“Friendship has splendors that love knows not. It grows stronger when crossed, whereas obstacles kill love. Friendship resists time, which wearies and severs couples. It has heights unknown to love.”
In this quote by Mariama Bâ, she highlights the unique qualities of friendship that set it apart from romantic love. Friendship, according to Bâ, has splendors that love is not aware of. It thrives in the face of challenges and obstacles, while love can be easily destroyed by them. Additionally, friendship has a resilience against the passage of time that often weakens and separates romantic relationships. Bâ suggests that friendship has depths and heights that go beyond what love can offer.
Mariama Bâ's words on the splendors of friendship and its endurance despite obstacles remain relevant in the modern world. In an era where relationships are often tested by adversity, the value of true friendship that withstands the test of time is more important than ever.
Friendship and love are two powerful forces that govern our relationships with others. In the words of Mariama Bâ, friendship has its own unique strengths and abilities to withstand challenges that love may struggle with. Bâ suggests that friendship grows stronger when faced with obstacles, while love may falter. It resists the test of time and can reach heights that love may never reach.
Reflecting on the words of Mariama Bâ, consider the following questions to deepen your understanding of friendship:
Can you think of a time when a friendship was tested or crossed by obstacles? How did the friendship grow stronger as a result?
In what ways do you believe friendship differs from romantic love? How can friendship withstand the test of time while romantic relationships may falter?
Have you experienced the heights of friendship described by Bâ? How do these moments of deep connection differ from moments of love in your life?
“The flavour of life is love. The salt of life is also love.”
“And also, one is a mother in order to understand the inexplicable. One is a mother to lighten the darkness. One is a mother to shield when lightning streaks the night, when thunder shakes the earth, when mud bogs one down. One is a mother in order to love without beginning or end. ”
“I remain persuaded of the inevitable and necessary complementarity of man and woman. Love, imperfect as it may be in its content and expression, remains the natural link between these two beings. To love one another! If only each partner could move sincerely towards the other! If each could only melt into the other! If each would only accept the other's qualities instead of listing his faults! If each could only correct bad habits without harping on about them!”
“My horizon lightened, I see an old woman. Who is she? Where is she from? Bent over, the ends of her boubou tied behind her, she empties into a plastic bag the left-overs of red rice. Her smiling face tells of the pleasant day she has just had. She wants to take back proof of this to her family, living perhaps in Ouakam, Thiaroye or Pikine.Standing upright, her eyes meeting my disapproving look, she mutters between teeth reddened by cola nuts: 'Lady, death is just as beautiful as life has been.”
“L'amitié a des grandeurs inconnues de l'amour. Elle se fortifie dans les difficultés, alors que les contraintes massacrent l'amour. Elle résiste au temps qui laisse et désunit les couples. Elle a des élévations inconnues de l'amour.”
“Eternal woman: even in mourning, you want to make a strike, you want to seduce, you want to arouse interest!”