Mireille's terror as an allegory.
Mireille is naïve. She doesn't believe the world is capable of the kind of evil that befalls her through Ousmane. That means that the basic premise for understanding the plight of women in Senegal is one of absolute horror and abomination. It's an allegory for how the reader ought to feel in response to polygamy and misogyny in Senegal.
The motif of cultural divide.
The novel has an uncanny ability of suggesting to the reader, "You just don't even know what life is really like here. Even if you tried to learn, you wouldn't really understand." It accomplishes this by returning to the motif of different world views. The young Mireille is fascinated by the prospect of a new way of life, but because of her naivete, she misunderstands the true risk. The diplomats are given a certain perspective of the affairs of the nation, but they're not aware of the human rights violation that is implied by polygamy. This recurring idea is what each lover's parents were trying to tell them—it's hard to fathom how different people's views of the world can be. This motif serves the author because it is her way of saying, "I know this sounds crazy and unbelievable, but it's real."
The symbolic child.
By resorting to his cultural allowance for cheating on his wife, Ousmane makes a bastard of their child by bringing shame on their marriage. The symbolic representation of this Mireille sparing the child of a life in Senegal by killing it.
The couple as an allegory for world politics.
Ousmane is a typical Sengalese man with a modest, rural life in Africa. Mireille is a stereotypical European girl, spoiled by her wealthy parents and insulated from the horrors of life. This means that their relationship is also indicative of the failure of international relations between France and Senegal, because France drastically underestimates the plight of Segnalese women by naïvete, and Ousmane's ability to woo Mireille represents the corruption of the Sengalese politicians.
Ouleymatou as a symbol of complicity.
Ouleymatou is a traitor of her gender by allowing herself to benefit from Ousmane's misogyny. She betrays herself in the process by participating in the broken system. She trades her humanity for a better life, but this is also an indication of the plight of women and the tragic way that misogyny makes women into competitive enemies instead of friends. Nevertheless, Ouleymatou is complicit in the crime of Ousmane's betrayal.
