Woman, an Economic Force: A Kaleidoscopic Reading of

"Womanism" in Anne Tanyi-Tang's Visiting America

Jean-Pierre Atouga

Women in French Studies, Volume 8, Special Issue 2020, pp. 146-159 (Article)

Published by Women in French Association

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/wfs.2020.0040

For additional information about this article

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/780818

[ Access provided at 11 Mar 2021 02:25 GMT from University of Alabama @ Tuscaloosa ]
 WOMAN, AN ECONOMIC FORCE: A KALEIDOSCOPIC READING
OF “WOMANISM” IN ANNE TANYI-TANG’S VISITING AMERICA

Jean-Pierre Atouga
The struggle of women’s equality remains at the very core of any socio-
political and economic claims relating to gender issues. Be it in Africa or in
Western countries, wherever women have largely felt marginalized, activists and
non-activists alike observe racism, injustice, arrogance and incompatible
conditions leading to all forms of discrimination. These interlocking systems of
oppression, which equally include, among others, xenophobia, sexism, caste,
classism, fanaticism, and ethnic cleansing, just to name a few, have mobilized
world opinion at large and shaped people’s mentalities. However, in reality, the
efforts of women’s movements in this quest for empowerment have resulted in
mixed fortunes. At times, discrimination and injustice that sprout amongst women
make this controversial in spite of the spirit of togetherness that marks the onset
of such movements, that is, the rejection of being considered the weaker sex. The
African continent has witnessed the determination of female voices to do away
with a society regimented by male chauvinism. In this regard, Emecheta, the
Nigerian female writer, observes that “in the distant past in that part of Africa,
women were treated almost as men’s equal, but with the arrival of colonialism
their frail claim to equality had been taken away” (118). It is within this
framework that both Francophone and Anglophone female writers from
Cameroon resolved to put pen to paper to castigate this tendency of absolute male
supremacy, with the ultimate goal to reclaim their lost equality. In so doing, they
aligned themselves with Black feminism, the theology of which helped them
better lift up their voices and experiences and this helps them to transcend
linguistic differences and separation.
To avoid any fractionalization that separatist white women demanded and
advocated for, black feminists gave chance to the feeling of solidarity with
progressive black men due to their situation as black people. Hand in glove, they
work together to debunk clichés and stereotypes attached to gender and color
discrimination. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are prevailing social concepts which
clearly show the existence of sexism as expressed in the following phrases quoted
from Orjinta Ikechukwu in his work aiming at discovering the efforts of feminist
literary scholars and previously lost stories about women:

He who has a female child is as good as barren. Women like chickens do not
forage in one place. Women are betrayers and traitors. Do not divulge secrets to
women. What you will not say in public must not be said to your wife at home.
 Atouga 147

Women cannot be trusted. Do not narrate critical issues to women. Women can
kill. Women are weak. Women are commodities. Women are prostitutes. Women
are witches. (Ikechukwu 65)

Even progressive men—those who love and respect women—are not spared by
these myopic thoughts, which heavily compromise togetherness and social
cohesion clustering around gender. Such men are referred to as a “woman
wrapper,” that is, a man easily controlled by his wife/girlfriend.
The socio-political and economic freedom that Cameroonian women
obtained from their quest for gender equality made them rise to great heights. Not
only have they triumphed over pejorative attributes they have been subject to, but
they have also become figures to reckon with. Those in positions of privilege
strongly side with those of low socio-economic status to narrow down the growing
inequalities among individuals; a commitment that meets the starting point of
“womanism.”
Coined by Alice Walker to set aside mainstream White feminists from
feminist women of color and primarily to resist Anti-blackness within the feminist
movement, womanism is a logical political movement, which aims at combating
the manifold and simultaneous oppressions that all women of color face in their
active commitment to struggling against racial, sexual, and class oppression.
According to Walker, a womanist is:

A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or non-sexually. Loves music.
Loves dance. Appreciates and prefers women's culture, women’s emotional
flexibility (values tears as a natural counterbalance of laughter), and women's
strength. Sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually.
Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a
separatist, except periodically, for health. Traditionally universalist [...].
Traditionally capable[...]. Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the
Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves
herself. Regardless. (xi-xii)

The adherence of Central Africa’s female writers to an ideology of the African-

American women’s movement is vital in understanding the premise upon which
this article is based. It intends to analyze Anna Tanyi-Tang’s Visiting America
from the light of the woman as a driving force of the economy in a bid to illustrate
how Central African female writers deconstruct, in literary form, social concepts
built around the female gender.
Anne Tanyi-Tang, the late popular Cameroonian playwright, was born in
Akiriba, a village in Manyu in the South-West region of Cameroon. She received
a PhD in Drama Theatre and Social Anthropology from the University of St.
Andrews in Scotland. Her plays are gendered in nature and represent women in
different socio-cultural and economic domains in contemporary Cameroonian
society. They mostly center on women as assertive, rebellious and fiercely
intelligent human beings who stage a successful resistance to patriarchy. Until
June 2019, the year of her death, Tanyi-Tang had been officiating as an Associate
Professor of the University of Yaoundé I, the leading state university in the
148 Women in French Studies

