adabah k.- literature 1

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MARRIAGE AS A MEANS OF ESCAPE IN BESSIE HEAD’S THE COLLECTOR OF TREASURES, OUSMANE SEMBENE’S XALA, AND NGUGI AND NGUGI’S I WILL MARRY WHEN I WANT UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST FACULTY OF ARTS DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH CHARLES KATEY ADABAH (STUDENT) [email protected] Girgis, S., Robert P. G., & Ryan T. A. (2012) in their article “What Is Marriage”, consider marriage from two competing views: Conjugal View: Marriage is the union of a man and a woman who make a permanent and exclusive commitment to each other of the type that is naturally (inherently) fulfilled by bearing and rearing children together. The spouses seal (consummate) and renew their union by conjugal acts—acts that constitute the behavioural part of the process of reproduction, thus uniting them as a reproductive unit. Marriage is valuable in itself, but its inherent orientation to the AR/ENS/15/0006 Page 1

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MARRIAGE AS A MEANS OF ESCAPE IN BESSIE HEAD’S THECOLLECTOR OF TREASURES, OUSMANE SEMBENE’S XALA, AND

NGUGI AND NGUGI’S I WILL MARRY WHEN I WANT

UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COASTFACULTY OF ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHCHARLES KATEY ADABAH (STUDENT)

[email protected]

Girgis, S., Robert P. G., & Ryan T. A. (2012) in their article “What Is Marriage”, consider

marriage from two competing views:

Conjugal View: Marriage is the union of a man and a woman who

make a permanent and exclusive commitment to each other of the

type that is naturally (inherently) fulfilled by bearing and rearing

children together. The spouses seal (consummate) and renew their

union by conjugal acts—acts that constitute the behavioural part of

the process of reproduction, thus uniting them as a reproductive

unit. Marriage is valuable in itself, but its inherent orientation to

the bearing and rearing of children contributes to its distinctive

structure, including norms of monogamy and fidelity. This link to

the welfare of children also helps explain why marriage is

important to the common good and why the state should recognize

and regulate it (1).

Revisionist View: Marriage is the union of two people (whether of

the same sex or of opposite sexes) who commit to romantically

loving and caring for each other and to sharing the burdens and

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benefits of domestic life. It is essentially a union of hearts and

minds, enhanced by whatever forms of sexual intimacy both

partners find agreeable (1).

Marriage, as the first institution ordained by God, is revered by all and sundry. In fact,

society sees marriage as a prestige for women, and that if one is not married at a certain age, one

is ‘branded’ and given certain names in society. Although marriage couples are revered in

African society, not everybody goes into marriage. Those who get married do so for varied

reasons: for respect, for companionship, for mutual support, and for procreation.

Some critics (radical feminists) assert that marriage will always remain a symbolic

institution signifying the subordination of women to men. In 1969, University of Chicago

sociology professor Marlene Dixon declared: “The institution of marriage is the chief vehicle for

the perpetuation of the oppression of women; it is through the role of wife that the subjugation of

women is maintained.” (49). In 1970, author Robin Morgan referred to marriage as “a slavery-

like practice. We can’t destroy the inequities between men and women until we destroy

marriage.”(18). In 1971, Minnesota radical feminists, Helen Sullinger and Nancy Lehmann,

released a manifesto that declared: “Male society has sold us the idea of marriage….Now we

know it is the institution that has failed us and we must work to destroy it.” (23).

Feminist activists often point to historical, legal and social inequalities of wedding,

family life and divorce in their criticism of marriage. Sheila Cronan (1970), in her essay

“Marriage,” declared: “It became increasingly clear to us that the institution of marriage

‘protects’ women in the same way that the institution of slavery was said to ‘protect’ blacks—

that is, that the word ‘protection’ in this case is simply a euphemism for oppression,” (15) and

proclaimed that “marriage is a form of slavery” (16). She concluded: “Since marriage constitutes

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slavery for women, it is clear that the Women’s Movement must concentrate on attacking this

institution. Freedom for women cannot be won without the abolition of marriage” (17).

According to Anima (2001), feminism signals a refusal of oppression and a commitment

to struggling for women’s liberation from all forms of oppression – internal, external,

psychological, and emotional, socio-economic, political and philosophical.

