The Season of Men

Aicha married Said when she was 18. But Said, like his brothers, works in Tunis for 11 months of the year. His wife, like his brothers' wives, remains in Djerba, in a household run by his mother, as is the tradition. On her wedding night, Aicha speaks out of her desire to break with tradition and go to live with Said in Tunis. On the grounds of the precariousness of his life there, he refuses. To earn the money necessary for the trip, Aicha suggests selling the beautiful carpets she weaves. He agrees to this, but adds another condition: to earn the right to live with him in Tunis, first she must bear him a son. For the first few years, the return of the men is experienced with a kind of festivity: the women look forward to it like a new honeymoon. But Aicha will spend many years waiting, knotting the carpets that will enrich Said and stifle their lives. Constantly exposed to the criticism of her domineering and interfering mother-in-law, Aicha wants to run away.