INFIDELITY- and its grim repercussions




Infidelity. Adultery. Fornication. These words are often used interchangeably and constitute part of the substantive theme of countless books over the decades, centuries.

So many works reflect this, and men in particular seem to get most incensed when they detect such traits in their partner. In Sidney Sheldon's Bloodline for one, blatant promiscuity in the part of a lady results in the young woman’s knees being shattered and destroyed at the end!

There is a lot of promiscuity/infidelity in African books too. E.g renowned author Chinua Achebe writes about sexual propensities of young Odili in the book, A man of the people . But it is not only Odili, as Langa the "big man" seduces lots of women (including Odili's girl!), he buys other women, like a female lawyer too.


Dickson Ighavini's Death is a Woman is a thriller... with raw details, often disturbing of sexual indiscretions, incandescent emotions and feelings, anger, betrayal despair, revenge, gratuitous violence et al. The title says it all!

Or take a work like The Wages of Sin - where the author focuses on a young woman (Ojiji) who to put it bluntly, loves sex, committing blatant acts of "fornication" to the chagrin of her boyfriend. It is clear that the author himself strongly condemns the conduct of the young woman, who predictably regrets her actions at the end.
How many women in let's say Africa have been viciously killed or maimed because  of sexual indiscretions, perceived infidelities, or even mere suspicion? The mind boggles, and many books continue to reflect this.

In Bolaji's work, Ask Tebogo (the 4th in his Tebogo Mokoena sleuth adventure) the theme involves a "gentleman " whose life is brutally ended because he got involved with "another man's woman". The dead man,  Dave is not only stabbed, but also set on fire... disturbing. Yet, fiction often mirrors reality?

Further Reading:

Bloodline. By Sidney Sheldon

A Man of the People. By Chinua Achebe

Death is a Woman. By D Ighavini

The Wages of Sin.  By Ibe Oparandu

ASK TEBOGO. By O Bolaji

Comments

  1. TM THIBA8 February 2020 at 01:42

    What an insightful background of world renowned writers, touching sensetive topics that is happening on a daily basis in our different societies.

    Women and men die in line of love, infidelity, and stealing from others territories. This is stories that public must know about and not shove them under the carpet to look good and wins others hearts and trust.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eric9 February 2020 at 06:35

    And to think that moral values have gone down completely in our modern world. Many young women sleep around brazenly having so many partners- just because they want money and many material things. What happens to the family unit?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Eric9 February 2020 at 06:36

    And to think that moral values have gone down completely in our modern world. Many young women sleep around brazenly having so many partners- just because they want money and many material things. What happens to the family unit?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Eric9 February 2020 at 06:36

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  5. C. MADOLYN10 February 2020 at 07:07

    It's always easy to blame the woman in these cases, as if it is not men who are always chasing and seducing women. The man often treats the woman as if she is inferior, refusing to let go, even when the woman has had enough, and wants to move on. Then you see the man refusing to let her go, and claiming "betrayal", or even brutally attacking/killing her. Women are often vulnerable, trapped, with limited choices. How many women out there can claim to be "independent "?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Henry OZOGULA12 February 2020 at 04:20

    There is no need for the blame game, really. Both men and women are responsible for what might be the sorry state of morality or immorality these days. Or perhaps it's been there for long time with lots of deceit, red herrings and the like. There is a famous book by the great Chinweizu on how women have always manipulated and controlled men, though it might not look like that on the surface. The wages of sin? Sounds old fashioned, but maybe that's another sign of our sorry times. Fine books referred to, in this essay.

    ReplyDelete
  7. MAJA29 February 2020 at 04:26

    I guess we must all be careful; the writer seems to have taken sides

    ReplyDelete

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