Women in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe were treated with a small amount of respect. Women were not treated solely as property but, they were seen as the weaker and dominated sex.
At first glance the females in Things Fall Apart seem to serve a very small purpose but, with close inspection it can be seen that women in the novel have certain roles that are worshiped and respected. These roles include but are not limited to: the concept of the priestess, where a women is chosen by the gods to stay in the shrine of the gods and relay messages to the village people. The main priestess in the novel is Cheilo was doubles as the Priestess of Agbala. Cheilo is respected throughout the village but only when she is showing the side of her that is …show more content…
Women are not allowed to hold titles within the village but, the first wife does wear the anklet of their husband’s titles. “The man who contradicted him [Okonkwo] had no title. That is why he had called him a women.” (26). Crimes, tasks, and crops were all gendered. “The crime was of two kinds, male and female. Okonkwo had committed the female, because it had been inadvertent.” (124). This quotes displays the underlying belief that women are generally weaker and more peaceful than men. Tasks within each family were distributed by gender. The males built the compounds, planted and harvested the male crops, and ruled over all the members of the family. Meanwhile, women cooked the meals, took care of the children, cleaned the compounds, and planted and harvested the female crops. “His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew women’s crops, like coco-yams, beans, and cassava. Yam, the king of the crops, was a man’s crop.” (22-23).
As you can see, women in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe were treated with a small amount of respect. By looking at the way crimes, tasks, crops, and roles were gendered, one can see that within the novel women were viewed as the inferior
At first glance the females in Things Fall Apart seem to serve a very small purpose but, with close inspection it can be seen that women in the novel have certain roles that are worshiped and respected. These roles include but are not limited to: the concept of the priestess, where a women is chosen by the gods to stay in the shrine of the gods and relay messages to the village people. The main priestess in the novel is Cheilo was doubles as the Priestess of Agbala. Cheilo is respected throughout the village but only when she is showing the side of her that is …show more content…
Women are not allowed to hold titles within the village but, the first wife does wear the anklet of their husband’s titles. “The man who contradicted him [Okonkwo] had no title. That is why he had called him a women.” (26). Crimes, tasks, and crops were all gendered. “The crime was of two kinds, male and female. Okonkwo had committed the female, because it had been inadvertent.” (124). This quotes displays the underlying belief that women are generally weaker and more peaceful than men. Tasks within each family were distributed by gender. The males built the compounds, planted and harvested the male crops, and ruled over all the members of the family. Meanwhile, women cooked the meals, took care of the children, cleaned the compounds, and planted and harvested the female crops. “His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew women’s crops, like coco-yams, beans, and cassava. Yam, the king of the crops, was a man’s crop.” (22-23).
As you can see, women in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe were treated with a small amount of respect. By looking at the way crimes, tasks, crops, and roles were gendered, one can see that within the novel women were viewed as the inferior