Neerbale

Neerbale is the young man who finds Alibech after her father’s death and brings her back from the desert to Capsa. Having spent all his substance in gallantry, he acts before the authorities can claim her father’s estate as property left without an heir. He marries Alibech and, in her right, succeeds to the ample inheritance. His brief appearance sharply redirects her story: the solitary life she had chosen as religious service gives way to marriage, family wealth, and public laughter.

Search and Return

When a fire in Capsa kills Alibech’s father and the rest of his household, she becomes heir to his property. Neerbale hears that she is alive and sets out to find her. He reaches her before the court can take possession of the estate, then brings her back to Capsa. The account stresses that he does so against her will; his recovery of Alibech is also the means by which he gains access to her inheritance.

Marriage and Inheritance

Neerbale takes Alibech as his wife and succeeds to her father’s substantial estate through her. The narrative gives no account of a courtship or of any negotiation between them: his pursuit, her return, the marriage, and the transfer of wealth follow in quick succession. At the moment the women later question Alibech about her desert life, Neerbale has not yet lain with her. The story thus presents the marriage first as a change in her circumstances and status, rather than as a reconciliation she has chosen.

Alibech’s Account and Neerbale’s Narrative Role

Asked what service she performed in the desert, Alibech explains the phrase she had used for her sexual encounters with Rustico. She complains that Neerbale committed a grievous wrong by taking her away from that service. The women answer that she need not grieve: Neerbale can serve the Lord with her as well. The exchange supplies no further account of his response, but it makes his marriage part of the comic transformation of Alibech’s religious language into a popular saying. Neerbale’s role is therefore defined by a double reversal: he takes Alibech out of a life she wanted to continue, while the women recast the marriage as a new setting for the same supposed service.