The Role of Women in Things Fall Apart - Essay Example

Women mainly give in to male orders without question. The such act implies anxiety towards the possible consequence or fate of disobedience instead of a gradual process in which a woman, in this case, may otherwise find confidence and time to think through better alternatives. Considering women's active role in this type of society, diversity in roles is spread throughout the novel.

As priestesses of the LBO village, women perform the traditional duty of spiritual leadership. With this role, women like Chika are feared mainly (17), having the status believed to have attained the power of her god, while the Agbala priestess would never hold back her firm command to Okonkwo. Being able to threaten the tribal chieftain indicates the woman’s portrayal of a figure her subjects have constantly revered. Earth goddess Ani further shows the aspect of power in a significant role of woman as a supreme authority set to rule with the judgment of conduct and morality of human deeds.

Her power is even magnified through the attitude of the inhabitants, who pay tribute by observing the Week of Peace before harvesting their crops, believing that the goddess can prosper the farms with abundance and good growth (30). Moreover, the sense of connection to nature signifies the woman’s continuous communication of her responsibility, such as the mother’s attachment to her child. This role strength is emphasised when Okonkwo seeks refuge in his mother’s village in a time of great distress during exile (134).

Here, faith is established in the value that women can be relied upon in desperate or unfortunate situations. “The women [who] weeded the farm three times at definite periods in the life of the yam, neither early nor late (33).” The line suggests that women may be found efficient in the field of agriculture or, in a way, equivalent to a man’s farming potential in terms of meeting standards by working on a task with diligence and accuracy. Another dynamic representation of a woman’s vitality in her society points to the role of women in education. The novel gives evidence to it at the portion when women teach by means of storytelling (96) which bears morale essential to the learning and development of their children whose skills and value formation may be primarily derived from the early foundations of childhood training.

On the other hand, the socio-cultural orientation of the polygamous community in Things Fall Apart places women in a role where all they can do is follow and conform to what appeared to be a patriarchal setting which takes for granted having to consult women for the rationality of occurrences and policies. At this point, Achebe included the effect the murder of a fellow tribesman’s wife has on the community as a whole. The incident happens in the village of Marino. A lower Nigerian tribe, the Umuofia, had a conflict with someone from Mbaino when he murdered the wife of an Umuofia tribesman while the woman was in their market. Achebe relates this story in the second chapter; the Umuofia tribe expressed their anger and resentment upon hearing the announcement of their noted orator about the killing incident. Okonkwo, the tribe’s fiercest warrior, is chosen to represent their clan to deliver the message of their tribe. To prevent the two villages from going to war, the Mabaino tribe has to hand over a virgin and a young man to Umuofia. Fearing Umuofia’s fierce reputation for its skill in combat and magic, Mbaino agrees to Umuofia’s terms. The virgin was then given to the widower to replace his murdered wife. The such settlement shows how primitive the ways of the tribesmen are in settling disputes regarding cases involving women. They are regarded as husbands’ physical possessions and are thus replaceable upon any internal or external agreement set by the tribe.