Francophone sub-system of education, where she used French as a medium of

communication in her academic discourses. Obviously, her creative writing
should be understood not from the linguistic context that generates it but from the
geographical and political setting, that is the socio-cultural factors responsible for
the raw material that feeds her creativity. The author transcends her condition as
a native Anglophone woman and goes beyond language considerations to bring
into the limelight as well the dire situation of Cameroon’s Francophone women
whose relentless efforts to feed and sustain families in both rural areas and main
cities cannot be underestimated.
In 2014, she successfully directed the play that framed the historical event
celebrating the 50th anniversary of independence and reunification of Cameroon.
In 2018, she was one of the recipients of the third edition of the Yaoundé
International Book Fair which brought together writers, publishers and lovers of
books from the world over; a ceremony during which she expressed gratitude to
the predominantly Francophone government for the acknowledgement. “I am the
one who did the play on the 50th anniversary celebrations in Cameroon. Receiving
this award is indicative that the Head of State and Minister of Culture are proud
of my work” (qtd in Ayuketah). Tanyi-Tang advocates in her plays for effective
bilingualism—a bone of contention surrounding the Anglophone crisis in
Cameroon. True bilingualism was the recommendation made during the Major
National Dialogue urging for the peaceful settlement of this conflict; the
enhancement of practices of bilingualism in all segments of society must be made
through the creation and implementation of programs starting from preschool.
Using Black feminist theory, this study hypothesizes that the domestic
economy of Central African states owes its vitality to women’s industriousness.
It is noticeable that the playwright is concerned about the education of the female
child as a full leverage and pillar for sustainable economic development; an
interest that falls in line with the will of the Ghanaian scholar and educationist,
James Emmanuel Kwegyir-Aggrey, who contends that: “If you educate a man you
educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family [nation]”
(qtd in Ephson 105). Thus, women and girls need to take education seriously so
as to be financially viable and partake in the celebration of economic revolution
in Central Africa. Such a move will help women to be seen as equal to men. To
achieve this, they must seek so-called men’s jobs and enter male-oriented
domains, the financial opportunities of which are undeniable.
Visiting America, a tragi-comedy, a play of ideas, dramatizes the sad and
disappointing experience of Coco, an electrical engineer from Noomak, an
African country, during her short visit to America to attend a conference. She
learns the hard way that in America, under the pressure of economic survival and
the desire to live a good life, bonds of friendship and filial attachments, values she
has lived by, no longer matter. At a more abstract level, the play addresses issues
and themes of contemporary interests, such as the incompatibility of traditional
African values with Western values and the problem of brain drain in the Global
South, to name a few. It is a true depiction of women’s struggle and commitment
for survival and for society to be whole. Coco devotes her life to educating her
younger brother and sister, from kindergarten to postgraduate level. Her choice to
 Atouga 149

invest in human beings by sponsoring Yomi and Eneka abroad is sustained with
the hope to see them have a secure future with fulfilling jobs that will invest in
Africa. The effort she puts in to achieve this proves futile; those for whom she
sacrificed her own happiness look out only for themselves and opt for life in
“Princess”—“Queen” and “Princess” are used respectively by Coco to name
“Mother Africa–the blessed continent” and “the West,” or “her daughter.” Eneka
and Henry’s decision to invest in America is taken to the detriment of their
benefactor and that of relatives back home. Even the African hospitality they were
used to ceases to be a way of life; the protagonist is denied a cordial and generous
reception and entertainment during her short trip to America. Although Coco
receives a heavy blow from those she invested in, she doesn’t give up. Her
business vision, coupled with a high entrepreneurial spirit, prove to be an asset
for the creation of job opportunities and reduction of unemployment in Noomak.
At the end of the play, she decides to embrace the world and impact its economy
with touristic activities, thereby upholding the love of food and roundness
propounded by Alice Walker as an inherent quality of a womanist.

