Palace Walk 1

On page 4 Amina is talking about the house and how she can hear spirits and everything going through the house cursing everything. She also talks about her husband, and how the only time she feels safe is when her husband is around. But she also talks about a time where she didn't feel safe even when her husband would come back from his nightly adventures. She talks about how she used to fear him and didn't understand any of the stuff that he did. " I'm a man. I'm the one who commands and forbids. I will not accept any any criticism of my behavior. All I ask of you is to obey me. Don't force me to discipline you". (pg 4) I wonder why does her husband feel that it is okay to talk to his wife like that? Why does he feel the need to belittle her and make her look as if she is less than the dirt that is under his feet. The part that really got to me is how he says, " Don't force me to discipline you". That is something that a mother would say to her son. Not something that a husband says to his wife. It kind of reminds me of an abusive relationship that might be portrayed on television. Where the husband gets ready to hit his wife, but before he does it he will tell his wife don't make me do this, I don't want to do this but I have too, and sometimes they even say I have to hit you because I love you so much. Since I don't know that much about their culture I have to go on what I think. I think that the reason he finds it okay to talk to his wife like that is because they put the men on a throne, and make them feel like they are king. That everyone else is lower then them, especially their wives, and it is part of the woman's job to just listen to them and do whatever their husband's want them to do.