His Only Wife

Afi’s pregnancy provides her with the opportunity to change the Dynamics of Arranged Marriage and work toward the Empowerment of Women. Throughout the preceding eight chapters of the novel, Afi has struggled with the Intersection of Tradition and Personal Desire. This struggle becomes more pronounced the more attached she grows to Eli. She hopes that giving Eli a child will “bring him to [her] for good” (171). This strain of thought aligns with Afi’s understanding of her traditional duties as a woman and a wife. Afi hopes that she will win and secure her husband’s favor by satisfying the expectation to provide him with a son. However, she quickly realizes that not even pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood will grant her the power, agency, and loyalty she deserves. As a result, she rebels against her marital, familial, and social obligations. Her decision to leave Accra and return to her former home in Ho with her mother illustrates Afi’s rebellious spirit and determination to exact her own freedom.

Afi’s eight-day stint in Ho alters her outlook on her circumstances in Accra. When Afi first arrived in Accra in Chapter 3, she was taken by the lavish nature of her new home. She quickly acclimates to her new luxurious, privileged lifestyle, becoming so comfortable that she forgets what it was like to live in her small hometown. In Chapter 9, Afi lies in her old room and studies her surroundings. She notices “spirals scratched into the concrete floor,” “dust particles floating around” her, and “the threadbare doorway curtain” (178). This space once felt like home to Afi, but now it feels foreign and squalid. Her altered perspective on her life in Ho conveys how Afi has changed since moving to Accra. Her life in the city has not always been happy or peaceful. Whatever challenges she has faced, however, marrying Eli has unequivocally ushered her into a new social class.

For this reason, many of the other characters urge Afi to forget Eli’s relationship with Muna and focus on all of the things her marriage has granted her. The tradeoff these characters urge reflects the traditional purpose behind arranged marriage: an equal exchange of benefits between two parties, in this case, the husband providing economic security in exchange for legitimate children and fulfillment of social expectations. But Afi is not content to exchange her body and life for money and luxury. She wants more from a marital relationship than financial stability and lavish living quarters. Her refusal to return to Accra without Eli conveys her determination to orchestrate her life on her own terms. Afi knows that money has helped her escape her otherwise strained living situation. Nevertheless, regular allowances from her husband’s business endeavors cannot empower Afi as an individual. Rather, her husband’s financial stability threatens to further disempower Afi and augment her dependency on others. Afi better understands this power dynamic and her role within it when she returns to Ho and observes the way her marriage has only deepened her mother’s dependency on Aunty. The more pressure Afi experiences to capitulate to tradition, the more determined she becomes to defy tradition and fight for her needs and desires.

Afi’s ability to stand up for herself to her husband, mother-in-law, and mother underscores her longing for independence and empowerment. Although Afi initially questioned her arranged marriage to Eli, she has since fallen in love with him. Instead of making her more dependent on him, her unexpected affection for Eli only augments her desire to speak her mind and articulate her needs in the relationship. She tells Evelyn in Chapter 9 that because she loves him she “just can’t share him with another woman” (175). Afi does not accommodate Eli’s other relationship as a way to prove her love. Rather, she demands that Eli see and value her as her own person, as his wife, and as the mother of his child. Furthermore, Afi stands up to Aunty and Olivia despite the repercussions. She knows that defying Aunty might cost her marriage and home in Accra. She quickly discovers how defying Olivia compromises Olivia’s work and social situations. Despite these consequences, Afi does not abandon her own desires and needs. Her obstinate behavior reveals her willingness to take risks to exact her liberation.