"Rituals of Distrust": Illicit Affairs and Metaphors of Transport in Ama Ata Aidoo's "Two Sisters" and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "Birdsong"

Both Ama Ata Aidoo and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie foreground illicit relationships between a younger woman and a married older man in their respective short stories "Two Sisters" and "Birdsong." Treating this relationship against the backdrop of social, political, and economic tropes associated with movement demonstrate the ways in which characters in both stories utilize their resources in an attempt to exploit each other to their own ends. Using the theories of Michel de Certeau, Anne McClintock, and Julia Kristeva, this article examines how both writers use metaphors of transport to examine the power relations between their heroines and their counterparts, finding that even though the women are in weaker positions, they manage to find ways to revolt. Revolt is, however, not a one-dimensional action, but a multifaceted phenomenon informed by the particular situations in which the women find themselves.