in his academics right from Bungatira up to Makerere University. He is charming and hardworking, qualities that endear him to many at the university.

Obina is however excessively timid and somehow naive when it comes to exposing new waters around him. He is reserved and lies back when it comes to matters of love and feelings of the heart.

He follows tribal customs almost religiously but gets a reality check when he joints University. He is a     critique of his brother Opito and his contemporary Omara who are according to him more liberal in their attachment to tradition.

It is through the character of Obina that the Novel shows a process of transition or social change. In the end, he is determined to marry Margaret after realizing some of his earlier misconceptions. He is obedient to his parents and would not want to offend them and also the custom of Bungatira.

As a young university student, studying journalism at Makerere University, Obina becomes an intellectual celebrity after winning a number of academic awards including the one organized by (MISR) – Makerere Institute of Social Research. His courage is made manifest by his decision to report the presence of Margaret in Bungatira.

Points in summary

-          Son to Olugo

-          Protagonist

-          Respects tradition

-          Charming

-          Excessively timid

-          Conservative

-          Obedient to the parents

-          Shows courage at last

-          Intelligent

-          Determined to excel

  

2)      Fred Opito

Fred Opito is Obina’s older brother and a son to Olugo and Awino. His liberality brings him into conflict with the custodians of his culture.

He does not embrace traditional perceptions of marriage. He is an enlightened youth who makes personal decisions and is ready to account for such decisions. He is gifted in sports and academics. In his youthful days, he played football especially goalkeeping for his institutions. He is also known for being warm and hospitable he welcomes Margaret to his Abuka home.

He shows great courage in the ritual of exorcism that sets him free from the clutches of the spirits. He is hardworking and is determined to study despite his father’s financial inadequacies. He is honest, gentle but resolute/unyielding when defending his personal principles. He is also very enterprising; he keeps livestock and does some farming on a small scale.

At another time we meet Opito very frustrated by his parents when they chase away Gladys Acayo, a girl he had hoped to marry. Later circumstances forced him to marry Jacinta Ajwang, Oder’s daughters.

In the Novel, Opito is used for contrast and to show the effects of customs and cultural rigidity (stereotype). He is a person denied love and tortured by cultural charm and juju.

Points in summary

-          A brother to Obina

-          Liberal mind about tradition

-          Enlightened youth

-          Makes his own decision

-          Gifted in sports and Academics

-          Warm and hospitable

-          Courageous

-          Hard working

-          Honest and gentle

-          Very enterprising

-          Frustrated by his parents

-          Circumstantial marriage of Jacinta Ajwang.

3)      Margaret Nagawa

Margaret is the daughter of a wealthy William Ssegawa, a prominent businessman in Kampala. Alongside with Obina, she is the main protagonist in the Novel.

She does not appear in the initial chapters of the Novel but as soon as she appears, we realize she has a natural beauty that soon makes Obina fall head over. She becomes the most dominant character that dictates the tempo of the story.

Although hailing from a powerful family, she is miserable and lonely, and she is set to be a victim of pre-arranged marriage to a white man Peterson from Australia bus she is quite determined to thwart this preposterous arrangement. She is self-confident and it is this confidence that enables her to peruse her dreams amidst strong opposition from her heart’s desire, Obina.

She is gentle and humble. She is not proud although she has every reason to be proud. She relates to her fellow students at the university with a reservation. Margaret is also intelligent and understanding to her friends and parents. She has true love that makes her go into extreme conditions of life in the rural north. This is the determination that pays.

She is devoted and down to earth, a factor that eventually calms tension and stigma that was directed to her. She is a symbol of ethnic bias and rigidity, the very central theme in the text. Her heart of forgiveness is of sporadic type. Very few people in her situation would forgive Goretti Apio, Obina’s betroth who severely wounded her.

         Points in summary

-          A daughter to William Ssegawa

-          She is a protagonist

-          She has natural beauty

-          Miserable and lonely

-          She is determined

-          Self – confident

-          Gentle and Humble

-          Not proud

-          She is friendly and social

-           Intelligent and understanding

-          She has true love

-          Devoted and down to earth

-          Very forgiving.

4)       Bicencio Olugo

He is a parent to the two brothers James Obina and Fred Opito. He is a hardworking elder. He has only one wife and no heads of cattle. This according to the people of Bungatira is a sign of a poor man.

Despite this poor status and background, Olugo is devoted to the cause of education and he sends all his two children to school from his shallow pocket.

