Tell It to Women, Article Critique Example

In Tess Onwueme’s play Tell It To Women: an epic drama for women, she tells the story of post-colonial Nigerian Africa. The story focuses on the theme of traditionalism versus modernism and the interactions between different cultures. She reveals the true meaning of culture, specifically how quality in society can emerge from a passion for manners, arts, and customs. Her play does this by describing the Nigerian village and the role women play in it. She examines a conflict that occurs with the passage of time and the impact it can have on a culture, specifically posing the question to the reader whether it is better for a society to progress with the rest of the world and potentially lose the customs and rituals that make it unique, or whether they would be better off holding on to the past. The cast of characters in the play are Daisy and Ruth, two feminists scholars in their 40’s, Okej secretary to the government and 45years old. Yemoja is 34 years old, semi-literate, the wife of Koko; and she is elected by the daughters of the land of  Idu to represent the village in their transition in modernization through the “Better Life for Rural Women” program. Ajie is 74 and he is Yemoja’s father in law, and he’s married to Ajaka a 63 year old rural woman and Yemoja’s mother in law. Bose is Daisy’s 10 year old daughter. These are the main characters of the play who progress the conflicts as the Nigerian village attempts to modernize.

The play starts off following Yemoja. She is recognized as the most important woman in her village. The scene opens with her in a house with Daisy and Ruth. These women are western educated feminists. They serve as the main antagonists of the plot as they represent change, an opposition to traditionalism and ultimately they stand in opposition to Yemoja’s values. In the opening stages of the play the conflict between Daisy, Ruth and Yemoja is emphasized when the narrator says, “Yemoja jumps up and begins dusting the chairs when Daisy enters. Daisy’s eyes, hooded by artifically elongated lashes, emits such sparks of anger that Yemoja trembles. Daisy’s presence is so overwhelming that it is only after her initial blaze of words has burnt Yemoja’s fledgling pride and self-esteem that she notices Ruth standing behind Daisy and nodding to the dressing-down” that Daisy is giving her (Onwueme, 1997). While Yemoja is representative of an old guard of traditionalist culture, Daisy and Ruth are leaders of the “Better Life for Rural Women” campaign, which is more modernist and their spite for Yemoja is clearly represented in this opening scene. Throughout the play, their goal to inspire women to believe that they are not just equal to men on many aspect, but are also superior in many ways as well is the core driving factor motivating the conflicts between them and Yemoja. The irony is that the village elected Yemoja as the mediator and figure head to instill the ideals of their movement within the village.

In conlusion, the title matches the story as the plot focuses primarily on the trials of women in a changing world and the story is presented in a clear readable language, one that could particularly be understood by Middle Eastern readers as it flows together as one fluid piece. An example of this can be seen in how all of the conflicts emerge and coalesces throughout the play in response to the “Better Life for Rural Women” movement creating upheaval within the community. A wide range of connecting conflicts all transpire within the village. They are all connected to one another and flow together to support the main theme of the traditionalism verses  modernism. It can specifically be seen between the sexes, and it also forces conflicts to arise between Yemoja’s husband and her father. This plot-line connects with Daisy’s home, where she engages in disagreements with her family. Okei, her husband has numerous disagreements about the feminist movement. Sherifat, Yemoja’s mother-in law tries to convince her to hold onto the village’s traditional tribal rituals. Sherifat expresses that it would a terrible fate if Yemoja attempts to assimilate to the modern culture and loses her roots. Simultaneously, Daisy’s daughter Bose starts to adopt the traditional culture as she feels it comes natural to her. This poses the question as to whether or not modernization and progress is adverse to natural human nature. This also makes Daisy become estranged form her daughter.  All of these conflicts. I do not think the author was biased in her portrayal of this conflict as Daisy carries much of the arguments in favor of modernization, which is backed by rational logic but at the same time Daisy is not presented in a favorable manner. This can be seen when Daisy goes on a rant stating that, “Maids or women! Whatever they are…makes no difference. They are pigs … stubborn pigs. That is what they are… Don’t you realize that for them the present died in the past?” (Onwueme, 1997). This demonstrates the complexity of the play revealing many of the hidden issues in the story, specifically that even those brining progress are human and those living in the past holding onto unconventional standards can still be moral good people. Daisy is nasty and malicious with her words, but when she says the present is lost in the past,  in my opinion she is right. The story does an excellent job of displaying the human nature behind the feminist conflict of modernization in a post-colonial world without alluding to any particular bias on the behalf of the author.

Onwueme, O. T. (1997).Tell it to women: an epic drama for women. Wayne State University Press.