Female Characters in ‘Swamp Dwellers’

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Department of English

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Name: Gohil Devikaba J

Roll No: 05

Paper No: 14

Paper Name: The African Literature

Assignment Topic: Female Characters in ‘Swamp Dwellers’

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’.

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>.

Sites, Google. One Heart. 21 03 2016. <https://sites.google.com/site/theswampdwellers/home>.

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