Nene thinks Nnaemeka should write a letter to his father, Okeke, to give him the good news about Nene and Nnaemeka's engagement. They love each other very much and are happy and excited to be planning their wedding. But Nnaemeka is thinking about waiting for six weeks instead of writing a letter right then, so he can tell his dad in person about the engagement. Nene disagrees and says: "He should be let into our happiness now." She...
Nene thinks Nnaemeka should write a letter to his father, Okeke, to give him the good news about Nene and Nnaemeka's engagement. They love each other very much and are happy and excited to be planning their wedding. But Nnaemeka is thinking about waiting for six weeks instead of writing a letter right then, so he can tell his dad in person about the engagement. Nene disagrees and says: "He should be let into our happiness now." She means that the news of the engagement is exciting and happy, and Okeke should know as soon as possible so he can share in their joy.
All this is very normal if you're in the mindset of a typical modern reader; we marry for love, we choose our own life partners, and these days we usually don't completely freak out if someone falls in love with a person from a different religion or race.
But Okeke and his son belong to the Ibo tribe in Nigeria, and their culture is extremely different. What Nnaemeka hasn't really explained very well to his soon-to-be wife is that Okeke is likely to hate the idea of his son marrying Nene. She's the "right" religion, but she isn't from the Ibo tribe, and she hasn't been chosen for Nnaemeka in an arranged marriage. For those reasons, Okeke finds the marriage not just a bad idea but a source of deep shame for his family. As you can see, Nene was mistaken in assuming their engagement would bring Okeke joy.
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