Women's Role in Things Fall Apart :)

In the book, “Things Fall Apart,” the complex view of women is quite clear.  Their husbands viewed the women as possessions, but they also played an important role in the society. The author showed many ways like how marriage and family was a crucial power that women held.

At the beginning of the novel, it is quite clear that the men in the tribe of Umofia treat their women as possessions; it’s like they had some sort of ownership over them. The men could beat their wives, and they could also have as many wives as they pleased.  One of the main characters, Okonkwo, was an example of this; he had three wives and would beat them when he thought they made a mistake.  He found out that his second wife had taken some leaves from a banana tree, and when he found out, he gave her a “sound beating” (38). The author’s depiction of the violence against women shows the hardship the women have been through, and shows the power a man has as being a husband.

Although, women were viewed as being mother’s and wives, Achebe describes the power women could have through Chielo, the priestess of Agbala, or the “Oracle of the Hills and Caves” (107).  Agbala was the one who decided when Umofia went to war, and also decided the price a villager would have to pay to make up for committing their sin. Achebe used the power of the gods to symbolize how a woman could be so powerful in a tribe. In this case, it ended up being Chielo.

The novel provides evidence of how women are seen as people who comfort others and people who offer protection. The main character Okonkwo was banished from his tribe because of a crime he accidently committed. He tries to return to the motherland where his Uncle lives and tried to accept Okonkwo. He feels uncomfortable in the motherland, which is a place that’s supposed to represent the care and comfort of a mother. Okonkwo’s strong views of men having the power, blinds him from the importance of women. His uncle reminds him that “a father beats his child, seeks sympathy to his mother’s hut” (134). The author uses the deportation to the motherland to describe the importance of women needed for the development of children as well as what they say about in tribal affairs.

As you can see, women play important roles in the tribal structures, despite the views that the Westerns tend to have. Even though women were considered as possessions and were beaten, they were also respected as mothers, teachers and wives. They were there for celebration and to comfort others around them. Achebe describes the complicated role that women play in the tribal and family affairs. In this novel, women do hold power despite the way they have been treated.