Investing in Human Beings: A Means to Revamp Domestic Economy

For a country to enjoy a strong and prosperous economy, it has to make its
natural and human resources more dynamic. One of the ways to achieve this is
investing in human beings through quality education that inculcates womanist
values in young Africans so that they are “committed to survival and wholeness
of the entire people” (Walker xi). Coco’s commitment goes beyond imagination.
As the breadwinner of her family, she sponsors her brother’s and sister’s
education abroad to the detriment of her own felicity: “I sacrificed my own
happiness to raise my kid sisters and brothers from dust to respectable women and
respectable men in the society” (30). In this respect, no room is given to gender
discrimination as she accepts responsibility for the care of her younger siblings
and concentrates on raising them to the best of her abilities. The distance between
“dust” that symbolizes nothingness and “respectable” women and men attests to
the relentless effort Coco deployed to ensure the well-being of her siblings. Rather
than satisfying herself, she puts forth the interest of Eneka and Henry to the extent
of turning down men’s proposals.
The protagonist’s commitment to survival and the wholeness of her family
passes through struggle; a condition in which she has to forego some of the very
real pleasures of life her female age mates are entitled to enjoy. The effort she
puts into this makes her lead a single life. Her condition as a single woman seems
not to be deliberate; it stems directly from her drive to make her family happy and
prosperous. Thus, to climb up the ladder of success, the author seems to advocate
a life of celibacy until the objective is attained. Hence, marriage is considered to
be an obstacle to women’s family and economic aspirations, as she puts it while
in a trance:

I turned down every gentleman who wanted to put a ring on my finger because I
was solely responsible for their education. I like perfection and I do things
150 Women in French Studies

wholeheartedly. Marrying would have meant sharing everything with my

husband. (28)

As a matter of fact, the celibate life she maps out for herself is motivated by
her desire to see people do well. Doing things in a wholehearted manner and to
perfection remains, to that effect, a key to success and achievement that the
character puts forth.
It is generally believed in Noomak that quality education can only be obtained
in mission schools compared to public ones. That is the main reason why many
parents, in spite of their meager incomes, prefer to send their kids to private
schools, the tuition fees of which amount to hundreds of thousands of CFA Francs.
This becomes even more costly when pupils are boarded and lodged as well as
taught. Choosing such institutions over others was not only a way to secure quality
education for her siblings but also a means of investing in schools. Be it in school
or in family matters, Coco’s financial assistance to Eneka and Henry must have
impacted not only her country’s economy in one way or the other but that of other
countries as well, taking cognizance of the cost of education abroad, especially in
Western countries where her brother and sister are said to have received their
undergraduate and, probably, postgraduate education. The adverbial clause of
purpose “I […] saved money to sponsor her abroad” (26) attests to that. Coco’s
statement is full of lexical items that reflect her financial commitments towards
her kin. Her sense of sacrifice cannot be estimated. She leaves no stone unturned
in her quest to make her relatives happy. Abandoning these responsibilities would
have meant cruelty; an attitude she refuses to subject herself to: “How could I be
cruel to my own flesh and blood? How could I abstain from sacrificing for their
well-being” (27)?
The choice she makes in investing in human beings rather than any other
business line is not devoid of motivation. She believes using money for those
around her to secure sound education and a safe future with fulfilling jobs is the
best way to promote sustainable economic investment as recipients would
hopefully, in return, replicate the same kind gesture onto others, especially onto
those without adequate financial back up: “Some people claim that investing in
human beings is better than other forms of investment” (36). Yet, rather than
reaping the fruit of this, the protagonist finds herself confronted by people’s
ungratefulness and self-centredness: “I thought. I was sacrificing my own
happiness to keep my brothers and sisters floating” (27). Coco’s endeavour to
achieve this is considerable. She doesn’t give the fish to her kin but teaches them
to fish. By so doing, she thought, her financial assistance will not limit itself to a
few individuals only but also benefit more than one person as recipients will take
care of both themselves and the needy as well.
Like any woman endowed with an entrepreneurial spirit or a sound business
sense, Henry’s elder sister expects to harvest, at the end of her investment in him,
a store of material possessions that would help the whole family. She scrimped
and saved. The sacrifices she made and the want she suffered are endless: “I
forwent clothes, food, leisure and so on, simply because my ultimate goal was to
raise my family from sole to the waist fortune” (27). This protagonist deplores
 Atouga 151