He is a local community administrator and he is very instrumental in organizing public works such as road maintenance, spring protection, immunization of children and sometimes in the settlement of local disputes (pg 2)

He is known for being courageous in dealing with difficult people who do not like progress. Olugo also likes social life. Even as the Novel opens, he had just arrived home from his place of drinking which is a social activity. Faced with the dilemma of Tradition and modernity, Olugo takes his stand, refusing to conform wholly to any one side but constantly wishing to combine the two factions to only one side that is why he sends his children to school.

At the end of the Novel Olugo is softened that he finally accepts the marriage between his son James Obina and Maggy Nagawa, a complete mixture of Tradition and modernity.

Points in summary

-          He is father to Obina and Opito

-          Hardworking

-          Has one wife

-          Poor man

-          Likes education

-          Local administrator

-          Courageous

-          Social

-          Takes a stand

-          A lovely father

5)      Celina Awino

She is a wife to Bicencio Olugo and a mother to James Obina and Fred Opito. She is loyal to her husband but very critical and keen to the growth and maturation of her sons.

It is Awino who first alerts Olugo that they should pay close attention to the love times of their sons. She is ruled by the anxiety that her sons will not succeed in life unless they marry according to customs.

She is dutiful wife who wants her daughter-in-law to be as hard-working and loyal as she is. She is also a strict disciplinarian; we get to know that she would not spare a cane in order to shape the moral attributes of her sons.

Despite all these eulogies, she is also knowledgeable in tradition and that is why she tells far side stories of her sons. Awino is not flawless; – she is an agent of the moral and tribal prejudice that characterizes the community; the thinking that all educated girls are worthless and that women from other tribes cannot make good wives.

However, she learns her lessons and abandons her misconceptions after Margaret has emerged triumphant.

Points in summary

-          A wife to Olugo

-          Loyal to her husband

-          Critical and keen on the maturation of her sons

-          Ruled by anxiety

-          Dutiful wife

-          Strict Disciplinarian

-          Knowledgable in tradition

-          An agent of tribal prejudice

-          At the end, she is flexible

-          A mother to Obina and Opito

6)      Ogang Apur

Not so much is known about Ogang Apur other than the fact that he is a famed terrorist of Bungatira, and he is always in bitter contest while Olugo. He is also considered one of the richest village lords since he has large heard of cattle.

He is known for being a medicine man and he is behind many troubles that happen in Bungatira including the ultimate death of Okullo, a businessman. Not forgetting the misfortune that befalls Opito.

Ogang is known for being ruthless in all ways and also conservative to progress. He is a man who ridicules Education in Bungatira and considers it a very long way of acquiring wealth. To him the best education is aimed at educating the young one on matters of tradition and customs and he tries it hard on his son Abila.

Some minor characters

-          Christine – A girlfriend to Omara

-          Ocom – cousin to Opito and Obina

-          Oder – Father in law to Opito and father to Ajwang

-          Kelementina – Mother to Jacinta Ajwang

-          Abila – A son to Ogang Apur

-          Jacinta Ajwang – Married to Opito but divorced

-          Goretti Apio – Obinas betrothed

-          Odukany – A medicine man who freed Opito from the clutches of the spirit.

-          Gladys – Opitos’ first girlfriend who was chased away by his parents

-          Oduka Aler – A father to Goretti Apio who is betrothed to Obina.

                    -  A friend to Ogang Apur.

DOMINANT AND MINOR THEMES AND IDEAS IN THE NOVEL (THE ALIEN WOMAN)

1)       Love and courtship

This theme can be handled on two levels”-

-          Love of the parents for their children

-          Love for courtship

In regards to the relationship between parents and their children, The Olugo’s no doubt have great affection for their children Opito and Obina, the two boys who are the centre of focus in the story. It is because of this love that they are sent to further their education.

Similarly, Oders’ love for his daughter Jacinta drives him to greater hight of solving her marital woes.

The Segawas too have even more exaggerated affection for their now and only daughter Margaret. It is this that makes them yearn for the best things to offer her let alone protection. However the two families fall short when it comes to determining the partner for their children.

As concerns courtship, the novel tells multiple stories of love and courtship that also represents different mindsets about marriage.

Opito and Gladys relationship is a mirror of how traditional values conflict with modern values with catastrophic consequences. Had tradition not stood on the way of their marriage, perhaps the misfortune that befalls Opito would have been avoided. The oppressive parenting that sanctions love and courtship does not only prove inconsequential but futile. The youth are not allowed to make choices in marital issues.

