MARRIAGE AND THE DYNAMICS OF POWER IN LITERATURE: PERSPECTIVES FROM SASAVONA BY D.C. MARIVATE

Abstract

The subject of forced marriage is an issue of concern in public debates, media, policy matters and research projects in different parts of the world. The Oxford English Dictionary (2009) defines forced marriage as a marriage in which the parents choose the husband or wife for their child. Forced marriage is one of the social issues that involves a range of factors such as culture, gender, power and agency (Chantler, 2020). It is an old practice that has remained unresolved even after the advent of democracy due to inequality, poverty and power imbalances. This article therefore aims to examine and expose forced marriage in the Xitsonga novel, Sasavona by DC Marivate. Forced marriage is normally displayed by different cultures as cultural rights of parents upon their children. In most of Xitsonga literature, forced marriage is depicted by the way in which authors craft characters’ marriage endeavors. Generally speaking, the establishment of traditional families in Xitsonga literature indicates the initiative by parents, aunts or close relatives to scout out wives or husbands for their children by arranged marriages or forced marriages. Literature preserves a rich body of values and cultural practices that are normally transcended from one generation to the next generation.  The researcher will employ a qualitative research approach in collecting and analyzing non-numerical data to understand the written experiences or opinions and the concept knowledge of forced marriage. Purposive sampling has been used in this study to choose a specific text, Sasavona by D. C. Marivate to help meet the goal of the study. The researcher will perform a narrative data analysis to analyze the study content. The researcher bases the study on social exchange theory, where a forced marriage is understood as a coercive exchange in which one party is forced into a relationship against their will due to elements of inequality, pursuit of rewards, avoidance of costs and power imbalances which exist in parent-child relationships.