Henry’s refusal to honor the debt of gratitude he owes her. The younger brother
needs to take his wife’s approval before allowing his elder sister home. Coco
questions herself why women have control over men. The influence of Henry’s
wife on him, she believes, is due to his masculinity as men “come through women
and return there every now and then” (27).
Becoming a driving force of the economy in a society regimented by male
chauvinism remains an uphill struggle when one is not only a woman but also a
woman of color. This status puts in the limelight the endless struggles those who
find themselves in such situations are bound to face. Anne Tanyi-Tang’s play is
full of these places where the protagonist finds herself caught between her
aspirations and her unacceptable social condition. Coco brings her own condition
to light and laments over it when Jack, Eneka’s white husband, decides to send
her packing at 2 AM: “Leave this house now or I will call the police” (25)—a
threat that he carries out.
Eneka, who has been brainwashed into thinking that she must not sponsor
family members back home as she did not bring them into the world, fails to raise
a single finger to defend her elder sister against Jack’s foul mood when invited to
do so: “Did you hear what he said? (No response). You haven’t seen me for
years… Have you forgotten how I sacrificed to give you a sound education?” (25).
Coco’s plans for her younger sister to invest in Africa after her education fall flat
because of the former’s social condition. She remains primarily a black woman
and, as such, should suffer the pain of having her ideas rejected by her white
brother-in-law who fails to see the importance of allowing Eneka to feel the
obligation of helping family members back home. Not only does he stand between
his wife and her family, but he also rejects vehemently Coco’s helping hand when
she offers to take their children to Africa where tuition will not be exorbitant. Her
plea in favor of Eneka’s action in Africa doesn’t receive a positive response
because the continent, as he puts it, is: “uncivilized” or “a land infested with
disease, plagues […] characterized by starvation, poor infrastructures, high rate
of infant mortalities, dirty drinking water” (25). Despite all this, Jack fails to
acknowledge that his wife was born and brought up in the same land and that it is
the resources on this appalling continent that have given her the chance to set foot
on affluent American soil. Eneka’s elder sister asserts: “those that were taken to
Princess by destiny [...] don’t want to return and participate in ameliorating the
situation and participate in developing the backward Queen” (38). Coco believes
she would not have been treated as such had she not been a woman of color. She
cries out in pain. Her fight consists in challenging every repressive force “that
impedes the struggle of black woman to survive and to develop a positive,
productive life for the freedom and welfare of the family and woman” (Williams
67).
The main idea behind the concept of “womanism” is found in Coco’s answer
to Yomi, the handsome middle-aged man who walks towards the protagonist after
watching her shed tears in the garden. This substantially explains why this study
is carried out from the vantage point of Alice Walker’s theory. Coco’s confidence
with the new acquaintance is seen in the social discomfort that gave rise to black
feminism, that is: the feeling to be doubly marginalized as a result of both skin
152 Women in French Studies

color and gender. She laments over her life as she relates her appalling experience
to that of black women: “My story is a sad one, the most pitiful story […] Oh! I
am a woman, I’m black, I found myself with all the minority groups. I’m always
a victim” (31). Her long meditation over her status is seen in the use of suspension
marks that the author puts at the end of her statement. To crown it all, she admits
she is “traumatized” by the surprising facts she confronts. Her relentless efforts to
find the love, concern and co-operation she has been longing for prove themselves
futile.
Eneka’s response to her elder sister betrays her egocentric interests. Because
of the so-called “service charges” she is to handle in America, this character finds
it difficult to give a helping hand to family members back home as she reminds
her elder sister:

You don’t have a health insurance, travelling expenses etc. These are bills. I have
not honored my mortgage for the last three months. My car loan is pending and
all you do is to remind me of others. Do you know how much it costs to look
after my two kids? (22)

Her selfishness is seen in the twofold use of the possessive adjective “my”
found in “my mortgage” and “my kids.” In return, Coco would have expected her
younger sister to provide other family members, if not with the same assistance
she enjoyed while a student, at least to show a sense of duty towards her kin and
feel the obligation to help them. Yet, Eneka seems to escape from these family
obligations. She is concerned only with her own affairs. Such an egocentric
attitude cannot be considered womanist. It rather annihilates the lofty economic
ambition and vision that characterize such a person. In Coco’s exclamation is seen
the corner stone principle of black feminist theory, helping without ulterior
motive: “Mon Dieu! I do these things to others without giving much thought”
(26).
The contrast between the two sisters is striking. The playwright opposes
Eneka’s egoistic interests to Coco’s big heart and philanthropist nature expressed
in the subject pronoun “others.” There is a shift from “my,” a linguistic unit
denoting self-interest, to “others,” an expression of solidarity. Tanyi-Tang’s main
character had to compromise enormously to ensure the well-being of those around
her:

I spent my meager grant to sponsor Eneka in good mission boarding-schools, in

the university and saved money to sponsor her abroad. And my kid brother whom
I sponsored? His wife must endorse my visit. Listen to that. The wife I chose for
him and paid the bride-price? (26)

