In The Dilemma of a Ghost, Ato Yawson returns to Ghana with his African-American wife, Eulalie after having completed his education abroad. Ato Yawson is in many ways the epitome of the 'been-to' character who is conflicted between his status as a Western-educated scholar and his traditional African roots. His education most definitely sets him apart from his family who represent the traditional African society as can be seen from the description given in the "Prelude" of the living arrangements made to accommodate him in his family's home in Ghana. A new wing has been added to the house which Ato Yawson is to occupy thus symbolically splitting the home between the older traditional family and the newer educated elite class. As the Bird of the Wayside describes :
. . . it is only to be expected that they should reserve the new addition to the house for the exclusive use of the One Scholar. Not that they expect him to make his home there. No... he will certainly have to live and work in the city when he arrives from the white man's land. But they all expect him to come down, now and then, at the weekend and on festive occasions (...)(p.8).
This passage clearly shows the contradictory status of the 'been-to' in relation to traditional society -- because of his Western education he is given status of privilege and prestige which removes him from his traditional community and yet he is expected to maintain his role within that to fulfill the duties expected of him by custom and tradition. Throughout the play, Ato Yawson is divided and pulled in different directions by the opposing forces of his family on the one hand who represent traditional African society and Eulalie on the other who represents Western society. Ironically, however, at the end it seems that the problem is not so much that these forces cannot be reconciled, but rather, the problem lies with Ato Yawson himself who fails at reconciling them.
When Ato returns to Ghana his family and the entire community to which they belong assume that his return will bring wealth to the family simply by virtue of his being a 'been-to'. As one of the village woman says, in reference to the debts of Ato's mother, Esi Kom, "Yes, but the arrival of the son/ May mean the paying of all the debts at last." (p.12). While this is undoubtedly based on a false assumption which associates all who are 'been-tos' with wealth and prosperity, and could be seen as a sign of the family's greed, Aidoo also makes it clear that the family is somewhat entitled to a share in Ato's wealth because his position of privilege is due largely to efforts and sacrifices which they made to provide him with a western education. Ato neglects his family's material needs and instead spends the money he does make on consumer items for his wife thus refusing to fulfill his more traditional family role.
Ato's family have very little understanding of the American society from which Eulalie comes and in which Ato has been living. They at first reject Eulalie because she is a foreigner and as an African-American they perceive her as the daughter of slaves without a tribe or family who thus does not have a place in society and is certainly not suitable as a wife for Ato. Likewise they show very little understanding of the difficulty which adapting to the local customs entails for Eulalie. This is exemplified in the conflict that arises when Eulalie, unaccustomed to the local food, throws away the snails which Esi Kom gives her to cook. The central conflict that arises between the family, as the symbol of traditional African society and Eulalie, who represents American civilization arises over the question of birth control. The idea that a woman should be able to control her reproductive ability and choose not to have children is a completely foreign and abhorrent concept to the family. In traditional African society children are valued as a sign of wealth and prosperity for their family and motherhood is glorified as a status to which all women must aspire.
Eulalie's desire to postpone having children, using birth control, until she is 'ready' to be a mother is thus thoroughly incomprehensible to Ato's family. They assume that she is infertile and attempt to use traditional medicinal practices to 'cure' her of her problem. Eulalie comes into conflict with Ato's family because she does not conform to the role of women within that society. Not only does she choose not to bear children immediately, but also she does not know how to, and chooses not to learn to, cook the food her husband desires. She also drinks and smokes, both of which are taboo practices for women in this society. Ato's family who have no knowledge of the different role of women and the different behavior expected of them in American society, look down on Eulalie and condemn her for not conforming to the role they expect of her as Ato's wife. The family, however, are not necessarily unwilling to accept Eulalie. While they do certainly hold prejudices which could prevent them from accepting Eulalie's lifestyle and decisions; it is clear by the end of the play that despite these differences and prejudices they do accept Eulalie as part of the family. The main source of conflict throughout the play is a lack of understanding for the members of the family simply do not have the knowledge which would permit them to understand Eulalie. In this, Ato is largely at fault for it is he who has an understanding of both the culture represented by his family and that represented by Eulalie, and makes no attempt at reconciling the differences between them. Rather than explaining the concept of birth control and the reasons why he and Eulalie should choose to use it, he says nothing, assuming without trying that his family would be unable to understand, and thus allowing the blame to be placed on Eulalie for being infertile instead of explaining that it is a choice which they both have made. Ato has the ability to prevent (or at least attenuate) the conflicts between his family and Eulalie but fails to do so as he is completely unable to mediate between the two cultures which they represent.
