Polygamy is an Affront to Romantic Relationship: A Critical Analysis in Mariama Ba'S So Long a Letter and Ama Ata Aidoo’s Changes.

Abstract

Studies show that majority of African men engage in polygamous marriages, where the men marry more than one wife. Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter and Ama Ata Aidoo's Changes are two texts that portray polygamy as an affront to romantic love. The present study seeks to highlight the various constructions of polygamy in the texts and to showcase how polygamy deprives women of romantic love and critique its effects on the lives of characters in the texts. This study, therefore, is worth examining to shed a light of the social ills of polygamy in the society today. The study is a qualitative one, it employs textual and critical analysis to analyse the texts. The analysis indicates that polygamous marriages do not guarantee healthy relationship between spouses, men use polygamy to subject women to inferior positions, women in polygamous marriages are depressed, lonely and are also deprived of joy and love and there is also disintegration between the children in polygamous homes. The study adopts polygamy as the main theoretical framework in theorizing the work. Findings of the study have implications for scholars and society to reorient their minds about polygamous marriages.