Scarlet Song by Mariama Ba
Scarlet Song is a tale of a clash of cultures through a marriage of Senegalese man, Ousmane Gueye to French woman Mireille De La Valle ( a daughter of a French diplomat in Senegal). Their romance starts in Senegal until the Mireille’s father finds out and sends her to France. They reunite in France and eventually get married. Upon their return to Senegal it becomes clear that the union is doomed as Ousmane settles back into his Senegalese culture and tradition, without any regard for his wife’s background. Yaya Khady, Ousmane’s mother does not approve of the union and encourages her son to take on a second wife, which is legal and acceptable in Islam. When Mireille gets wind of the what she perceives to be an ‘illicit’ relationship she has a nervous breakdown.
In this classic, Mariama Ba weaves a riveting story of an interracial relationship that is approached in a naïve way, almost eluding to the fact that interracial relationship can work if cultural differences are acknowledged and negotiated in a deliberate manner. Failure to do that can be tragic.
Mariama’s work was written in French, translated into English.
In this classic, Mariama Ba weaves a riveting story of an interracial relationship that is approached in a naïve way, almost eluding to the fact that interracial relationship can work if cultural differences are acknowledged and negotiated in a deliberate manner. Failure to do that can be tragic.
Mariama’s work was written in French, translated into English.
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