Opito’s marriage to Jacinta proves disastrous because it is only a relationship of convenience. It may as well be called conditional marriage because it simply aims at overcoming the dilemma of his seduction to by spirit.

Obina’s courtship with Gonetti Apio represents prearranged marriage where marriage partners simply follow the interest of the parents. Such a relationship does not stand the tests of time and circumstances. Goretti tries to fight her way into Obina’s life but miserably fails.

Omara is also in courtship with Christine and as the novel comes to an end they are set to marry. It is going to be inter-tribal marriage.

The only relationship that is tested and found solid is the one between Obina and Margaret. It based on true love, mutual respect, and commitment despite strong oppositions from the elders. Obina and Margaret’s love develops naturally, blossoms and finally bears fruits that will root out sentimentality and prejudice.

We should remember that Margaret herself was meant to marry an Australian Peterson working with the UN, very much against her will. This was part of the reason why she abandoned Kampala for Bungatira in search of Obina a man of her heart’s desire.

Qn. With close reference to the Novel, the Alien Woman, expound on the theme of love and courtship in the novel.

2)      Prejudice.

The theme of prejudice can be ethnic, cultural or even personal. Prejudice in this case is to be         

understood as a bias opinion against somebody or a group of people without valid reasons.

Ethnic prejudice is strong among Bungatira natives particularly against other tribes of Bantu very clearly. Bungatria is unwilling to accept her customs to be tainted by foreigners. Worse still, marrying anyone outside Bungatira is a taboo to them. Obina and Opito are faced with this reality.

The Bantu woman are taken to be morally deficient, lazy, and inhospitable. These assumptions smack / strike prejudice because Margaret`s virtues prove them wrong, instead Goretti Apio, a native woman to whom Obina was betrothed, demonstrates in human acts that shock everybody.

The other level of prejudice is to do with false judgment of educated woman, which is why Opito is denied an opportunity to marry Gladys Acayo, who is chased away by his parents’ reasons being that she is an educated girl and nearly a prostitute. Opito has a painful experience dealing with outright cultural stigma in matters of marital issues.

Margaret Nagawa is an epicenter of this dogma. Olugo’s household is totally unwilling to listen to any pleas made for their son’s choice. In fact, Obina’s fear and indifference towards his visitor confirm this cultural nightmare. Meetings are convened by clan leaders to map a way forward for their son’s predicament. Margaret is judged unfairly against the forces for which she has little control if any.

It’s not by her own making that her heart chooses Obina, rather it is nature that drives her against all odds to Bungatira to prove her love for their son. Despite the urban demeanor, for love, she plays hard adjusting to all manner of hardships in rural Bungatira, only to prove that anyone can fit in another culture and people should not be lumped as a whole but rather judged individually.

Margaret wins the love of the Olugo’s and it is a sweet victory for her because in the end Obina becomes the fulfillment of her university dream. A man of her choice without any encumbrance/impediment of race, ethnicity or social status but purely based on love.

Another level of prejudice is class prejudice which reflects the worthless / despicable attitude of the rich about the poor.

The rich think that the poor people have nothing good to offer to society. Ogang harbors the same sentiment about Olugo’s. Even Debrah, Margarets mother exudes/display this same feeling particularly when she visits Bungatira for her first time. Ssegawa thinks that anybody who is not rich cannot take good care of his Daughter. It is this same mien that first made Ssegawa to think of taking his late son Muwonge the only absentee character to go and study in the U.S.A. Had it not been for Deborah’s remonstration he would have again taken his daughter Margaret to study in Britain.

Class snobbery/arrogance is a manifestation of prejudice because of this; Ssegawa thinks nobody is good enough to take care of his daughter. His motorcade/demonstration is too elaborate to impress Margaret.

Qn To what extent are the parents and traditional customs might in determining marriage partners for their children in the Novel the Alien Woman?

3) Education 

Throughout the novella, Ocen upholds the view that formal education is one of the ways of uprooting deep seated customs that are retrogressive to the community and the society as a whole.

Bicencio Oligo is clearly a poor man in comparison to his village mates. Despite this handicap, he is steadfast in advocating for his sons well being through formal Education. Opito and Obina are village success stories for their accomplishments. Opito takes education as a liberty tool. He loved education to liberate his father from some of his conservative attitudes about life.

