Lyn Nottage was actually my keynote speaker for graduation, and being that she made quite a good speech about striving for what we want, her play really puts it into perspective. Nottage really exemplified her virtuosity as a playwright. For one thing, the who play was an irony. Under normal circumstances, Mama Nadi’s brothel would be a place representing the dregs and ills of society, a place where women come to get ruined. Because this is was wartime though, the brothel was almost like a beacon; I imagined it to be a small little shack on a dirt road that welcomed all, government soldiers and rebel soldiers. Her brothel is filled with such ambiguity that it hurts my head. On the one hand, it is a place of safety where girls like Sophie, Salima and Josephine can be giving food and shelter without being exposed to the elements, the most dangerous being sexually deprived men. On the other hand though, it still reveals a problem regarding the inequity of women. The fact remains, they are still at the mercy of these sometimes violent soldiers who are gallivanting about. Had the roles been reversed, with female soldiers fighting and a male brothel shack, I don’t think that many women would have even thought about stepping food in this brothel. So either this place was a huge metaphor for war and the horrors that civilians (especially female ones) have to endure, or it was a comment on basic human nature.
I was refreshed that this play didn’t take a war not good/no war good blatant stance, as many other critiques on war do. Instead, Nottage tries to let us fill in the dots and let us decide what we think about the situation. She didn’t write like a raging feminist. There are still good men and there is still hope for the future. This is the character exemplified by Christian, who is in essence a good man making a living delivering supplies back and forth. I found it interesting that his name was Christian, because as soon as I see Christian paired with Africa in the same work, I immediately think of imperialism and religious missionaries. He was though, like a missionary, transporting the goods needed to supply Mama Nadi’s in order to turn out a profit.
I was also extremely surprised at how strong of a character Mama Nadi was. I call her, the matriarch in the dark. I have to overlook the fact that she owns a brothel. Though extremely pragmatic, she is the only mother figure for these girls. When she could have easily turned Sophie away, she took her in. For the majority of the play she does not take a side in the war, serving everyone. I think that even the strongest of people would have taken a side given life/death situations. Not Mama Nadi though. When you enter her house, you have to give your guns and ammunition to her.
I still don’t understand what drives some men to commit such horrible acts and present themselves in such a manner. I mean I guess this stems from being in generally only male company during wartime, but under normal everyday circumstances, why? The world needs more good people people like Christian, who offer their help to women like Mama Nadi and present an aura of a model person that should be upheld. That’s what I try to be. When you see a fight break out, it’s easy to jump in the dog pile and let your animal instincts take control. But I thought we were supposedly at a higher level than animals? Then wouldn’t that entail controlling our immediate sexual gratifications? This is the problem with Salima and her husband’s relationship. He was too impulsive, and he made mistakes in his past. And even though he changed for the better, people don’t always see the better. They see what happened “then”.
So what exactly can we get out of this play? Yes we know rape and war are generally bad things. I hate to be cynical, but these things will never one hundred percent fully disappear from the face of the earth. In the course of history, has there ever been a time where not one rape, burglary, murder etc. has not happened? I doubt it. This is the folly of humans. This is why we are not deities. We are imperfect. So aside from giving money to Women’s Rights and Rape Victims charities and organizations, (which is all well and good), every person can make a personal vow to better themselves. That way we will be contributing less to the evils of the world. And if we know someone who has undergone something tragic such as rape, we should be there for them. We can’t make the pain go away; it’s like trying to fix a mirror that’s been shattered. But we can be like Mami Nadi, offering consolation and being the light at the end of a dark tunnel.
