Demystifying Women in ‘Things Fall Apart’
Introduction
The novel ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Chinua Achebe is based on a traditional African community called the Ibo after the arrival of the white men and before they intruded into their territory. Their arrival had a huge impact on the community and the book, ‘Things Fall Apart’ gives an account of the relationship between the European administrators and missionaries after they arrived. One of the key issues that can be deduced from the text is the role taken by women in the Igbo community. This paper discusses the position of the women, their roles, and importance in their society.
Marginalization of women
Marginalization is a situation where some members of a community are considered and treated insignificantly. Among the Igbo, women are highly marginalized. From the text, it is clear that they have been relegated to inferior roles and are less preferred by their fathers. For instance, Okonkwo wishes that his daughter Enzima was a boy since he believes that she portrays good qualities that should be seen in the male gender. Despite this, he is aware of the fact that she is a girl and should not be treated in the same way as his son Nwoye. Okonkwo still prefers his son over his daughter even after he disappointed him by taking after his father Unoka whom Okonkwo viewed as a failure. He wants him to always be near him. At one point he tells him stories of masculine bravery with a lot of bloodshed in them so that he can be a ‘man (Achebe, 48). Among the Igbo, a man is not expected to portray traits of affection, gentleness, and softness.
A man’s greatness is measured by his wealth, titles, muscle as well as the number of wives. Rich and polygamous men occupied an important place in society and were held in awe. Despite this, if a man was unable to rule over his household, he was considered a failure. This shows that authority lies with men and the opinion of women was disregarded. They were excluded from all important matters of the community including economic, political, and judicial issues.
Women were considered to be weak and failures. Okonkwo feared failure and weakness. His father was the embodiment of this failure and weakness as a result of this he was called agbala which means a man with no title or a “woman.” This depicts that anything was depicted to be masculine. In the narration, Okonkwo hates anything frail or weak and as a result of this, anything strong is likened to a man while anything weak has the characteristics of a woman. This comparison takes place in Okonkwo’s homestead where he describes his son as having woman like characteristics. that “a chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches, I have done my best to make Nwoye grow into a man, but there is much of his mother in him (Achebe, 66).” This war degenerates when Okonkwo wishes that his daughter Ezinma was a boy. This would have made him happier because she has the spirit (Achebe, 16).
Women’s role is relegated to only bearing children for the society. “Prosperous men and great warriors your daughter will bear us sons like you” (Achebe, 117). Therefore a woman’s success is only measured by the number of children that she bears. Furthermore, if she bears a son she is held with a lot of awe. Therefore all her other talents and good qualities remain unexplored in the text. For example Ekwefi is a woman who from the text is depicted to be a good woman, a good wife and a good mother. Despite all these good qualities, she remains marginalized since she is unable to bear Okonkwo a son. This clearly shows that if a woman was to prove her mettle she must bear many children for her husband and in particular bear him sons.
The only roles left for women were the domestic duties. In Okonkwo’s household, his wives suffered greatly as a result of his constant beatings on them to prove his masculinity. Okonkwo demeans anything that is feminine. Negative traits such as laziness and crime are categorized as feminine. For example, when Okonkwo accidentally kills someone, he terms it as a female crime. On the same note, if a man’s family was fed on yams from one season to the other, that man was held in awe. There was no recognition or appreciation of the fact that women were the ones who did the actual farming. Okonkwo wanted his son to be a great farmer and he reiterated that he could not accept a son who was incapable of standing out in the clan (Achebe 30). Even among his children, he does not recognize that his daughter also has roles and expectations that should be met. Within this community, women were marginalized and had very little say in the family and community matters.
Reasons why Chinua Achebe depicts women in a negative way
The text is based on the setting of an African society in Nigeria and more specifically in the Ibo community. In the pre-colonial era, African communities were mainly patriarchal and as a result of this, the male was the head of the community and everything positive was associated with this gender. In this era, black people were marginalized but women were further subjugated because they are of the female gender. As a result of this, they were relegated to an inferior position in the society. The arrival of the white man in the Ibo community also signifies the arrival of the feminist movement who are willing to ensure that women take their rightful position in society. The text is therefore a protest by Chinua Achebe that women have no equal rights as compared to their counterparts of the male gender. Furthermore, the text gives Chinua Achebe a platform to showcase his artistic capabilities especially sarcasm. This is because some of the interactions with the women in the text are sarcastic.
Conclusion
Women are a marginalized lot in Things Fall Apart this is based on the roles they play in society, their position on issues and the way negative attributes are depicted to be famine such as weakness, laziness and fear. Despite the marginalization, exclusion, and silencing of women, they have important roles in roles to play in the society. They may not be highly appreciated but without them, families would not exist. They act as guardians of the community’s religion in the role of priestesses and the principle helpers of their husbands. Women are educators and caregivers to their families.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart: With Related Readings. EMC/Paradigm Pub, 2003.
