Reconciling Love and Heritage Through Cultural Polyamory in Jane Igharo’s Ties That Tether

Here's the abstract:

This article examines how romance fiction engages with interracial tensions and intercultural negotiations in Jane Igharo’s Ties that Tether (2020). Drawing on polyamory as a relational orientation that transcends rigid structures (Milona & Weindling 2024, 8) and rejects fixed expectations about love (Anapol 2010, 10), I propose the concept of cultural polyamory to analyse the diasporic identity of Azere, a Nigerian Canadian woman navigating familial expectations and her relationship with Rafael, a Spanish Canadian man. I argue that Azere’s exclusive allegiance to her Nigerian identity prevents her from embracing hybridity, while her relationship with Rafael enables her to reconcile cultural affiliations. Ultimately, the novel presents cultural polyamory as a transformative model through which love becomes a space for intercultural negotiation, fostering both romantic fulfilment and self-acceptance.