In His Only Wife two adults, Afi and Eli attempt to live their lives according to others’ suggestions. Rather than deliver upsets to their respective families, the two instead consume a heavy dose of upsets themselves; living a difficult existence in what others have imagined as ideal for the couple, but in reality is far from.

Afi is a young lady from a small town/village in Ghana taken from poverty via a marriage arranged by Eli’s overbearing mother, Aunty.

Prior to the arrangement Eli had already chosen the perfect woman for himself. A woman that refused to bend to his mother. Taking offense and unwilling to back down from what she perceived as a challenge, Aunty hatched a plan to officially remove her beloved son from the grip of the love of his life.

Eli’s mother seems to have chosen an impoverished girl that she thought would not dare look a gift horse in the mouth. After all, Afi was moved to the city of Accra, given a deluxe apartment in the sky, personal driver, maids, MONEY!… everything a girl in her position could ever wish for, but no husband. 

In the beginning Afi patiently plays the game, waiting for Eli to fully acknowledge her place as his Wife and his as her husband.  Eventually patience wears away and the mission of Eli’s family truly became Afi’s as well.  She fought hard for years; entangled in a family’s drama created by a mother’s relentless struggle to rule every aspect of her grown children’s lives. 

As for Afi’s family, they expected the member that “made it” to remain steadfast in her position as a rich man’s wife no matter what. 

With both families tugging Afi knew that no matter her decision, only she had to live with it first-hand.  

His Only Wife is a fictional work about the real suffering caused when we attempt to orchestrate lives that are not our own from the sidelines with oftentimes misplaced expectations. 

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