An Epic of the Superwoman: A Reading of J. P. Clark’s Ozidi

Humans are social beings that love to dwell in groups. These groups, however, do not always share the same ideologies or beliefs; hence conflicts are bound to occur. Humankind’s attempts at conflict resolution have been known to take turns more precipitous than the conflict they were trying to resolve: more battles, destruction of property and the loss of even more lives. The conflicts in J. P. Clark's Ozidi are born of revenge and justice, hinged on the interconnectivity between murder and revenge on the one hand, and innocence and guilt on the other. Although Ozidi Junior is the actual avenger, his grandmother, Oreame, is the undisguisable force behind his success. She engages her wit, mental stamina, and superhuman powers towards the success of her grandson's conquest. This paper, using Motherism, one of the subdivisions of African Feminism, explores the mother figure in relation to plot development while highlighting Clark's prejudiced assessment of the female characters in the play. Since Motherism sees the mother as a spiritual backbone, I argue that Oreame in Ozidi is a perfect embodiment of this figuration of motherhood.