The Impact of Polygamous Marriages on Family Functioning and Cohesion in Xisomisana by F.A. Thuketana

A Radical Feminist Lens

Abstract

In recent years, there has been much focus on research tailored to unpack and address disputes and societal developments involving polygamous families. In contemporary settings, many people practise polygamy worldwide for societal, cultural, religious, spiritual or personal reasons. As per custom, polygamous relationships have been illustrious in demonstrating how masculinity always often triumph over femininity across polygamous relations, including women-to-women traditional socialisation contexts. The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of polygamous marriages in selected Xitsonga literary texts. The study adopts a qualitative research approach in the collection and analysis of data. Data will be collected through a solicitous reading of the selected texts in search of depicted polygamous marriages using purposive sampling. Textual analysis will assist the researcher to interpret and make sense of polygamous marriages in selected Xitsonga fictional texts. The study will be anchored by the Radical Feminist Theory in exploring the dynamics in which the complexities of the institution of marriage within the gamut of polygamy is censored within and without phallocentric polygamous families in literature. The findings of the study reveal how women in polygamous relationships suffer, both in the hands of men and in the jealousy hands of senior co-wives.