22 pages 44 minutes read

Ama Ata Aidoo

Anowa

Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1987

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Phase 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Phase 3 Summary

Phase 3 begins in an opulent room, with rich carpeting and animal skins on the floor. An ornate painting of Queen Victoria hangs on the wall next to a picture of Kofi. His business has now made him the wealthiest man on the Guinea Coast. Four men enter, carrying Kofi on a bier. Then, several women in flowing dresses dance onto the stage. Anowa enters, dressed plainly and obviously unhappy. She delivers a monologue about a time when, as a child, she watched white men coming to her village to take away slaves. Her grandmother told her not to question it. Shortly after, Anowa had a dream. She dreamed that her body was massive, and suddenly, giant, boiling lobsters poured out of her. The lobsters rushed on the slaves and tore them to pieces. When she told her grandmother about it, her grandmother told her never to mention it. 

The lights go down. When they come back up, two characters—Girl and Boy—are cleaning the room. As the Girl dusts, she tells the Boy that she has been hearing rumors about their mistress, a woman who insists the child slaves call her “mother.” The Girls says that the woman is a witch, and that if “mother” runs away, she will go with her.