Formal Education, a Blessing or a Curse: The Literate Woman in Ama Ata Aidoo’s Our Sister Killjoy and Changes

The existing literature on Ama Ata Aidoo’s works, especially, on her novels Our Sister Killjoy (1977) and Changes (1999) have not looked at formal education being a double edged sword that brings immense benefit as well as its adverse effects to the African woman. This study intends to fill up this gap. Based on the theory of humanism or existentialism, this study mainly seeks to find out Aidoo’s view on the value of formal education to the African woman in her novels, Our Sister Killjoy (1977) and Changes (1999). 

Ama Ata Aidoo in her recent novels, Our Sister Killjoy (1977) and Changes (1999), seems to argue that formal education is like a double-edged sword which liberates the woman in one way and incapacitate her in another as it empowers the literate African woman economically, socially, and mentally. Because she is independent of her husband and other people in the society financially, she is also respected by the society.  She is also able to assert her right and take concrete decisions on her own. However, this same formal education renders the African woman an alien to her own African culture, thereby making her a misfit in her own society. The study finally concludes that education is more of a curse than a blessing to the African literate woman.

The existing literature on Ama Ata Aidoo’s works, especially, on her novels Our Sister Killjoy (1977) and Changes (1999) have not looked at formal education being a double edged sword that brings immense benefit as well as its adverse effects to the African woman. This study intends to fill up this gap. Based on the theory of humanism or existentialism, this study mainly seeks to find out Aidoo’s view on the value of formal education to the African woman in her novels, Our Sister Killjoy (1977) and Changes (1999). 

Ama Ata Aidoo in her recent novels, Our Sister Killjoy (1977) and Changes (1999), seems to argue that formal education is like a double-edged sword which liberates the woman in one way and incapacitate her in another as it empowers the literate African woman economically, socially, and mentally. Because she is independent of her husband and other people in the society financially, she is also respected by the society.  She is also able to assert her right and take concrete decisions on her own. However, this same formal education renders the African woman an alien to her own African culture, thereby making her a misfit in her own society. The study finally concludes that education is more of a curse than a blessing to the African literate woman.