Understanding The Mad Heart: A Deconstructionist Approach To Efua T. Sutherland’s Edufa

Abstract

Myths constitute an important part of human development. Life enduring values are embedded in these myths and the adaptation of some of these archetypal myths from culture to culture ensures shared virtues and opinions on human experience. This paper investigates, using the theories of myth and deconstruction, the relationship between Euripedes’ Alcestis myth and the Edufa myth written by Afua Sutherland. A comparative analysis of the two myths indicates that Sutherland adapted the Greek myth to the Ghanaian context. However, due to the fluid and unstable nature of language and meaning in general and due to same qualities of the discourse in Edufa, a deconstructionist approach has been used in this paper to derive a powerful message on the responsibility of the mother cum wife. The findings reveal that Sutherland does not endorse the kind of love exhibited by Ampoma; rather, she proscribes it. The dramatist’s adept use of language and the text’s leaning on lessons from the African concept of marriage is what makes this deconstructionist’s reading possible.