This story was a mixture between the two stories, The Assasination of Light at the River's Flow and The Night of the Festival. In the story, A Wife For My Son, the husband had the final say in the family just like the father in The Night of the Festival. Also, Fatiha was like Raha in The Assasination of Light at the River's Flow, because she had no choice but to follow orders. All three stories share the theme of arranged marriage.
I didn't enjoy reading this story too much, because it's another sad story about how a woman does not have any choice but to agree to an arranged marriage. Adding to that, the character who was facing the arranged marriage, Fatiha, had dreams that she wanted to fulfill. I feel that arranged marriages always end unhappily, because almost all the time, at least one person in the marriage wouldn't feel happy because he/she might already be in love with someone else, or he/she still has things he/she wants to accomplish. All in all, this story is quite sad and a little bit confusing as it was hard to follow.
I agree with you on the connection of the three stories, I see the similarities - especially the theme of arranged marriage. Arranged marriages seem to be popular in these short Middle East stories, probably because arranged marriages occur a lot there.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that this story was sad, but aren't all arranged marriages sad? Well, most... This story has a 'happier' ending than The Assassination of Light at the River's Flow because the daughter doesn't get hurt, and I like that. ;)
I would like to read a story about arranged marriages from a son's point of view. That would be interesting to read about both sides of the people in an arranged marriage, don't you think?