In The Marriage of Anansewaa Ananse – whose first name is George in this play – gets entangled in his web of deceit when his scheme to get rich quick backfires, and disaster stares him in the face.
In typical fashion for the main character in many West African folktales, Ananse is up to no good in this tale. He lies and uses cunning ways to get his way, but as usual, his actions are selfish and put others into trouble.
Written by acclaimed playwright Efua T. Sutherland, The Marriage of Anansewaa is still an exciting read due to the writer’s immense talent at storytelling and because the narrative is still relevant today. It’s a tragic-comedy that is very relatable to Africans in particular as the concept of bride price and family members attempting to use the idea of the bride price to get rich is prevalent in our part of the world. Many women in the past and present can relate to family members attempting to marry them off to someone that may be unsuitable based on how wealthy the suitor is.
However, the focus of this article will not be on the lack of love Anansewaa has for her suitors in this play. This article is about Christie – the unfortunate woman to experience unrequited love in this play.
