The position of the bride varies according to the social milieu of her husband, and the nature of the marriage payments which have been made. A ksar bride may expect her relations with her established social network to be as lively as ever. She may live near enough to her family to receive and return visits every few days, if not more often, and she will be free to extend her range of connections among women by befriending her neighbours. The town bride of a salaried man has no such luck. Besides losing touch with her relatives, she may be entirely cut off from female society if her husband has no kinswomen near to replace her own. The sad effects of this situation can be seen in the case of Naima which I present in this chapter. Here the conflict between the husband's market-dominated interest and the wife's need for supportive relationships is transparent.

A lady out of luck

In order to appreciate the significance of the episode which I am presenting here, some account is needed of the participants and my own relationship with them. What ‘control’ of husband over wife means is well illustrated by the husband's extreme reaction to challenge.

Moulay Aomar was one of my first acquaintances in Akhdar, and he helped me to find a house near his own.