Although many feminists consider the institution of marriage as a ‘form of oppression’

‘slavery’ and ‘inequitable’, this paper attempts to establish marriage as a necessity for African

women in Besie Head’s The Collector of Treasures (1977), Osumane Sembene’s Xala (1974),

and Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Ngugi wa Mirii’s I Will Marry When I Want (1986). Specifically,

this paper focuses on how some of the African women in the three selected texts use marriage as

a means of escape from their hardships or predicaments: Dikeledi and her uncle in The Collector

of Treasures, Mam Fatou and Badyen in Xala, Wangeci and Gathoni in I Will Marry When I

Want.

Bessie Head was born on July 6, 1937, in a mental hospital in Pietermaritzburg, South

Africa. She was one of the best-known African woman writers who wrote in English. Her mother

came from a white family of Scottish descent that owned racehorses. The mother was declared

insane. Because of this, Head was given to a white Afrikaner family for adoption but was

returned because she was not fully white. She was later accepted by a black family, with whom

she lived until she was thirteen years old. She was then moved to a mission orphanage in

Durban, later attending the Ubilo Road High School. She earned a primary-school teaching

certificate at eighteen and (she) began to teach in Durban. After two years of teaching, she left to

become a journalist at Drum Publications in Johannesburg. Head became active in politics in the

1960’s and joined the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). She married Harold Head in 1961, and

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they had one son. They divorced in 1964. Most of Bessie Head's important works are set in

Serowe, particularly the three novels, When Rain Clouds Gather (1968), Maru (1971), and A

Question of Power (1973). Head also published a number of short stories, including the

collection The Collector of Treasures (1977). Her last novel is A Bewitched Crossroad (1984).

Ousmane Sembene was born on born January 1, 1923, in Ziguinchor village in the

province of Casamance, south Senegal, which was then a French colony. His parents divorced

when he was a child, and he was sent to live for varying periods of time with different relatives.

Of all the family members he spent time with, the most influential was his mother's oldest

brother, Abdou Rahmane Diop. At the age of eight, Sembene was sent to Islamic school.

When Diop died in 1935, Sembene moved to Dakar to live with another uncle. In Dakar, he

began attending French school. His formal education ended at the age of 14, when he was

expelled from the colonial school after a physical fight with a French teacher. He was sent to his

father's family in Dakar, where he worked at myriad jobs, while reading and going to the cinema

each evening. When he was 19, Sembene joined the French colonial forces in their battle against

Nazi Germany. After four years in the military, during which he fought in Europe and Africa,

Sembene returned to Dakar, where he helped organize the Dakar-Niger railroad strike of 1947.

Later, he returned to France, where he worked in Citroen factory in Paris, and (he) also worked

on the dock in Marseilles for ten years. During this time, Sembene became very active in trade

union struggles and began an extraordinarily successful writing career. He wrote his first novel,

Le Docker Noir, in 1956, based on a Marseille strike in which he was involved, followed by Les

Bouts de Bois de Dieu (God's Bits of Wood) in 1960. Since then, he had produced a number of

works, which have placed him in the foreground of the international literary scene. In 1961, he

travelled to Moscow to study film and then worked in Gorky studies. Upon his return, he wrote

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and directed his first feature Black Girl (1966). His other works are, but not limited to, Mandabi

(1968), Emitai (1971), Xala (1975) and Ceddo (1977). Sembene was the first film director from

Africa to gain international recognition and rightly described as the father of African cinema.

Ousmane Sembene died on 9th June, 2007, at the age of 84.

