Nature is a symbol of Okeke’s changing mood near the end of the story. It’s an emotional moment for Okeke to learn that he has two grandsons he has never met, having shunned his son and daughter-in-law so many years ago. As Okeke digests this news, Nature seems to share in Okeke’s grieving for the time he has lost with his family by becoming overcast and windier: “It was one of those rare occasions when even Nature takes a hand in a human fight.”
Nature is also what keeps Okeke accountable as he tries to battle his feelings of guilt and shame; the more Okeke puts up a fight and tries to keep his resolve and ignore his guilt, the more Nature demands his attention with a heavy and loud rain storm, complete with thunder and lightning. This suggests that, much like the changing seasons, Okeke’s own internal storm is brewing, hearkening back to the moment when Nnaemaka revealed his engagement to Nene and “expected the storm to burst” in the form of an emotional reaction from Okeke. Instead, Okeke bottled up his emotions and shunned Nnaemeka for years, and this encounter with the thunderstorm represents his long-awaited release from those pent-up feelings. The aggressive and loud storm gives his own internal struggle a physical presence, so he is unable to run from his overwhelming emotions. Just as he is unable to ignore the storm, Okeke is unable to ignore the fact that he may never recover from his unfair treatment of Nnaemeka, Nene, and his two grandchildren.
Nature Quotes in Marriage is a Private Affair
It was one of those rare occasions when even Nature takes a hand in a human fight. Very soon it began to rain, the first rain in the year. It came down in large sharp drops and was accompanied by the lightning and thunder which mark a change of season.
By a curious mental process he imagined them standing, sad and forsaken, under the harsh angry weather—shut out from his house.
Nature Symbol Timeline in Marriage is a Private Affair