Nowadays, in some parts of Central Africa, paying a bride-price has become

a bit of a challenge left in the hands of those who can take it up; that is, people
with considerable financial security, as the items to be paid alongside the cash in
hand are usually estimated in millions of the local currency, the CFA Franc. It is
a truism that the money invested in the bride price of Henry’s wife must have
contributed greatly to improving the economic situation of the family. This
 Atouga 153

contribution illustrates in abundance how a woman can become the driving force
of economy.
To better describe her mindset and her psychological instability, the
playwright, in stage directions, makes use of action verbs that project Coco’s
emotions on stage: “stands, walks, sits, paces, looks up to heaven” (26). In a bit
to convince herself that what she is passing through is just a fancy, not a fact, she
pictures herself as a schizophrenic patient as the appalling reality looks
unbelievable. What torments her spirit unceasingly is attempting to find out
geniuses that take pleasure in offering her a topsy-turvy world; a spatial substrate
that differs sharply from the one she has ever known to exist. It is “very slippery,
very slippery,” and “covered with thorns” (28). The repetition process and the
intensifier the protagonist uses reflect the playwright’s willingness to underscore
the challenges women face in their economic endeavours.
Investing in human beings and keeping the morale high in spite of
disappointments resulting from people’s personal interests may prove itself
unsuccessful when carried out without a strong psychological assistance. To
cement the peaceful coexistence of progressive black men and women that
womanists advocate for, the author seeks moral support in men. Coco’s encounter
with Yomi in the United States is very symbolic. It shows the harmony and the
equality that exists between men and women concerning financial investment.
This equality cannot be questioned. It is in no sense hypocritical, absurd or
contradictory. Coco invests in human beings just like Yomi who, after sponsoring
his own siblings from elementary school to satisfactory addresses, is treated by
them like an outcast the first time he sets foot on American soil. The two
characters share the same disappointing experiences. They decide to work hand
in hand to strike challenges relating to their financial commitment for their kin.
Their discussion proves itself fruitful as Coco ends up learning a lesson from her
male companion. The downcast expression she displayed at the beginning of their
conversation gives way to a sign of relief: “I have learnt one lesson from you. Be
merciful even to your arch enemies” (37). She decides to emulate the example of
Yomi who, despite his kin’s ungratefulness, decides not to stop assisting people
who are in dire need of help.
Womanists have a great deal of criticism and loathing for what men have been
socialized to be in society. Through their actions, they prove that no field of study
or job is good or made for men only. It is patently obvious that “womanism” exists
because sexism prevails. To deconstruct the clichés and stereotypes against
women, Tanyi-Tang makes her main character an electrical engineer. She wants
men to notice this fact since the first person to acknowledge it is Yomi, her male
companion: “I understand. But I must have deceived myself into thinking that
they are stronger than women in other professions” (33). She debunks the myth
attached to this profession and boosts the morale of any woman of color interested
in so-called men’s jobs, which offer considerable financial opportunities. For a
woman who nurses the hope to become a driving force of economy, there is
nothing better than that. Coco’s five-day-stay in America is not a pleasant trip but
a business and intellectual rendez-vous that stimulates economic activities in the
field of research (33).
154 Women in French Studies

Charm and Emotional Flexibility: Woman’s Business Assets

Tanyi-Tang presents her fascinating traits and allures that constitute her
recipe for human interaction; a keystone to success in business. This is revealed
in Yomi’s enhancement of Coco’s physical assets; an exercise he carries out
through the use of comparison: “Now, please don’t stop smiling. Just like my
mother when she smiles. Look at these dimples. Look at that wart, like the one
Helen of Troy had. Look at the elegant and smooth skin” (32). Given that each
individual considers their mother as the most beautiful creature on earth, Coco’s
smile, by virtual approximation, is compared to that of Yomi’s own mother; that
is why he invites his companion to smile without ceasing in a bid to keep her
physical charm up. This male character even goes as far as comparing her to the
Greek mythical figure of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, or better
said, the face that launched a thousand ships. In this description of Coco’s physical
feature is seen Tanyi-Tang’s endorsement of the “roundness” principle
propounded by Alice Walker.
One of the main concepts Walker brings out in her definition of “womanism”
is women’s emotional flexibility. As business moves along with fluctuation, the
theoretician invites her fellow womanists to value tears as a natural
counterbalance of laughter. According to her, shedding tears shouldn’t be
considered a sign a weakness but an outlet for emotions. In the absence of joy or
when downcast, a womanist should have recourse to tears as this constitutes not
only a natural force that balances the opposing one, but also a cure that gives relief
and brings forth a sense of well-being. Thus, crying, which is part of our human
emotional package, becomes a power, a response to an emotional state; a means
to overcome life’s hazards and business challenges. To better uphold this principle
and belief, Tanyi-Tang puts her main character in disappointing situations which
leads to the shedding of tears: “She smiles amidst tears” (35). Rather than limiting
herself to crying and lamenting, Coco merges both tears and smiles to express her
inner emotion. Nothing stops her from this, not even her social status. Yomi does
not hide his surprise when he sees tears rolling down her cheeks: “I thought
engineers don’t cry” (33). This remark tends to trigger laughter in her; a reaction
the playwright indicates in stage direction: “([she] smiles)”. She finds Yomi’s
observation funny in the sense that, in spite of her profession, she remains first
and foremost a human being. Crying, at that time, ceases to be a counterbalance
of laughter but rather a way to it.
The cries Coco indulges herself in when lamenting over her condition, as she
meets with a rebuff from her relatives over accommodation during her short trip
to the US, are coupled with rhetorical questions she poses to God as she falls on
the ground: “God where did I go wrong? What is my offense? Whisper to me. I
am your humble servant” (28). She believes her rejection by her younger brother
and sister are God’s sign of retribution for her wrong deeds. Her cries are mixed
with a sad song denoting a cultural aspect of women from the Grassfields, an
ethnic group found in the Western part of Cameroon where both Francophone and
Anglophone women sharing the same cultural values use dirges to mourn the
dead. Coco “sings softly as one performing a dirge and tears stream down her
cheeks” (28). As Tanyi-Tang, through these cries of lamentation, hails women’s
 Atouga 155

