Caribbean Matriarch

This paper will focus on the audio by Paul Keens-Douglas, “Tanti at De Oval”, where the poet recaps his interesting experience of attending a cricket match between Trinidad and Tobago and combined islands with “Tanti” Merle. He jokingly recounts his adventure that begins with Tanti Merle packing a basket with ginger beer, sorrel and cake because she didn’t want to starve in Port-of-Spain, he also complains of looking like a vendor when carrying the basket. He describes the trouble of getting a taxi, the taunting from his friends when they see him with Tanti Merle and her avid support for the combined islands although she has lived in Trinidad and Tobago for the past 15 years. Although the piece is quite comical, Douglas manages to incorporate issues that are prevalent in contemporary Caribbean society, such as the importance of cricket, patriotism and the portrayal of women which will be discussed in the following paragraphs. The use of humour and dialect would also be analysed throughout this piece.

In this audio piece Douglas manages to capture the essence of the typical Caribbean family matriarch in his character Tanti Merle who possesses a number of qualities. We see her aggression in her spats with the taxi driver, and the “Bad-John” at the oval and her fervent commentating on the cricket match where she insisted that Trinidad and Tobago was cheating. Douglas also reveals that she is quite traditional, for example she uses a pink parasol and she also insists on carrying a basket of food to the cricket match even though there would be food on sale at the oval. One can assume that this is a deliberate attempt by Paul-Keens Douglas to make the piece more appealing to audiences, as most Caribbean people can identify with this character who is quite complex and “set in their ways”. Through his development of her character he challenges the stereotypical view of women as being submissive, quiet and passive with his character Tanti Merle who is aggressive, stubborn,...