ABSTRACT
The application of the story is indicative of a broader strategic significance of the tale of the Defiant Maid in the period within which both Amos Tutuola and the Mende storytellers were working. As Tutuola’s double iteration of the story may suggest, his narration constitutes both a recuperation of the narrative tradition as mediated by preceding storytellers, and a self-conscious literary treatment that innovates upon that tradition. The cautionary story featuring the young woman restages the conventional moral not to rely excessively upon appearances and to heed the warnings of wise and knowledgeable others. The story of the Beautiful Complete Gentleman in The Palm-Wine Drinkard ultimately functions to support Tutuola’s principal ethical argument, that selfish action must give way to recognition of the value of social responsibility. The strategic uses of the story are not limited to the personal relationships between the storytellers, however, but also extend to the scenario that has brought this particular narrative event into being.