abilities and sense of commitment to economic matters, she equally urges them to
steel themselves against business setbacks. If sponsoring someone’s education has
to do with accepting responsibility for that person’s instruction, then one could
imagine the amount of money she must have invested both in and out of the
country for her relatives. Money she would not be paid back, even through an
expression of gratitude. So, from a womanist vantage point, sponsoring becomes
an obligation; a duty, a constraint aiming at giving support to a person regardless
of what could come from it.

Impacting the World Economy through Tourism and Intellectual

Gatherings
Leaving the African continent to attend an intellectual gathering in a country
like the United States calls for a huge mobilization of funds necessary for
transport, accommodation, and other expenses. Coco’s contribution to the
American economy starts with the three phone cards, worth ten dollars each,
which she purchases shortly after her arrival at the Woodyfields airport. The first
two cards run out before she finishes her inquiry about the nearest hotel to the
airport. She uses the third one to call Ebong, a friend of hers who lives on NW
Convent Street. Coco receives a cold reception from her childhood friend who
fails to accommodate her well because of the fear to be considered a lesbian by
the roommate she shares the flat with, in case this roommate finds them sharing
the same bed, as commonly seen in Africa. She is offered the floor as a bed with
a bedspread, a duvet, and a pillow; an attitude the protagonist views as “American
wonders” (16). Ebong was filled with remorse after Coco’s departure from her
house. She knows she has been unkind to her friend and wishes she had righted it
before her guest left. The one who plays host to the main character is eaten up
with remorse:

Oh God! Why did I do this to her? She is such a darling. Very understanding and
always ready to help. She is like a daughter to my mom and dad… She sacrificed
so much to keep me happy. Without her intervention, I would not have set foot
on this land. She knows people who matters. She is a real friend […]. What was
going on in my mind? […] Why didn’t I explain a few things? She would have
understood. (18)

Coco’s decision to leave her friend’s place results from the cold reception the
latter gives her. At the end of the seminar, she decides to go and see Eneka, her
younger sister.
To better enjoy her stay in United States, Coco decides to stop looking for
those she knows can provide her with accommodation, for African hospitality is
not to be found anywhere here. Having been a victim of so much ungratefulness,
she decides to use her money for her own pleasure. She has $100 in cash in her
handbag and the rest in traveller’s cheques. She then mobilizes these funds to offer
herself “the best room in the best beautiful five-star hotel” and, to crown it all, she
resolves to embrace the world: “I want to visit Cavalry, Asia, Oceania, South
America, Egypt, the Caribbean” (40). After investing in human beings, the female
engineer engages herself in the tourism industry.
156 Women in French Studies