Ngugi wa Thiong’o (formerly known as James Ngugi ) was born in 1938 in Limuru,

Kenya. As he became sensitized to the effects of colonialism in Africa, he adopted his traditional

name and wrote in the Bantu language of Kenya’s Kikuyu people. He is a prolific Kenyan writer,

and currently holds a post as Distinguished Professor in Comparative Literature and English at

the University of California, Irvine. He was educated at Kamandura, Manguu and Kinyogori

primary schools; Alliance High School, all in Kenya. He also studied at Makerere University in

Kampala, Uganda. After earning a B.A. in English, he worked as a journalist for Nairobi's “Daily

Nation” for half a year before leaving to continue his second bachelor’s degree in literature at

University of Leeds, Yorkshire, England. After doing graduate work at Leeds, he served as a

lecturer in English at University College, Nairobi, Kenya, and as a visiting professor of English

at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, U.S. From 1972 to 1977, he was senior lecturer

and chairman of the department of literature at the University of Nairobi. He is a recipient of

seven Honorary Doctorates. He is also Honorary Member of the American Academy of Letters.

He is a novelist, essayist, playwright, journalist, editor, academic and social-activist. Some of his

many works include Weep Not Child (1964), The River Between (1965), A Grain of Wheat

(1967), Petals of Blood (1977), Decolonising the Mind (1986) and Wizard of the Crow (2006) .

Ngugi wa Thiong’o wrote the play I Will Marry When I Want (1977) with Ngugi wa Mirii and

the novels Devil on the Cross (1982) and Matigari (1986). In 2012, his memoir In the House of

the Interpreter was published.

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In Besie Head’s The Collector of Treasures (1977), Osumane Sembene’s Xala (1974),

and Ngugi wa Thiong’o and Ngugi wa Mirii’s I Will Marry When I Want (1986), major issues

are raised: parental irresponsibility, marriage as a way out of hardship, education, friendship,

male dominance, marital love, servitude, and domestic violence, colonialism, exploitation,

suppress, clash between cultures among others. However, the issue of marriage as a means of

escape from hardship is the focal point for my discussion.

In The Collector of Treasures, Bessie Head used Dikeledi and her uncle as a vehicle for

driving home the issue of marriage by some African women as a form of escape from unpleasant

situations or hardships.

In Head’s The Collector of Treasures, Dikeledi’s uncle decides to give her hand in

marriage just for the fact that he is tired of taking care of her. Dikeledi’s uncle forgets about the

feelings of his niece, and to satisfy his desire, he pushes her to marry Garesego who is his friend.

Dikeledi’s decision does not count in this situation. “You better marry Garesego because you’re

just hanging around here like a chain around my neck” (30).This is an indication that Dikeledi’s

uncle wants to get rid of her and the only means possible is by marrying her off. To her uncle,

the only means to relieve himself of the responsibility of taking care of Dikeledi is to allow

someone to marry her and her refusal can result in her being asked to pack out of the house.

Dikeledi’s acceptance of Garesego’s marriage proposal is not because of love but for the fact

that Garesego is the only man who comes to seek her hand in marriage, and also because she

(Dikeledi) wants to get away from that wicked uncle of hers. This can be seen in the quotation of

the text below:

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Garesego was my uncle’s friend, and he was the only

man who asked to marry me…I did marry Garesego,

just to get away from that cruel uncle of mine (30).

Dikeledi‘s fear is that her refusal to accept the marriage proposal of Garesego will lead to

her being denied other suitors. Therefore, whether she loves him or not, because he is the only

man who asks her to marry him, she readily accepts. Again, if she does not accept Garesego’s

marriage proposal, she will continue to suffer in the hands of her wicked and selfish uncle and

his children who treat her about like a good for nothing old and tattered piece of rag. “All my

uncle’s children treated me badly because I was their servant.” (30)

From the foregoing context, Dikeledi sees marriage as unblemished and all-rosy

institution in which people are rescued from their woes and predicaments. It is because of this

pre-conceived idea of hers that makes her to accept Garesego’s marriage proposal. She

anticipates that marriage will serve as a route from which she will escape the harsh realities of

life, and also as a means of economic liberation, but is it always the case in real-life situation?

From the above discussion and quotations, one can conclude that Dikeledi’s decision to

marry Garesego is not based on love, but a way to just escape from the maltreatment she goes

through in the house of her uncle and his children.

The issue of marriage as a way out of hardship also features prominently in Sembene’s

Xala. Sembene achieves this issue of marriage through the following characters: Mam Fatou,

Badyen and N’Gone.

