Roles Of Women In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Achebe states that in her ordinary life she “was a widow with two children” (Achebe 49). It is very interesting that he specifically refers to them in a way that would make the reader think of two very separate people. It shows the way the people of the Ibo culture think about the roles of women. They have normal everyday lives similar to the women of Heart of darkness but there are also specific roles that seem to be specific to women only, which have great importance to their culture. In Ibo culture women have another very important role to play in their gods. In the novel they refer to Ani the earth goddess and say that she “[plays] a greater part in the life of the people than any other deity” (Achebe 36). This is very different from the way that the white women are treated. In both books they did not have any …show more content…
She says that the reason men gained so much status in society started “a thousand years ago. Because human beings lived in a world in which physical strength was the most important attribute for survival; the physically stronger person was more likely to lead” (Adichie 17-18). This really demonstrates an understanding on the topic, and unfortunatly most people don’t seem to make this connection. This shows why men have had such an influence in society throughout the ages. It also explains why woman lack so much status in both of the novels. In Heart of darkness women lack status because (in the story Marlow tell at least) they simply do not take part in anything that seem remotely dangerous or have a high mortality rate which is the setting for most of the plot. This job is for the strong men who have a higher chance of surviving, therefore the woman would have no position that would grant them a high or higher than normal status. One quote from Heart of darkness that shows why men do not really trust women is when Marlow says that women, “live in a world of their own” (Conrad). This quote shows what Marlow thinks women