INFERTILITY IN MARRIAGE AND ITS IMPACT ON THE FAMILY: JAMES ALACHI’S YOUR PRECIOUS IHOTU

Barrenness, unfruitfulness and infertility are all forms of sterility. This problem could be the fault of either of the two partners in a marriage union. It is a dangerous factor that unleashes destructive blows at marriages leading to collapse of the family unit. This paper seeks to look at the value of a woman adjudged to be sterile vis-a-vis the high premium placed on the possession of children, against the backdrop of traditional demands and expectations from the women folk. It is also against this background that the paper attempts to probe into James Alachi’s use of the dramatic medium to expose the concomitant effects of infertility on the family unit using his play Your Precious Ihotu. The paper then concludes by admitting that though infertility is a misnomer, family members especially the male spouses should learn to exercise some level of patience and shun obsession and over indulgence in the quest for children