Tourism has always been a vital sector in the economic development of a

country. It is a fantastic source of income with great potential and advantages,
which enables individual travellers to provide opportunities that sustain and
revamp local economies. It is within this framework that womanists’ contributions
to the world economy is largely felt. When invited by Yomi to visit Abuja, Coco
has to reconsider the first arrangement she made with the same person for the visit
to the Caribbean in June and accepts to pick up the airline ticket at the counter to
honor the invitation. Her love for Yomi ties to one of Alice Walker’s definitions
of womanist: A woman who “sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or
nonsexually” (xi-xii). Having passed through the same realities and sharing the
same experience about life, this woman sees in her male acquaintance the right
person she can fully trust and give her heart to: “Well Yomi, if I were to accept
the ring, it will be from you…” (40). She is willing to reconsider her previous
stand in case Yomi insists on having a love affair with her even though he is
married. The single woman does not undertake the trip to Abuja alone; she asks
Beni to accompany her, a friend of hers who has been longing to see the people
of Abuja. She offers to pay for the trip. This decision doubles her outgoings. There
is a two-fold increase in the amount of money she was to spend for this, boosting
thereby the takings of each sector they will be interested in. Rather than one, Coco
books two rooms when they arrive at the hotel; a choice that greatly surprises Beni
who, eyeing her, wonders in French why they are taking two rooms: “Pourquoi
deux chambres?” (43). The only answer she gets from this is: “We shall find out.”
The restaurant business is one of the sectors through which Coco impacts the
economy. The love for food and roundness that Alice Walker contends as an
inherent quality of a womanist can keep vital economic sectors in a given country.
A woman who loves herself will not buy food items she does not enjoy or is
satisfied with. Coco’s choice of meal at the restaurant attests to that love just as it
underscores her purchasing power: “I want tomato soup for a start, prawns and
fried rice for the main meal and mixed fruits for dessert” (43). Not only does she
pay for the service offered to her, but also that of Beni, who chooses to eat fried
Irish potatoes and grilled fish as well: “J’aimerais manger les pommes frites et le
poisson grillé…” (43). The love of roundness passes through a quality menu,
which in return, calls for considerable spending. This wouldn’t have been possible
if she hadn’t been financially independent. For a woman to spend so freely, she
must have a reliable source of income. That of Coco comes from her struggle and
personal efforts. Her discussion with Yomi reveals some of her assets. She is a
woman with a vision and endowed with a high entrepreneurial spirit; a quality
that makes her self-reliant and helps create job opportunities to reduce
unemployment which remains so rampant in Noomak. When questioned about the
number of people she intends to employ in the fledgling company, she says she is
“anticipating a permanent staff of thirty reinforced by permanent workers” (44).
This, in reality, seems not to be the ceiling. She can go beyond that number as
Yomi puts it: “There are still vacancies in your company” (53). The
entrepreneurial spirit the playwright advocates for through the foregone
discussion ties up with Alice Walker’s vision of womanist: “the love for struggle”
which offers possibilities for women’s economic empowerment and social
 Atouga 157

transformation. Her boyfriend can’t stop expressing his regard for her: “I admire
you a great deal. People like you reduce unemployment and bring smiles and hope
to many” (44). This commitment to the survival of an entire population is what
Walker invites every woman to have as a guiding principle in life.
To better achieve her development-oriented and gender-equitable vision
guiding economic and social policy choices, the writer advocates unity and not
secession. Though identified as an English-speaking Cameroonian, Tanyi-Tang is
mostly concerned with issues plaguing Cameroonian women irrespective of their
linguistic heritage. Be they Francophones or Anglophones, these citizens are all
bent under the yoke of stereotypes that impede their economic empowerment,
namely indecisiveness, gullibility, and dependence. Tanyi-Tang uses female
characters as instruments of social cohesion between the former Southern
Cameroun, mostly Anglophone, and la République equally known as French-
speaking Cameroon; two geographical areas whose brotherhood has been
sacrificed on the altar of language claims. This has been the core issue of the
sociopolitical unrest witnessed in the restive Anglophones regions over the past
years. Those who claim allegiance to Anglo-Saxon culture feel marginalized on
the politico-judicio-educational system. Just like an architect, Anne Tanyi-Tang
makes use of her craftsmanship to design a Cameroon devoid of language barriers.
Therefore, it is not surprising to see Coco as the main character choosing Beni, a
French-speaking Cameroonian, as a female companion in her trip to Nigeria. The
playwright advocates living together as one and united. The author celebrates the
spirit of unity embodied in the characters’ use of English and French—
Cameroon’s two official languages (op. cited, 26, 43). Her code-switching style
is not devoid of motivation. She deliberately puts side by side Anglophone and
Francophone female characters in a bid to go beyond linguistic divides to focus
on what brings them together, that is, their predicament.

Eneka: An Example of a Breadwinner

Though ungrateful to her elder sister, Eneka can equally be considered the
breadwinner of her family. She justifies her attitude towards Coco at the end of
the play, when things start falling apart in her household. She calls her behavior
“transferred aggression” and admits suffering from stress due to the mortgage, car
loan, bills, and other charges that were waiting for her. As a computer engineer,
this woman becomes the sole support of her family. Her husband’s tuition and,
later on, that of their two children were her sole responsibility: “I worked for five
years, moved from one ‘job’ to another; no leisure, aged overnight” (48). Her
redundancy brings the whole household to a standstill; a situation that seriously
annoys Jack: “it’s over two years since you have been out of work. We have used
up all our savings” (46). If Eneka’s husband has been enjoying financial
independence, it is thanks to her industriousness. Jack shifts his responsibilities to
his wife. Thus, securing a job becomes for her both a must and an obligation as
he dryly says it: “You must look for a job. Get a job anywhere. Do something
before I choke” (48).
Eneka, on her side, finds it difficult to understand that upon all the sacrifices
she made for him, he cannot express the least gratitude. What her husband instead
158 Women in French Studies

