The Happy Marriage

The meek wife who endured all those slaps is a thing of the past. I, Amina Wakrine, penned this response to my husband’s manuscript on the night of October 1, 2003, and I have decided to love him despite the state that he’s in. My feelings won’t wander down dead-end streets anymore. It was a carefully considered decision, which I came to largely thanks to Lalla. She was the one who came up with the idea that I should salvage the marriage. She’s very clever. If it hadn’t been for her, I would be moping around and crying in a corner. She even suggested I should bring him a woman from time to time if it would please him, but I don’t know whether I’ll be able to do that. No, I shouldn’t exaggerate. This will be my revenge, and it will travel down the path of goodness, kindness, and generosity. It will be born out of love and redemption. I’ll fill him with a deep, boundless love, a love that will leave him moonstruck, and envelop him with a sweetness that he doesn’t even know can exist. I’ll be docile, ask for his forgiveness, obey his every wish, and learn to anticipate his desires, to the point where he’ll no longer be able to doubt my goodwill and desire to smooth out all his troubles and be his to command. Yes, I’ll submit to him and resign myself, in the hopes of carving myself a permanent niche by his side. I’m grateful that fate has afforded me another chance to recover my place, which I should never have lost. Foulane won’t be able to go back to his old ways once he understands what’s going on. I’ll do everything I can to make him into my object, my invalid, completely and utterly reliant on me and me alone. I will relish these moments. I’ll revel in this blessing. Free at last, I’ll finally be alive.

About the Authors

TAHAR BEN JELLOUN was born in Fez, Morocco, and immigrated to France in 1971. He is an internationally bestselling novelist, essayist, critic, and poet, and the winner of many of the world’s most prestigious literary prizes, including the Prix Goncourt and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He lives in Paris.

ANDRÉ NAFFIS-SAHELY is a poet, critic, and translator from French and Italian.