Ama Ata Aidoo, a contemporary Ghanaian writer, explores themes of gender, race, and sociocultural disparities in her debut play, The Dilemma of a Ghost, published in 1965. The play critically examines the postcolonial challenges faced by African nations, such as the complexities of diaspora and the conflicts between African and Western ideologies. It follows Ato Yawson, a young Ghanaian man returning home from university in the United States with his African-American wife, Eulalie. Her arrival sparks misunderstandings and estrangement from Ato’s family due to her stereotypical views of Africa and her American behaviors, causing her in-laws to label her as a “Black-white woman” with “no tribe” and a “ghost.” Ato’s grandmother questions Eulalie’s roots, underscoring Aidoo’s central theme of identity and the integration of African and Euro-American values.
This paper explores how Aidoo, through the timely expression of sisterhood by Eulalie’s mother-in-law, reshapes African perspectives on the diaspora and the trauma of slavery, while examining the conflicts arising from the tension between traditional African customs and the demands of modernity, such as gender roles, technological advances, and cultural integration.