In Xala, Mam Fatou, N’Gone’s mother, pleads with Badyen (also known as Yay Bineta)

to assist her find a suitor for N’Gone. Mam Fatou’s statement is quoted below:

Yay Bineta, N’Gone is your daughter.

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You know so many people in N’Dakaru.

People who could help us. Look at how we live,

like animals in a yard...The way things are these days

chance has to be helped along a little (7).

The above statement from Mam Fatou to Badyen is an indication that she persuades

Badyen to look for a suitor for N’Gone. It is clear from Mam Fatou’s utterance that she wants a

suitor who can provide the needs of the family. She needs somebody who can change the

fortunes of the family through her daughter. Because Badyen knows the condition of family and

what they stand to gain if N’Gone gets married, she goes for several weeks and months looking

for a suitor for N’Gone. After weeks and months of exploring the land for a man for N’Gone,

Badyen goes for a worthy businessman, El Hadji. “One morning Yay Bineta dressed N’Gone in

her best clothes and they went to El Hadji Abdou Kader Beye’s shop, where he also had his

office.” (7). Badyen introduces N’Gone to El Hadji in his office and tries to lure El Hadji to fall

for N’Gone:

El Hadji, this is my daughter N’Gone. Take a good

look at her. Could she not be a kind of measure? A

measure of length or a measure of capacity? she is

gentle. A drop of drew. She is ephemeral too (7).

Badyen and N’Gone’s visit to El Hadji, draws his attention to N’Gone. It is obvious from

the initial stage that El Hadji admires N’Gone’s beauty, but he is not interested in her. In view of

this, Badyen tries to push her agenda further. This can be seen in the following quotations: “A

pleasant harbour for the eyes,” replied El Hadji (7). Badyen also replies:

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You say ‘for the eyes’. You speak in the plural. I am talking in

the singular. One owner only…You don’t tell a person with

one eye to close it. No more than you need to show the hand

how to find the mouth. You have to prepare something for the

hand to take to the mouth. (7)

N’Gone’s frequent visits to El Hadji on the pretext of getting a job, changes El Hadji’s

feelings towards her and gradually she wins him over. “A change in his feelings began to take

place. He became used to her. He felt a growing desire for her” (8). El Hadji has finally fallen in

love with N’Gone and the marriage plans, at last, comes off. The scheme set out by Badyen

works perfectly.

The scheme set out by Mam Fatou and Badyen to find a suitor for N’Gone who according

to her mother is not able to pass her examination but must get a man to marry her, shows clearly

of the fact that these women see marriage as an escape route from the harsh realities life.

Again, it is worth noting that N’Gone’s preference for a western marriage is because she

recognises western marriage is an institution that is closer to the means of production and wealth

as compared to the traditional marriage. It is, therefore, in this sense that the character N’Gone,

sees a western marriage as a positive light and accepts this style of marriage.

Yay Bineta also uses the marriage of N’Gone as form of escape to save her face. Yay

Bineta, the Badyen, has not been successful in her marriage. All the men she marries are now in

their graves. Because of this bad luck, no man wants to marry her. She, therefore, sees the

marriage of her brother’s daughter as her marriage and tries to make sure that the marriage works

between N’Gone and El Hadji Abdou Kader Beye. To her (Badyen), the success of her brother’s

daughter’s marriage is also her own success. The quotation below confirms the above assertion:

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Yay bineta had always been hounded by bad luck, ay gaaf. She

had had two husbands, now in their graves. The traditionalist held

that she must have her fill of deaths: a third victim. So no man

would marry her for fear of being this victim…She was seen as a

devourer of men, the promise of an early death. Because of her ay

gaaf, men kept out of her way, and married women of her age

preferred to divorce rather than risk widowhood near her (30)…

The marriage of her brother’s daughter was her marriage (31).

The play, I Will Marry When I Want (1986), by Kenyan writers Ngugi wa Thing’o and

Ngugi wa Mirii also speaks about the issue of marriage as a means by which people run away

from hardships of life.

From the start of the play, Wangeci tells her daughter, Gathoni, to look for a husband

because she is old enough to get married. This can be seen in the quotation below:

Take to the road!

There’s no girl worth the name

Who is contented with being an old maid

In her mother’s homestead (287).

