Madmen and Specialists: Analysis of Major Characters
"Madmen and Specialists" is a play that delves into the complexities of human relationships and moral dilemmas against the backdrop of a civil war, drawing parallels with real historical conflicts. Central to the narrative is Dr. Bero, also known as "The Specialist," who navigates the dual roles of a medical practitioner and an intelligence officer. His character is marked by a disturbing fascination with power and cannibalism, challenging societal norms through his controversial actions and beliefs.
The Old Man, Bero's father, serves as a foil to his son, engaging in philosophical debates and advocating for cannibalism, which further complicates their fraught relationship. The play also introduces several secondary characters, including Aafaa, a mendicant who often leads satirical commentary, and Iya Agba and Iya Mate, two herbalists who embody traditional knowledge yet face the threat of misuse by Bero.
The interactions among these characters reveal the tensions between tradition and modernity, loyalty and betrayal, as well as the moral ambiguities inherent in times of conflict. As the narrative unfolds, it becomes a poignant exploration of power dynamics and ethical choices within a war-torn society.
Madmen and Specialists: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Wole Soyinka
First published: 1971
Genre: Play
Locale: Indeterminate, but similar to Nigeria after the 1967–1969 civil war
Plot: Mythic
Time: Possibly the 1960's
Dr. Bero, also called The Specialist, a medical doctor returning from service in a civil war analogous to the Biafran secession from Nigeria (1967–1970) but generalized by its echoes of similar conflicts such as the 1960–1964 Katangan conflict in the Congo (now Zaire). Bero began service as a doctor but found that he had a talent for intelligence work and has since become the head of intelligence, in which position he acquired the nickname “The Specialist.” He claims to have eaten and enjoyed human flesh, particularly testicles. He has sent four spies, masquerading as beggars, to watch his father, the Old Man, whom he has had confined in the basement surgery of their house. Against his father's metaphysical proclamations of the new deity As, Bero claims to understand the nature of real (temporal) power. Bero's four spies are former disciples of the Old Man. When the Old Man recaptures their allegiance and is at the point of “operating” on one of them, Bero appears and shoots him.
The Old Man, Bero's father, also a medical doctor. He likes his regular arguments with the Priest. During the last of these, he submits that cannibalism should be made legal. Shortly thereafter, he follows his son to war and is given charge of convalescent patients, whom he converts to the partly obscurantist, partly cynical cult of As. His comments on cannibalism threaten to bring severe legal reprisals. His son rescues him and has him taken home to be confined in the surgery. At his first opportunity, he reasserts his control over the beggars. He is shot by Bero as he attempts to cut open the Cripple and sample his flesh.
Aafaa (ah-AH-fah), one of the four mendicants, subject to St. Vitus'Dance. He is the most voluble of the four, often leading them in elaborate charades. His comments, even to Bero, are often satirical and challenging, and Bero finds it necessary to remind him who employs him and his fellows. He, Goyi, and the Blind Man help the Old Man prepare the Cripple for his “operation.”
Iya Agba, one of two old women. She and her companion are herbalists who have accumulated generations of knowledge. They have shared their secrets generously with Bero's sister but now fear that Bero may misuse them. In the climactic scene, as Bero shoots the Old Man, Iya Agba sets fire to her entire collection of herbs and mixtures.
Si Bero, Bero's sister. While waiting for her father and brother to return, she has studied so diligently under the two old women that she knows all that they know. They do not find this dangerous, in spite of Bero, because they know her to be a good person. She is unaware of the Old Man's presence and is overjoyed to see her brother. Her joy turns quickly to apprehension when she perceives how he has changed.
The Priest, a longtime friend of the Old Man. He consistently refuses Si Bero's compound to treat a long-standing ailment; although she says it is the very same compound, he does not trust it to be as well made as her father's. After his first shock at the Old Man's comment on cannibalism, he decides that it was only an arguing point. When Bero implies that he has eaten human flesh, the Priest is shocked anew, and he employs a transparent pretext to refuse a dinner invitation.
The Blind Man, another mendicant. He is distinguished from the others by his long, rambling speech toward the end of the play, in which he both represents and parodies the motives of different parties in the civil war.
Iya Mate (mah-TEH), the second old woman. She is more cautious than Iya Agba, whom she allows to take the lead in destroying the storeroom of herbal secrets.
Goyi and The Cripple, the other two mendicants. Goyi is bent forward by an ever-present back brace, and the Cripple drags himself along on his knees.