The conflict between Eulalie and Ato's family is constructed throughout the play primarily as one between traditional African culture and Western or American culture. For Ato's family Eulalie's race seems to be less important than her cultural background although her status as an African-American and thus, a descendent of slaves is certainly an important factor in their rejection of her at the beginning. Eulalie, however, clearly identifies race as an important factor in her identity and thus is somewhat disillusioned as it becomes apparent that a common racial heritage does not guarantee her acceptance in this society where increasingly she is made to realize the cultural divide between herself and traditional African society as represented by Ato's family. Eulalie comes to Africa with romanticized visions of African society. She sees her journey to Ghana with Ato as a homecoming or a return to the roots which she has been robbed of by the history of slavery which forcibly removed her ancestors from their homeland in Africa and dispersed African people around the world. She sees her marriage to Ato and her 'return' to Africa as a way of reclaiming her roots and regaining the family and the home which the history of slavery has stolen from her.
However, the reality of Africa does not conform to her expectations of it as she is not welcomed into the society as one who is returning home but rather is viewed as a "wayfarer" who has no roots, no family and therefore no place in that society. Eulalie is both excluded from American society because of racism and the legacy of slavery, and excluded from African society because the history of slavery has robbed her of her place in that society. As a result of Eulalie's shattered illusions about her 'homecoming' to Africa, she becomes increasingly critical and condescending in her attitude towards traditional African society as represented by Ato's family, calling them "narrow-minded savages" (p.48). While Eulalie's attitude to Ato's family shows a complete lack of understanding for the culture to which they belong and an unwillingness to attempt to abide by their customs and values, this is largely a result of Ato's failure to explain these to her and to mediate between her and his family. From the very beginning, Ato ignores Eulalie's concerns about his family's response to her use of birth control. Eulalie is in fact despite being a foreigner more aware of the cultural differences which could hinder her ability to fit into the society which Ato comes from than Ato himself. As a foreigner, Eulalie could hardly be expected to understand the customs of this society without someone explaining them to her. As Esi Kom says to him at the end of the play :
(...)who can blame her? No stranger ever breaks the law(...)
They will tell you that
Before the stranger should dip his finger
Into the thick palm nut soup,
It is a townsman
Must have told him to. (p.52)
In the end it is not Eulalie who was unable to adapt to and understand the society represented by Ato's family, but rather Ato who is unable to reconcile the differences between the two cultures which have shaped him and mediate between them.
At the end of the play, the differences between the two cultures are reconciled, not by Ato but rather by his mother, Esi Kom, who realizes that the conflicts have been largely the result of a gap in understanding and knowledge which Ato has failed to bridge. As she says to him, "You have not dealt with us well. And you have not dealt with your wife well in this." (p.51-52). It is Esi Kom who gives Eulalie the long awaited welcome, leading her into the old house and thus symbolically helping her to regain her roots and a place in the society and culture which the history of slavery had denied her. In this passage, Aidoo symbolically expresses her pan-Africanism through Esi Kom who in a sense brings the diaspora back to its African roots, bridging the divide created by history between the two. Ato, however, is left between the two parts of the house, unable to enter either.
The two cultures, African traditional society and modern American society have been reconciled but they are still in conflict within Ato who is unable to mediate between them. This is symbolically demonstrated through his actions after Eulalie and Esi Kom disappear from the stage and Ato "crosses to his own door, pauses for a second, then runs back to the door leading to the family house, stands there for some time and finally moves to the middle of the courtyard. He looks to bewildered and lost." (p.52). This passage demonstrates the psychic split of the 'been-to' who is unable to reconcile the differences between his identity as an African and his Westernization through education. Aidoo, however, demonstrates that this is not because the two are impossible to reconcile and must necessarily be in conflict; but rather, the 'been-to' is in this case himself at fault for failing to attempt to mediate between them. Ato becomes like the ghost at Elmina Junction from the children's game, standing at the crossroads and paralyzed by indecision. In this play, Aidoo, thus demonstrates the 'western scar' of the 'been-to' which creates a divide in his psyche; however, unlike in other representations of the 'been-to' in which this split allows one to see the problems within society with more clarity, it in fact blinds Ato and makes him thoroughly unable to relate to either his African society as represented by his family or the Western culture in which he was educated as represented by Eulalie.
[These materials have been adapted from an honors thesis written by Megan Behrent, Brown University, 1997]