Obina went to the prestigious Makerere and Opito to the school of technology. It is little wonder that the two are at the forefront of reversing the stereotype that has been entrenched in Bungatira on matters of marrying “Aliens” ie non – tribemates.

To Ogang Apur education is aimed at educating the young on the issues of customs. It is not the formal type of education that Obina , Olugo and Opito cherishes.

Education for girls is only seen in the urban, where we see women like Christine and Margaret studying at higher levels. To other girls in Bungatira, education is unheard. They are only seen as sources of wealth if they are married off. It is not surprising that Fred Opito echoes this in his conversation with Margaret when she arrives in Abuka centre enroute to Obina’s village “In my village…a daughter like you would be married a long time ago. To them, girls learn…immorality at school” (pg 82).

This is a sad but true phenomenon that has engulfed the greater part of northern Uganda with little attention paid to the education of the girls.

Obina for one is exposed to a wider perspective and come face to face with people who do not hold norms as primary issues to progress. Omara, a fellow kinsman is one to attest to this shift, through his determination to marry an Ateso girlfriend Christine, regardless of Bungatira’s whishes and dictation.

Despite Opito and Obina`s triumph in their secondary education, education is in a state of decline in Bungatira. Some of the great schools that used to perform very well no longer do. A case in point is Hatabitie S.S where Obina studied. In spite of this, there is an education tax program intended to promote the education of brilliant students in Bungantira, Bicencio Olugo is the key architect in propagating this initiative (pg18).

Qn “Education is a tool for enlightenment”. Discuss this with close reference to the novel. The Alien Woman”

4) Tradition versus modernity (clash of values)

This is one of the key things in the novel. The story oscillates between the rural and the urban, dichotomous locations that represent contending values.

The cattle epidemic in Abela village manifests this clash. Ogang insists that the cause of the epidemic was rooted in the lack of appropriate rituals and libations that should guarantee the health of his livestock. Abila his son offers a modernist interpretation of the epidemic. For this reason Ogang is punished for failing to cooperate with the district veterinary officer who is advocating shift treatment and vaccination.

The same clash of values helps us explain the tension that ensues between Opito and the old man Ogang Apur. Ogang has fetishes that protect his livestock from all threats. Whoever steps in his kraal must prostrate before his fetishes, something that Opito on account of his modern education and enlightenment is not willing to do.

On his part, Obina on his first day in the capital city, he is shocked to see women abhorrent dress styles. The lady he meets in the taxi that happens to be Margaret Nagawa is dressed in a skirt too short to cover the essentials that shocks Obina.

The sight of female students smoking, kissing in public at Makerere  university constitute this culture shock because such behaviors are uncustomary and intolerable in the context of Obina’s cultural background.

Towards the near end of chapter 5, Omara and Obina had visited Christine where the presence of Margaret was inevitable when Christine enters with a full tray of seemingly delicious snacks. The reaction of Obina shows a clearly drawn line between traditional and modernity. Forks, knives and spoons which in the modern world are used with accustom case. Obina who represents the typical village man begins to sweat profusely at the mere sight of these catalytic utensils amidst cold whether a thing Omara and Christine alongside Margaret could least imagine (pg 31).

In mid-chapter 18, when Deborah’s arrival news to Bungantira district, Abela village spread within a short time, and everybody got startled at the mere sight of the car approach , a fairly big crowd was standing some distance away to see what misfortune the car had brought.(138). A car in the modern world is seen as a sign of development but to the dismay of the reader, the people of Bungantira took it for a misfortune. This mentality is more traditional than modern.

QN. The novel “The Alien Woman” is seen as interplay between tradition and modernity. Explain

5) Resilience (determination)

The theme of resilience is synonymous with steadfastness determination and optimism that characters show in oppressive and difficult circumstances.

The character that best demonstrates this is Margaret Nagawa. She is a stoic and undoubted with the debilitating/unbearable conditions of life in Bungantira. She bears hardships in spite of her lack of familiarity with rural lifestyle.

Margaret’s resilience makes her suffer without bitterness. She does not begrudge or blame anybody for the sufferings she faces.

The other character that shows resilience is Opito. He is determined to study and he approaches this ambition with optimism. He is determined to marry a particular type of woman and although the novel ends when his marriage to Jacinta Ajwang has already broken. We are left with no option than to presume that he will pursue his dream woman.

Another character that faces situations with determination is Bicencio Olugo. Amidst all the insults and psychological torture that he is going through because of his outlook to education, he still faces the education of his children with determination and he is sure to have them complete their studies and indeed he made it.

