My Worth Crowned You is a novel that locates the new black middle class individual in his/her ‘belonging’ in today’s society; somewhere between modernity, western education and black culture. It is written in first person and follows the journey of Kearabetswe Mohale, the narrator. She is an ordinary young woman who was born and raised in fictional Tholoana Kingdom. Tholoana Kingdom is rich with culture, locates culture above all else, and centres its entire existence on culture. It is a country that is under the rule of King Mohato Mohale – Kearabetswe’s husband.
Kearabetswe is educated outside of Tholoana Kingdom and under western education, therefore being in possession of a Master’s degree. After years of all of this education in South Africa, Johannesburg, she – like many other graduates – was looking forward to being a graduate in some company as a young professional. Her family had other plans for her. These plans led her back home to Tholoana Kingdom and forcefully married off to King Mohato Mohale.
Her marriage has all kinds of challenges because of the unavoidable clash that continuously happens between modernity and cultural beliefs .
The Mohale elders arrange for Kearabetswe to sleep with Mohato’s cousin to birth the heir to the throne because Mohato is infertile. The response to this approach is met with mixed approaches . It leads to an event that makes Kearabetswe flee from Tholoana Kingdom. The ending of the novel sees the story come full circle when the death of someone important in the family forces Kearabetswe back into the royal palace and back into her marriage with Mohato.
The book addresses issues of infertility and the impact it has on marriage in the cultural context. It conventionally and unconventionally discusses love, its challenges, its values, and its power.
My Worth Crowned You is a novel that locates the new black middle class individual in his/her ‘belonging’ in today’s society; somewhere between modernity, western education and black culture. It is written in first person and follows the journey of Kearabetswe Mohale, the narrator. She is an ordinary young woman who was born and raised in fictional Tholoana Kingdom. Tholoana Kingdom is rich with culture, locates culture above all else, and centres its entire existence on culture. It is a country that is under the rule of King Mohato Mohale – Kearabetswe’s husband.
Kearabetswe is educated outside of Tholoana Kingdom and under western education, therefore being in possession of a Master’s degree. After years of all of this education in South Africa, Johannesburg, she – like many other graduates – was looking forward to being a graduate in some company as a young professional. Her family had other plans for her. These plans led her back home to Tholoana Kingdom and forcefully married off to King Mohato Mohale.
Her marriage has all kinds of challenges because of the unavoidable clash that continuously happens between modernity and cultural beliefs .
The Mohale elders arrange for Kearabetswe to sleep with Mohato’s cousin to birth the heir to the throne because Mohato is infertile. The response to this approach is met with mixed approaches . It leads to an event that makes Kearabetswe flee from Tholoana Kingdom. The ending of the novel sees the story come full circle when the death of someone important in the family forces Kearabetswe back into the royal palace and back into her marriage with Mohato.
The book addresses issues of infertility and the impact it has on marriage in the cultural context. It conventionally and unconventionally discusses love, its challenges, its values, and its power.