This statement from Wangeci indicates that she wants her daughter to marry at all cost. Wangeci,

therefore, encourages the relationship between her daughter and John Muhuuni despite the fact

that she (Wangeci) has problem with him. “What kind of a person is this? He never enters the

house to greet people!” (290). Although the behaviour of John Muhuuni is not acceptable to

Wangeci, yet she pushes her daughter to get married to him. Why? Wangeci knows what she

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stands to gain should John Muhuuni marry her daughter, so she ignores that behaviour. Gathoni

is also tired of the poor condition that she finds herself in and laments bitterly when the mother

asks her to put the bedding somewhere in a corner:

These tatters!

Are these what you call bedding?

And this floor,

Is this what you call a bed? (286).

Also, Wangeci’s comment is indicative of the fact that she sees marriage as a means of

escape from the harsh realities of life: “Why don’t you get yourself a husband who’ll buy you

spring beds” (286). Gathoni desires a better life different from what she is experiencing and the

only way to change her living condition is by getting married to John Muhuuni. When Kiguunda

asks her to take back the items that John Muhuuni buys for her, she responds by saying: “And I

go back to my rags? “Who is the girl who does not like being well dressed? Who does not like to

feel she is human at times?” (313).

Again, Wangeci pushes for a church wedding to satisfy her desire for social nobility. She

is of the view that her church wedding will pave a way for her family to associate themselves

with the wealthy Kiois who can make their lives better. Wangeci believes that her church

wedding will make the Kiois see her family as one of the converts into Christianity and that will

allow Kioi’s son, John Muhuuni, to marry their daughter, Gathoni, who will bring them success.

“His [Kioi’s] church shows us the only way to life and happiness,”(329) and, therefore, she

decides to be part of the church in order for her and her family to succeed and perhaps rise up to

the level of the Kiois, both socially and economically.

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From the analysis of the three texts: The Collector of Treasures (1977), Xala (1974), and

I Will Marry When I Want (1986), it is conspicuous that some people, especially women, use

marriage as a means of escape from their hardships or predicaments. The question one may ask

is: Why are these writers so much concerned about the issue of marriage as a means of escape

from harsh realities of life? It is imperative to note that literature mirrors society, so the writers

are bringing to the fore what pertains in African society. They write about this issue of marriage

to create awareness for change. This is because they see it as a weakness on the part of women.

By inference, the writers are saying that such a preconceived idea of marriage as a means of

escape from oppression and economic hardship should be discouraged completely.

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REFERENCES

Primary Texts

Head, B. (1977). The Collector of Treasures. Heinemann Educational Books Ltd.,p.1-64.

Sembene, O. (1974). Xala. Editions Presence Africaine, Heinemann Educational Books, p.1-103

Wa Thiong’o, Ngugi, and wa Mirii, Ngugi (1986). I Will Marry When I Want. Modern African

Drama. Ed. Biodun Jeyifo. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Inc., p. 276-361.

Secondary Texts

Anima, M. (2001). African Feminisms. Vol.I, No. 50, p.58-63.

Ennin, P. T. (2012). Confronting the Postcolony: Defiance and Escapism in Mustapha Matura’s

Independence and Ngugi and Ngugi’s I Will Marry When I Want. Between Language and

Literature. University Printing Press, Cape Coast, p. 395-396.

Fagan, P. F., Dougherty, A., & Mcelvain, M. (2014). 164 Reasons to Marry. Marriage and

Religion Research Centre.

Fagan, P. F., Robert E. R., & Noyes L. R. ( 1995). Why Congress Should Ignore Radical

Feminist Opposition to Marriage. The Heritage Foundation

Gadjigo, S., & Sembene, O. (1993). Dialogues with Critics and Writers. Amherst: University of

Massachusetts Press.

Girgis, S., Robert P. G., & Ryan T. A. (2012). What Is Marriage? Harvard

Journal of Law and Public Policy. Vol. 34, No.1., p. 245-287.

Robin, M. (1970). Sisterhood Is Powerful. New York: Random House, p. 537.

Sheila, Cronan. “Marriage,” in Koedt, Levine, and Rapone, eds., Radical Feminism. p. 214.

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