QN. Discuss ways in which three of the characters in the Alien Woman are able to adjust to hostile situations.

6)Change

The Alien Woman is no doubt a text that exposes the changes that Obina and Opito undergo in their lives from childhood through school and higher education. Most outstanding however, are their perceptions towards marriage partners. Obina for one is turned upside down from one preacher of tradition and custom to one who eventually begins questioning the same rationale that it imposes on people. He is quick to criticize Omara for his flexibility when it comes to matters of love with an Ateso girlfriend. This he finds queer and undesirable.

In indeed takes Obina time to adjust from his die-hard position to one of subjugation/defeat when he falls head over heels for Nagawa a thing that seemed  impossible at the beginning but turns out to be an eventual marriage.

The Olugo’s too are swayed and they gradually accept Margaret as their daughter – in – law after passing the difficult test of a lifetime in Bungatira.

Worth noting is Nagawa’s own determination and willingness to adjust to all manner of hardships that crowns it all. A metamorphosis from one who was born to luxury and later reduced to rural sneer, abuse, stigma to acceptance and love.

Other minor themes and ideas in the Novel include among others.

-          Witchcraft or superstition

-          Hatred

-          Jealousy

-          Social and psychological suffering etc

Other relevant questions

Qn. How does traditional culture conflict with the modern in the Alien Woman?

Qn. In what ways does life in Makerere University contribute to Obina and Margarets’ maturation?

NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES IN THE NOVEL “THE ALIEN WOMAN”

The narrative techniques also commonly referred to as language and style is a particular methodology or the vehicle the writer employs to pass or convey his message to readers more effectively.

In The Alien Woman, Ocen, L. has used a number of techniques and among which are: symbolism, Drama, Biblical allusion, dialogue, suspense and others.

I)                   Symbolism

In the novel, Ocen, wishing to bring out the conflict and interplay between culture or tradition and modernity, he uses the two protagonists, (James Obina and Margaret Nagawa) with the former symbolizing tradition and the latter modernity. Actually, the entire story in the novel oscillates between Urban and Rural areas, places where the two protagonists operate.

II)                Drama

Although Ocen uses long passages of description, we get relief a few times when he dramatizes the conflicts. The scuffle between Goretti Apio and Margaret Nagawa that resulted into Margaret getting seriously burnt with hot simsim oil, is a dramatization of the larger theme in the novel. Let alone the drama that ensued, resulting into Obina`s scandalous kicking and knocking off everything from the table intensifies the clash values (Pg. 32).

III)              Biblical allusion.

Ocen has also employed the technique of making reference to the Bible. For example, when he says “…the Bishop of Namirembe Diocese…in a speech…He referred to the book of Job in the Bible, whom the devil had sought permission to torment”. He urged Segawa William to be firm in God (Pg. 144).

IV)             Dialogue

There are so many dialogues in the novel. For instance: there is a dialogue between Opito and Ogang Apur (ch 2), Opito and Obina (ch 4), Obina and Omara (pg 26-27), Obina and Margaret (pg 72) etc

V)                Irony

The marriage between Obina and Margaret at the end of the Novel is sheer irony. One would hardly imagine that a girl of such a wealthy background would easily fall in love with a boy of a poor background like Obina. Although we get to know at the end of it all that it is out of true love that the two unlikely lovers agree to marry themselves, we cannot hesitate to say it is quite unusual and ironical.

Others include: Songs, use of local language, etc

These and many others unmentioned here are the narrative techniques that Ocen L. has employed in his novel The Alien Woman to pass out his message to the readers.

                                                

  GUIDING AND REVISION QUESTIONS

1.      Who is the Alien Woman in The Alien Woman?

2.      To what extent are parents right to dictate the choice of marriage partners to their children in The Alien Woman?

3.      Compare and contrast the characters of Opito and Obina as portrayed in the novel.

4.      William Ssegawa is responsible for the misfortune that befalls his daughter. Give your opinions.

5.      With close reference to the novel, expound on the theme of love and courtship.

6.      Education is a tool for enlightenment. Discuss this in relation to the novel: The Alien Woman.

7.      The novel “The Alien Woman” is  seen as an interplay between tradition and modernity: explicate

8.      Discuss ways in which two of the characters in The Alien Woman are able to adjust to hostile situations.

9.      Ogang Apur is a destructive element in the novel The Alien Woman. Do you agree? Give reasons.

10.  How relevant is what happens in the novel The Alien Woman to Uganda?