AMMA DARKO’S FACELESS

This study examines how unconscious fears, trauma, and repression shape female identity in Amma Darko’s Faceless and Bayo Adebowale’s Lonely Days. Using the psychoanalytic theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, complemented by feminist perspectives, the research investigates how internal psychological conflicts mirror the external realities of patriarchal societies. The analysis demonstrates that both authors employ narrative realism, imagery, and interior monologue to reveal how women internalise fear, pain, and silence as mechanisms of survival. In Faceless, Fofo and Maa Tsuru represent the psychological consequences of abandonment, social neglect, and sexual exploitation, while in Lonely Days, Yaremi embodies the trauma and repression caused by widowhood and cultural marginalisation. The study finds that these psychological experiences, though destructive, ultimately inspire self-awareness and resistance. The research concludes that Darko and Adebowale portray African womanhood as both wounded and resilient. Through psychoanalytic interpretation, the study establishes that women’s repressed emotions and fears become instruments of identity reconstruction and liberation within oppressive social structures. Keywords: Psychoanalysis, Unconscious Fears, Trauma, Repression, Female Identity, Patriarchy, Faceless, Lonely Days.

This research drawing on postcolonial theory and subaltern concept examines voice and memory in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun and Amma Darko’s Faceless by examining how voice and memory reclaim silenced narratives, expose social injustices and highlight the struggles of marginalized groups. It also shows how these elements serve as tools for healing, resistance and social transformation. This research analyzes the role of storytelling and remembrance as means of healing and resistance against historical erasure. The findings reveal that Adichie and Darko use voice and memory not merely as artistic expressions but as important tools for confronting the past and redefining African identity. This research concludes that literature serves as a powerful medium for preserving individual and collective memory and also promoting social awareness in postcolonial contexts