Okonkwo Gender Roles

In the Novel Things Fall Apart gender plays a large role in how its characters are viewed as and how they act. A character that you see this affecting him in various ways is Okonkwo. In Igbo life revolves around structured gender roles, and women are perceived as the weaker sex. For Okonkwo this is what his traits are based off. Masculinity. He associates masculinity with aggression and feels that anger is the only emotion that he should display. For this reason, he frequently beats his wives, even threatening to kill them from time to time. These actions and the reason why he wants to be viewed as very masculine is most likely cause by Okonkwo’s relationship with his late father. He wants to rise above his father’s indolent behavior, which he views as weak and therefore effeminate. His fear of being viewed as weak leads him to much trouble. When Okonkwo beats his wife during the week of peace this shows his masculinity affecting him negatively. In a situation where he could’ve done nothing he did not want to be seen as weak so he beat his wife. Okonkwo most likey sees women as weak because in his culture the womens purpose is to be wed and bear children. This is normal in their culture as the beating of his wife is …show more content…
He ruled his household with a heavy hand and was one of the hardest workers and most successful in the land. Many of his attributes were admired and respected, but his friends and neighbors were all well aware of his volatile nature, and the trouble it caused him and the fear it instilled in others. During the week of Peace, Okonkwo beat one of his wives, which was considered a great crime against the gods. "But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess". This made Okonkwo unpopular with some within the village and because of religious beliefs, it was believed that his sin could ruin the fate of the whole