Tragic Love in Grace Ogot's Short Stories

The path of true love has never run smoothly. These short stories, “The Lovers,” by Bessie Head, and “The Rain Came,” by Grace Ogot, were made noteworthy because of their tragedies. Each story reveals the misfortunes and predicaments associated with love. The stories expose that the path of true love is not smooth, and must never be smooth, if we are to fully appreciate what true love is. A core concept portrayed in both stories is the notion of different kinds of love. Passion between couples is the form more commonly thought of when referring to true love. In “The Lovers,” Tselane, a young woman, and Keaja, a young man, are a passionate couple who have a love affair in a society where that sort of thing is forbidden. In “The Rain Came,” Oganda, chief Lbong’o’s daughter, and Osinda, a young man from another tribe, are madly in love as well. The affectionate love between kin, however, can be just as profound. Tselane is very fond of her father’s second wife, Mma-Monosi, while Keaja and his father, Rra-Keaja, are also quite friendly. Oganda and Lbong’o also have a very close relationship, because L’bongo is especially fond of his daughter. The stories “The Lovers” and “The Rain Came” show that no matter whom you care for there will always be hardships along the way on the path of true love.

In the story “The Lovers,” Tselane and Keaja exhibit love towards each other as well as to their kin, but their path of love has both potholes and dead ends. The societal expectations and traditions act as potholes and hamper the relationship of the young couple, because, in their world, men and women live strictly apart, especially the young and unmarried. The village holds no place for people wildly carried away by their emotions, and enforce...

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...t also touches on the relationship between Oganda and her sweetheart, Osinda. Osinda somehow finds out about Oganda’s terrible fate and follows her to the sacred place, where she is to be offered. Once together, Osinda explains to Oganda that, “We must escape quickly to an unknown land” (342). Osinda sacrifices his home, his family, everything, in order to be with his one true love.

To see the beauty of love, we must realize that true love is not easy to obtain, that it is precious. To see the miracle of true love, we must also just as plainly see the supreme effort it took to obtain it, the opposition to it, the reason lovers’ fight for love and what it costs the lovers to have it. These stories, “The Rain Came” and “The Lovers,” truly portray that, regardless of who you love; the path of true love will be rough at times, but is worth the sacrifice, and suffering.