AFRICAN PROSE
ASARE KONADU: A Woman In Her Prime
Compare Pokuwaa’s and Koramoa’s Marital experiences.
Explanation
Pokuwaa and Korarnoa are very close friends. As girls, they spend a lot of time in each other's company and share a lot of things and play Ampe and Asogoro. Fortunately, the girls meet and fail in love with two friends, Kofi Daafo and Kofi Dede respectively. 'The two couples get married at about the same time, Unfortunately, the two women are not blessed with children early in their marriages. Their attitudes to their predicament are however different.
Despite the stigma surrounding a woman who is presumed barren. Koramoa sticks to her guns and endures her deprivation with her husband. She does not leave him and search for a solution elsewhere, even though the temptation to do so is very strong. Pokuwaa, on the other hand is very impatient. She soon starts to fret and eventually succumbs to her mother's pressure for her to move on, against the advice of Koramoa, marrying two other husbands after her first marriage. Pokuwaa's change of husbands does not lead to immediate results. She still remains childless. In the meantime, Koramoa's persistence pay's off. She conceives and gives birth to a child. This upsets Pokuwaa all the more as at that time she is with her second husband, Kwaku Fosu and still childless.
In her frustration, Pokuwaa confides in Koramoa her intention to discontinue her sacrifices in a bid to get the gods to bless her with a child. Koramoa is rational in her approach and reveals this in her pleas With Pokuwaa not to give up hope. Koramoa has had a child, but she catches her husband with another woman. This almost leads to a break-up in their marriage. However, it must be noted that Kwadwo Fordwuo, in spite of his first wife, is more committed to their relationship. He continually encourages Pokuwaa, raising her hopes when in a state of despair. He admonishes her:. "to give up sacrifices is to give up life itself'. In time, Pokuvaa conceives with her third husband though she still irks at having to share him with his other wife.