Translating Nouzha Fassi Fihri's La Baroudeuse: A Case Study in ...

obstinate character. She is stubborn. You will need to be patient, especially at the
beginning of your marriage. You must promise, here and now, to treat her gently,
whatever happens."
Only too happy to be given this unexpected blessing, he had promised
everything that was asked of him, in the presence of an encouraging witness
whose eyes sparkled as he thought of the blessed coins that would surely come his
way.
Since then, he had enjoyed a stable if lackluster life. Without complaining,
he had put up with his wife's moods, however dictatorial, angry, or ferociously
cruel. She called him to her or pushed him away as she pleased, and he adjusted to
the situation as well as he could, suppressing inappropriate signs of desire to
avoid displeasing her and moving away when his arousal became visible and
troublesome. Sometimes he sought hasty relief with one of the household slaves,
being ever so careful not to get caught. He slipped out of the bed when he was
sure his dear wife was sleeping, and like a condemned soul, grabbed whichever
slave had stayed up to finish a job or had stayed awake to wish and dream in late-
night emotional freedom.
Sometimes he lost his temper. Just a little bit, a tiny bit. He was like a man
facing the ocean. He might well get angry, shout, scream and gesticulate; the
immense blue would never stop playing with the folds of her wave clothing,
swaying her magnificent hips, indifferent to his grotesque behavior, like a
beautiful woman haughtily turning her back.
He threw himself into studies. He hired a tutor to teach him to read and
write, and to his own surprise, he discovered he had a gift for literature. He read
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