The Role of Women in the Novel Things Fall Apart - Coursework Example

? Things Fall Apart Things Fall Apart is a novel written in English by a Nigerian Chinua Achebe in the context of African tribal culture. It was first published in year 1958 to expose the traditional African culture in the whole world, especially, the English speaking world. In this novel, there are many illuminated elements of history which are simply intended to be demonstrated by the author. Achebe has incorporated many characters and rituals of Ibo society to portray his intended idea of explicating the African culture in its original form along with the arrival of white men culture in the Ibo society. In many highlighted ideas in the novel, the role of women is portrayed in a contrary manner in which one side depicts its power, respect, and grace and the other side is the portrayal of its discrimination in the Ibo society. This paper is aimed to explicate the role of women in the life of the protagonist Okonkwo that has been portrayed in the novel Things Fall Apart in a holistic manner in which both sides of women depicted in the novel will be explicated with textual evidences. Achebe, in his novel, has portrayed a weaker side of women in the context of Ibo society using symbolism as his writing technique to develop the discriminated face of women. The image of women in the Ibo society was considered to be a coward and weak character which was the symbol of disgrace. In order to earn the respect of society, a man must have to act brave in any given circumstances. For Okonkwo, who had lived his childhood in disgrace due to his father, the image of women was an emblem of disrespect. Okonkwo had strived in his entire life to acquire the respect of society by acting brave in every course of Ibo life. However, his son from his first wife who had the qualities of Okonkwo’s father was the hatred one. In the book Achebe stated as the line of Okonkwo for his son that “a flaming fire could have begotten a son like Nwoye, degenerate and effeminate” (Achebe 143). This line depicts the disgraceful picture which was considered for women in the Ibo society. Similarly, the idea of women as discriminating for men also has been exhibited by Achebe in a different form of writing technique. Achebe has utilized the point of view of narrator in which Okonkwo has remained the major narrator of the tale on most of occasions. On one occasion the narrator asks himself, “when did you become a shivering old woman?” (Achebe 64), after he killed a child. The child was brought up by Okonkwo. It depicts the weakness which was associated with the figure of women in Ibo society. In addition, there also are glimpses in Achebe’s storytelling about the ritual in which men were allowed to beat their wives. Domestic violence is considered not only to be a crime in modern society but also a sin in religious perspectives. Despite the fact that it has always been associated with family structures throughout the history of mankind, the Ibo society was contained with this act of violence against women as a norm. It can be found in the novel as, “Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children” (Achebe 10) that illuminates the persistence of domestic violence in Ibo society. The image of women as a symbol of disgrace is significantly illuminated in the novel which is the depiction of Ibo society. However, Achebe also has displayed the strengthened side of women in his novel using his simple, clear and to the point writing format to demonstrate the other side of women in conventional African culture. Firstly, the positive status of women in Ibo society can be seen through the involvement of women in religious activities. In the Ibo society, women were designated with the status of priestess which is certainly holy and noble for any follower of that religion. In the text, “It was a different woman--the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves” (Achebe 62) demonstrates the positive side of female image in Igbo culture. On another occasion, Achebe wrote, “Beware of exchanging words with Agbala. Does a man speak when a god speaks? Beware!” (Achebe 89), that does not only illuminate the respect for women in Ibo society, but also the strength and authority of women. In addition to the good status of women in Ibo society, Achebe has depicted the respect of women by exemplification first wife among all others. A line in the novel that is, “the others could not drink before her” (Achebe 22), are a demonstration of respect for the first wife of man in the Ibo society. This line explicates that the culture of Igbo embraces the first wife of men as a more. Furthermore, the symbolic representation of women’s respect in Igbo society is remarkably illuminated on the occasion when Okonkwo has been exiled to his motherland where he feels disgraced due to his consideration of women as a disgrace but his uncle tells him,“It's true that a child belongs to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you” (Achebe 116-117). These lines highlight the insights of Ibo society where the role of women in the form of mother was highly regarded as a saviour and a guardian of children. The role of women is described in a contrasting manner in the novel Things Fall Apart but in the life of Okonkwo, the role of women was intrinsic and deeply associated despite his considerations for the image of women were highly regarded as a symbol of disgrace. Okokwo’s appraisal for the priestess and his domestic violence against his wife, Okonkwo’s hatred for his son due to his cowardice and his love for his daughter for her bravery are the exhibition of a contrary role which women played in Okonkwo’s life. Work Cited Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. City of Westminster: Penguin Books Limited, 2013. Print. Read More