tly hold out for the possibilities of love. Initially, Ateba in Calixthe Beyala's The Sun Hath Looked Upon Me contemplates a possible love union with Jean when he approaches her politely for the first time. However, even in her fantasy, she already realizes that his politeness is simply a veneer for him to get her in bed with him, nothing more (39). In spite of her fantasy of a love affair with him, she dresses in tight clothes designed to entice his sexual interest. Ironically, Jean's image of the ideal woman is his mother who is fragile and kind, even though he treats women as sexual objects. Ateba feels undermined by the fact she is unable to rise to his expectations (Beyala 45). In reality, she does not have a female role model that matches his description. Both her mother and her aunt indulge in sex with many men. Therefore, love for Ateba is only a fantasy that lives in books -- a world that is alien to her corrupted reality.
Although Aidoo claims to be presenting a love story in her book, Chan
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