The loss of Ekwefi's children in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart leads her to become envious of others’ joy and an unpleasant person. Ekwefi procreates nine of Okonkwo's children, that all die before the age of three, prior to having Ezinma. Due to the losses she has experienced, “Ekwefi’s bitterness did not flow outwards to others but inward into her own soul” (Achebe 79). The calamity that is her struggle with childbirth brings her great pain and anguish.
Her feelings are obvious when she becomes jealous and angry over the ceremony held for Okonkwo’s other wives when they have children. Ekwefi displays malevolence, due to the suffering she’s undergone, when the narrator states, “she had grown so bitter about her own chi that she could not rejoice with others over their good fortune” (Achebe 79).
Ekwefi’s …show more content…
This is due to the fact she envies them for not have going through the same struggles as her, and therefore living much more cheerful lives. Ekwefi’s experiences also causes her to have a different relationship with her daughter, as Ezinma calls Ekwefi by her name unlike the other children and their mothers. Ekwefi also guards her daughter with her life out of fear of losing Enzima. This is most evident at the time when Ezinma gets a very minor and common illness, and Ekwefi “prayed a thousand times” for her (Achebe, 85). Much like her husband Okonkwo, fear dictates her life and decisions. While Okonkwo is afraid of being similar to his father, Ekwefi has a deep fear of losing her only child to have lived past three years old. Her concern for Ezinma can be seen “when the priestess with Ezinma on her back disappeared
Her feelings are obvious when she becomes jealous and angry over the ceremony held for Okonkwo’s other wives when they have children. Ekwefi displays malevolence, due to the suffering she’s undergone, when the narrator states, “she had grown so bitter about her own chi that she could not rejoice with others over their good fortune” (Achebe 79).
Ekwefi’s …show more content…
This is due to the fact she envies them for not have going through the same struggles as her, and therefore living much more cheerful lives. Ekwefi’s experiences also causes her to have a different relationship with her daughter, as Ezinma calls Ekwefi by her name unlike the other children and their mothers. Ekwefi also guards her daughter with her life out of fear of losing Enzima. This is most evident at the time when Ezinma gets a very minor and common illness, and Ekwefi “prayed a thousand times” for her (Achebe, 85). Much like her husband Okonkwo, fear dictates her life and decisions. While Okonkwo is afraid of being similar to his father, Ekwefi has a deep fear of losing her only child to have lived past three years old. Her concern for Ezinma can be seen “when the priestess with Ezinma on her back disappeared