band before his success arrived. She sees her first husband in his success, and she, in her growing failure and misery---along with her second husband---throws herself to the ground and pleads with her first husband for forgiveness. She asks to be taken in as a "slave or concubine" (22). The husband refuses, but graciously grants her land to live on with her second husband. However, she is too humiliated and ashamed to live, and kills herself.
The cultural message is clear, but not harsh. The reader is meant to see that love and loyalty and patience are far more important and valuable than greed or socioeconomic prejudice. At the same time, there is a note of forgiveness in the poem which concludes this part of the story: "Do not blame this woman for her lack of perception,/ More than one w
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