Things Fall Apart
The Place of Women in Igbo Society (Things Fall Apart)
Women are often thought of as the weaker, more vulnerable of the two sexes. Thus, women’s roles in literature are often subdued and subordinate. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, women are repressed by an entrenched structure of the social repression. Women suffer great losses in this novel but, also in certain circumstances, hold tremendous power. Achebe provides progressively changing attitudes towards women’s role. At first glance, the women in Things Fall Apart may seem to be an oppressed group with little power and this characterization is true to some extent. However, this characterization of Igbo women reveals itself to be prematurely simplistic as well as limiting, once the reader uncovers the diverse roles of the Igbo women throughout the novel. The recurring themes of gender conflicts help drive the novel by showing how important women are to the men, yet they don’t receive the treatment they deserve. Although the women in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart are viewed in an inferior light by the Igbo men, there are also occurrences which showcase their strength and importance in the society.
All over the world, especially in developing countries, women are not treated as equals. It is not any different in the Nigerian society portrayed by Chinua Achebe. In Thing Fall Apart, Achebe represents the female characters as they existed in Igbo culture, which is without power but often emotionally strong. Although traditional Igbo culture is fairly democratic in nature, it is also profoundly patriarchal. The world in Things Fall Apart is one in which patriarchy intrudes oppressively into every sphere of existence. It is a world where the man is everything and the woman nothing. Igbo culture regarded women as gentle, weak, and obedient to their men. The woman’s job was in the house taking care of the children, preparing the meals and raising easy crops, while the men did brave things such as fighting,
Women are often thought of as the weaker, more vulnerable of the two sexes. Thus, women’s roles in literature are often subdued and subordinate. In Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, women are repressed by an entrenched structure of the social repression. Women suffer great losses in this novel but, also in certain circumstances, hold tremendous power. Achebe provides progressively changing attitudes towards women’s role. At first glance, the women in Things Fall Apart may seem to be an oppressed group with little power and this characterization is true to some extent. However, this characterization of Igbo women reveals itself to be prematurely simplistic as well as limiting, once the reader uncovers the diverse roles of the Igbo women throughout the novel. The recurring themes of gender conflicts help drive the novel by showing how important women are to the men, yet they don’t receive the treatment they deserve. Although the women in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart are viewed in an inferior light by the Igbo men, there are also occurrences which showcase their strength and importance in the society.
All over the world, especially in developing countries, women are not treated as equals. It is not any different in the Nigerian society portrayed by Chinua Achebe. In Thing Fall Apart, Achebe represents the female characters as they existed in Igbo culture, which is without power but often emotionally strong. Although traditional Igbo culture is fairly democratic in nature, it is also profoundly patriarchal. The world in Things Fall Apart is one in which patriarchy intrudes oppressively into every sphere of existence. It is a world where the man is everything and the woman nothing. Igbo culture regarded women as gentle, weak, and obedient to their men. The woman’s job was in the house taking care of the children, preparing the meals and raising easy crops, while the men did brave things such as fighting,