Name: Zarna Bhatti
Roll no.: 5
Paper no.: 14 , African Literature
Topic Name: Female Character in “The Swamp Dweller”.
Email Id: zarnabhatti10@gmail.com
Enrollment no.: PG15101005
Submitted By: Smt .S.B.Gardi Deparment of English MKBU
Female characters in
Swamp Dwellers:
Probably to me the
greatest singer, female voice, is Billie Holiday. And one of the most moving
for me, I don't know why - maybe it's nostalgia, maybe because my life is one
of constant partying, whatever.
- Wole
Soyinka (Brainy
Quote)
Wole
Soyinka is the first African writer who is awarded with Nobel Prize in 1986. He
is basically Nigerian play writer and poet. Soyinka was basically born into
Yoruba community and here also he try to depict the norms and regulations of
his community. In this play he focuses on the problems of the youth of his
time. Even today and during his time we can see the influence of the first
world countries on the third world countries. He tries to bring those issues in
his writing. The young people wanted to leave the village and the community and
wanted start a ‘New’ life in the city. His one of the notable work is ‘Swamp
Dwellers’, in which he discuss this issue at length.
Even
the title of this play is very significant one. And as Derrida use to say that
each and every word has free play of the words. Here also we will find the
different free play of the words or particularly the word ‘Swamp’. Swamp means
where nothing can grow. Here ‘Nothing can grow’ is also connected with the
mental states, means new ideas. This shows the disturbed and fragmented mind
set of the youth. The second meaning of the word swamp means the ‘City’. Where
once someone goes never comes back. Swamp is a kind of muddy place where we
cannot create a particular impression of a thing. Here Soyinka tries to give
negative connotation to the word ‘City’.
“The
Swamp Dwellers” by Wole Soyinka is placed in dackward village of Nigeria in the
Delta region. But the character of the play often have important interaction
with the town life. Because we can see the young man went for the city life because
they have to hope and desire. So, called the “Gift of Colonization”. Here, we
can say that,
“All Temtation in whole the world”.
We
can compare this play with T.S.Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land’ where nothing grows and which also tries to depict the
disturbed and fragmented psyche of the youth. At some extend this play is also
absurd play like ‘Waiting for Godot’ and ‘The Birthday Party’ because as audience we are not
provided the full information of the past of the characters. What next happened
to the characters is also not much clear in the play. Throughout the play we
can see the struggle between the tradition and the modernity because village
and city these both are the opposite pillars and each represents one. But apart
from this we can also see many other conflicts like the generation gap,
fragmented mind set, and the suppression of the female in the male dominated
world. Black are always considered as the inferior to the white people. Soyinka
himself face many problems while writing and that is why it is said that when a
black is writing he will never bring the change into the society rather he will
try to change the mind set of colonizers with aggressive mood.
When
black are writing their voice becomes the voice from the margin and white
people are at the centre. And here also if we apply the theory of Derrida then
we have to change the margin and periphery. White people at periphery and black
people at margin. The same way women at the centre and the men at periphery.
Makuri says “There wasn’t a woman anywhere
more faithful than you.”
Alu: “I never had a moment of worry in the
whole of my life.”
These
are some lines taken from the play ‘Swamp Dwellers’. Alu and Makuri are the
husband and wife and they have twin sons named Igwezu and Awuchike. Apart from
there is also another important character named as Desala. She is the wife of
Igwezu. As above mentioned that this play is much like ‘Waiting for Godot’ and
‘The Birthday Party’ and that is why the past of the characters are not much
clear in front of us. We come to know only as the play moves forward.
Alu:
Alu is the wife of Makuri. She is the mother of Igwezu
and Awuchike. She is aged about sixty. She believes in the custom of the
swamps. (Sites) . If we study the
character of Alu then we come to know that she is the suppressed woman by his
own husband. His husband Makuri always tries to feel inferior to Alu. Alu is
like other female characters ordinary woman who lost her one child in the swamp
means in the city and now she don’t want to lose his other child in the city.
She always tries to fulfil every wishes of his husband as well as his sons.
Sometime she also fight against her husband for his sons. So here we can
compare the character of Alu with Mrs Ramsay in ‘To the Lighthouse’. She is
faithful to her husband and to her duty. And that is how she emerges as the
perfect woman in front of reader’s eye.
As
already said that the one of the main theme of the play is the conflict between
the tradition and the modernity. The play writer has depicted this conflict
through the characters also because here Alu stands for the traditional mode of
the time. She is against the current changes of the society. Because she was
not in favour to send his sons to the city. We can say that she was denying may
be because of her motherly love towards her sons.
Throughout
the play Awuchike never comes on the stage but he remain present through the
talk of the family. Alu use to remember him a lot. Because when he went there,
in the city he was the different person and now he is the different person.
From the talk of the Igwezu we can assume that he is now the successful person
there and not intended to come back to his village. But as above mentioned that
we can’t say anything about any character of the play.
Igwezu: “Awuchike is dead to you and to
this house. Let us not raise his ghost in this house.”
Whenever
his mother used to remember Awuchike, Igwezu used to speak this lines. From
this lines we can also see the rivalry between this twin brothers. There are
glimpse of everything not a single thing is clearly said by the writer. This
lines also suggests the success of Awuchike over there in the city.
Desala:
Throughout
the play she never appears on the stage like Awuchike. She married to Igwezu
and went with him to the city but unlike him she never return to the village.
This again indicated the modernity. As I above mentioned that play writer
showed the modernity and traditional way of living the life through the characters
also. Here Desala stands for the modern way of living the life. Again from the
given fragmented information we can assume that Desala went there with Igwezu
but there she married to Awuchike. May be because he is more successful than
Igwezu there. Or there are other possibilities like Igwezu leaves all alone
there in the city. The things are not much clear. But the chances of her
marrying to Awuchike is more because whenever Alu heard about this she is not
ready to accept the reality that Awuchike kicked his own brother. At some
extent Desala becomes the reason for the rivalry between both the brothers.
But
on the other hand we also can’t blame Desala because as a young girl when she
married to Igwezu she also must be having some young dreams for her life and
when she tried to fulfil all her dreams she is also not wrong. When Kadiye asks
Igwezu about his wife Desala he becomes a bit angry upon Kadiye which shows
that now he doesn’t care about Desala. From this point we come to know about
Desala and Igwezu that may be something went wrong between this husband and
wife.
The
story is not unfolding ordinary in front of our eyes. The things are also not
much clear about anything and which also shows the mental state of the
characters. And because the things are not much clear in front of our eyes we
have to relay much on the language used by the play writer. It is said that
whenever from the margin, from the periphery the voice comes it is always harsh
and aggressive here also the voice of Alu and Desala is much harsh and
aggressive but unheard by the society.
Conclusion:
We
can say that Soyinka is the bitter critic of his own time and culture. He
depicted his culture as it is. He also present the negative side of his
culture. Directly or indirectly through the character of Desala we compare the
twin brothers that who is powerful?
And
the relationship between Makuri and Alu is also broken one. Which also shows
that females are the victim in the marriage system. Sometimes it also happened
that Alu becomes so aggressive when Alu says that ‘Catch me if you can’ which
again shows the power of the females. Alu emerges as both the way strong enough
as well as weak enough that she don’t want to lose his second child. And Desala
also emerges as both the way modern enough and independent enough to take her
own decisions. And here we can say that no one can help each-other because at
different level each characters are victim, and one victim can’t help the other
victim.
Works Cited
Brainy Quote. 2001. 18 3 2016.
<http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/wole_soyinka.html>.
Site Google. One Heart. 21 03 2016.
<https://sites.google.com/site/theswampdwellers/home>.
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