asks her is to do anything. The idea is seen as the straw that breaks the camel’s
back. She grips his shirt and tells him he will know what stuff she is made of:
“Have you forgotten that you were in school for five years while I worked and
paid your tuition, yet, I didn’t complain. I have only been out of work for two
years and you are acting as though I had never worked” (48). What this woman
complains of is her husband’s ungratefulness and attitude. She calls him an
“ingrate” who has forgotten the past and is only thinking of the present: “I have
sacrificed a lot to keep this union” (49), she says as a reminder.
The reasons why Eneka finds it difficult to get a new job are both social and
professional: “Employers want recent references. Having been out of work for
long, they don’t seem to understand” (49). Hardly did she know that having spent
years in college studying computer science, she will end up doing blue collar jobs
such as cleaning to sustain her household. Her appalling situation is not related to
her incompetency but to her origin. This shows the demarcation between Western
feminism and “Womanism.” It exposes the systematic and internalized racial
oppression that all women of color are still subject to. She wonders if her husband
has suddenly become a deaf mute when facts speak for themselves: “He knows
very well that the few available jobs in my discipline are set aside for the ‘real
founders of this land’” (49). When Eneka talks of “real founders,” she means those
born in the United States, irrespective of gender. This is where white women and
white men’s negative solidarity as oppressors becomes manifest in the eyes of this
female protagonist.
The leading part women play towards revamping the economics of Central
African states is invaluable. In her play, Anna Tanyi-Tang uses womanist tenets
as a beacon to give Central African women a leading role as economic
development enablers—this regardless of the language that they speak.
As this writer struggles to shake her fellow Cameroonian women out of their
lethargy by underscoring the need to take the education of girls seriously, she
advocates developing an interest in so-called men’s jobs that give considerable
financial benefits. To achieve the effective financial autonomy they aspire to,
Central African women must possess a sound entrepreneurial spirit. The way for
economic empowerment she paves for her fellow compatriots passes through
Coco and Eneka. Their social positions as electronic and computer engineers
respectively attests to her will to see women of color climb the hierarchal and
managerial ladder. These two protagonists, who are arguably the embodiment of
success, represent the tool the playwright makes use of to instill hope in the mind
of those still subjugated by men’s economic influence. So, it should be noticed
that as the author liberates women of color from serfdom and male economic
dominion, she doesn’t necessarily advocate fractionalization. She makes her
character feel solidarity with progressive black men as propounded by Alice
Walker to attain set objectives. Yomi’s emotional and moral support to Coco
following her disappointment over investment in human beings proves itself
helpful. It gives her courage and boosts her morale in view of business hazards.
The African continent still remains a place with women of low socio-
economic status, a spatial substrate where hunger, war, poverty, tyranny and
injustice prevail. As Coco invests in education, she expects those who enjoy her
 Atouga 159

financial assistance to come and invest in Queen and not to remain with Princess
after securing fulfilling jobs. Thus, her role as a social feminist whose love for
struggle and commitment for survival and wholeness of the population should be
a guiding principle. The equal education opportunity offered to both Eneka and
Henry by their elder sister shows the degree to which a womanist experiences a
sense of duty towards her network of kin and feels the obligation of helping them
even to the detriment of her own happiness. This cannot be effective unless those
seen as breadwinners enjoy a stable economic situation. Visiting America is not
only about social “womanism,” but the play is equally about liberal womanist
codes based on the idea of “love of food and roundness.” The touristic activities
the protagonist undertakes as an individual traveller, coupled with Beni’s choice
of menu in French at the restaurant, are viewed both as vectors of local economic
development and factors of Francophone and Anglophone women co-existing in
Cameroon. Therefore, for a woman to be considered a driving force of economic
development, just like Coco, she must be endowed with financial literacy and
social and liberal womanist qualities. So after a profound study of the play, it
emerges that if womanist literature is considered to be writing about women of
color and their interests through characters, one can arguably maintain that the
above selected work of Anne Tanyi-Tan has womanist coloring.

University of Buea (Cameroon)

Works Cited

Ayuketah, Eleanor. “Arts and Culture Minister officially launches SILYA

2018.” CRTV. 9 May 2018. http://www.crtv.cm/2018/05/arts-and-culture-
minister-officially-launches-silya-2018/.
Emecheta, Buchi. Destination Biafra. Allison and Busby Ltd, 1982.
Ephson, Isaac S. Gallery of Gold Coast Celebrities. Ilen Publications Ltd, 1969.
Ikechukwu, Orjinta. Womanism as a Method of Literary Text Interpretation: A
Study of Emergent Women’s Image under Religious Structures in Selected
Works of Heinrich Böll. U of Nigeria P, 2013.
Tanyi-Tang Anne. Two Plays: Visiting America, Manuella. Sherpa, 2006.
Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose. Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, 1984.
Williams, Delores. Sisters in Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk.
Orbis Books, 1995.