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- Simon's interference in Elesin's death ritual reflects his conviction that he knows better than the Yoruba people themselves about their practices, exposing the colonial arrogance and superiority complex. This paternalism extends to Jane Pilkings, who attempts to understand Yoruba customs to avoid offense but does so through a Eurocentric lens.
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It's also important to note that Elesin recognizes the power that Olunde now has, given that he's been in England and understands the English culture better. Now, he'll be able to fight the English and colonialism as a whole because of what he knows about his oppressors.
- Act 2
Jane asks Pilkings and Joseph whether Olunde was Elesin 's...
- Simon Pilkings
Though Pilkings says that Elesin dying wouldn't be a great...
- Act 2
Though he does not understand what has happened, Elesin views himself as a failure. Silenced and weighed down by the colonizer’s shackles, he is full of shame and sorrow.
Apr 23, 2024 · Olunde and Elesin’s death marks the end of the line of king’s horsemen, too. Iyaloja delivers the play’s conclusion about life and death: She admonishes Simon for his refusal to accept death, saying that just by being alive does not mean “the stain of death will not cling”.
The failure is Elesin’s not Simon’s, though Elesin tries to put the blame on the “alien race.” Iyaloja rejects this interpretation. If Elesin were strong enough in spirit, Simon could not keep him from his duty.
This is confirmed when later, Elesin fails to commit suicide. Though he blames Pilkings (who arrests Elesin at the moment he tries to die), the gods, and his bride in turn, Elesin eventually admits that he loved life too much and didn't entirely want to die.
Though Pilkings says that Elesin dying wouldn't be a great loss—he's had run-ins with Elesin in the past and finds Elesin difficult to deal with and annoyingly entrenched in native customs—Pilkings does fully believe in the Christian idea that suicide is a sin.
Elesin struggles with his commitment to following through with the act, even as the English colonial officer Simon Pilkings also tries to prevent his death. Elesin knows that failure to fulfill his duty could lead to strife for his people, but neither he nor Pilkings are prepared for the consequences of his failure to fulfill his duty.
