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Anowa | Introduction

Anowa is the second, last, and most accomplished play written by Ghanaian playwright, poet, short-story writer, and novelist Ama Ata Aidoo. Anowa was first published in 1970 and had its British premiere in London in 1991; Aidoo had begun writing Anowa in the late 1960s. Aidoo based the play on regional legends and folktales, some of which were about the "disobedient daughter." In such stories, a young woman refuses to marry a suitor, resulting in disaster. Aidoo gave such stories her own twist, incorporating a more complicated portrayal of gender and drawing parallels with contemporary Ghanaian history. At the center of the play is the title character, Anowa, who finds her own husband and remains true to her own ideals, resulting in an unhappy marriage and conflict that leads to death.

Set in the 1870s, many critics believe that Anowa underscores the similarities between the slave trade occurring in the Gold Coast (as Ghana was then known) in that time period and the treatment of women in contemporary society. Some believe Anowa is feminist, while others focus on the economic aspects. Most agree that it is thoroughly modern in the dilemmas it presents. As Mildred A. Hill-Lubin writes in her essay "Ama Ata Aidoo and the African Diaspora: Things 'All Good Men and Women Try to Forget,' but I Will Not Let Them" (included in Emerging Perspectives on Ama Ata Aidoo, 1999), "Anowa ... combines the political and the personal and demonstrates the interconnectedness of race, gender, and economic oppressions. It reveals the complicity of Africans in the slaves trade, notes the cover-up in terms of silence."

Anowa Summary

Prologue
Anowa opens with the entrance of the Old Man and Old Woman (collectively known as The-Mouth-That-Eats-Salt-and-Pepper). They set up the action of the play, focusing on the oddness of a girl called Anowa. Anowa has refused to marry any of the men who asked for her hand for several years. They say that many believe Badua has spoiled her daughter, which would account for her behavior. The Old Woman thinks that Anowa is a born priestess, and Badua has denied her daughter's destiny.

Phase 1
In the village of Yebi in Ghana, some time in the 1870s, Anowa is fetching water for her mother when she sees Kofi Ako. They smile at each other. Their moment together is witnessed by a woman and her husband. As the woman stares at them, she drops her tray. Anowa and Kofi laugh.

Inside the cottage of Anowa's parents, Badua is cooking, worrying aloud about her daughter's refusal to get married. Her husband, Osam, enters, and tells her she complains too much. He is not concerned about Anowa's situation, and reminds his wife that he wanted to apprentice her to a priestess. Badua is horrified at the suggestion. She will not let her only surviving child become a priestess because they are not people. Osam points out that Anowa is not a normal person, so that might not be such a bad thing.

Anowa returns and informs them that she has agreed to be married to Kofi Ako. Badua becomes angry. She believes that Kofi Ako is a good-for-nothing man, though admittedly handsome. Badua tries to draw Osam into the conversation, but he will not take sides.

Sometime later, Anowa is packing her belongings. She and her mother argue about her marriage. Anowa insists she likes him, while Badua insults the family he comes from. Osam contradicts his wife, insisting that they have made good husbands. Anowa pledges not to return to Yebi for a long time, and that she will help her husband make something of his life. Badua points out Kofi Ako's every failure, and she and her daughter almost come to blows.

At the end of the phase, the Old Man and Old Woman return. The Old Woman believes children have become more disobedient, while the Old Man says that Badua should be happy that Anowa has married at all.

Phase 2
A few years later, Kofi and Anowa are on the highway to the coast, carrying skins to sell. They seek... ยป Complete Anowa Summary