Preview

The Role of Women in Igbo Society Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
568 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Role of Women in Igbo Society Essay Example
Women’s role in Things fall apart.
Igbo women reveals itself to be prematurely simplistic as well as limiting, once the reader uncovers the diverse roles of the Ibo women throughout the novel. An excellent example of powerful women in the Ibo village is found in the role they play in the Ibo religion. The women routinely perform the role of priestess. The narrator recalls that during Okonkwo's boyhood, "the priestess in those days was woman called Chika. She was full of the power of her god, and she was greatly feared" (17). The present priestess is Chielo, "the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the hill and the Caves" (49). There is an episode during which Chielo has come for Okonkwo and Ekwefi's daughter Ezinma. We are told, "Okonkwo pleaded with her to come back in the morning because Ezinma was now asleep. But Chielo ignored what he was trying to say and went on shouting that Agbala wanted to see his daughter . . . The priestess screamed. 'Beware, Okonkwo!' she warned" (101). There is no other point in the novel in which we see Okonkwo "plead" with anyone, male or female, for any reason. We witness a woman not only ordering Okonkwo to give her his daughter, but threatening him as well. The fact that Okonkwo allows this is evidence of the priestess's power. The ability of a woman to occupy the role of a priestess, a spiritual leader, reveals a clear degree of reverence for women being present in Igbo society.
Another example of such reverence for women is unveiled in the representation of the earth goddess, Ani. Ani is described a playing "a greater part in the life of the people than any other deity. She was the ultimate judge of morality and conduct. d in Chapter fourteen, when Okonkwo returns to his mother's clan after being exiled from the Ibo village. Uchendu, reproaching Okonkwo for his sorrow about having to come to live with his mother's clan, explains:

It's true that a child belong to its father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    "Changing attitudes in Britain Society towards women was the major reason why some women received the vote in 1918". How accurate is this view?…

    • 1715 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Women 1901 Essay Example

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Women in 1901 were different to women today in the aspect of their clothing, their legal rights and homelife. In my repost i will comapre the two ages.…

    • 347 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Igbo society there is a huge diversity in gender. Okonkwo a man who thinks of gender as a very important title ,believes that each gender has their own job and that men should do what men do and women do what women are supposed to do, he does not think men should do what women do, or vice versa. As Chinua Achebe stated in chapter 3 paragraph 28 “His mother and sisters worked hard enough, but they grew women’s crops, like coco yams, beans and cassava. Yam the king of crops, was a man’s crop”. This shows that in this diverse society in a simple thing as farming there is a certain crop men grow that women can’t grow. As you read the book you can see that Okonkwo thinks of his wives as just people he is much greater than. You can see in chapter 4 he beats one of his wives, for not making him lunch on time, this is a week of peace and does this to his people. Okonkwo wants his…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Igbo also boast a high degree of social mobility. Men are not judged by the wealth of their fathers, and Achebe emphasizes that high rank is attainable for all freeborn Igbo. He does not shy from depicting the injustices of Igbo society. No more or less than Victorian England of the same era, the Igbo are deeply patriarchal.…

    • 3934 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In chapter four of the novel; Okonkwo, who one of the most powerful men in his village, beats his wife mercilessly because she was not in her place attending to his every need. This is a pivotal point in the novel because it showcases the concept of how highly Okonkwo regards himself in this time period as opposed to how Okonkwo regards his wives. Once again, even in this work of literature from 1959 we are able to see the submissive woman gender role along with the powerful overbearing male gender role. In the novel on page 30, Achebe describes the event “Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess. His neighbors heard his wife crying and sent voices over the compound walls to ask what the matter…

    • 680 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Igbo Gender Roles

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man” (Achebe 45). In a third world continent like Africa, gender role remains a contentious issue based on simply shortage of intelligence. The men believed they held higher supremacy than women. Okonkwo based his daily accomplishments in proving his greed and higher achievements to downgrade the female population.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Research Paper

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages

    While the balance between male and female roles is imperfect in ways, there is also evidence that males could not survive without female roles in their lives and vice versa. Examples of this in Things Fall Apart are apparent when Okonkwo returns to his motherland as it seems “pre-colonial Igbo society, while largely patrilocal and patrilineal in its formation, held a special place for children of a matrilineage, called nwanwa, who, while members of their fatherland, or umunna, retained special rights and responsibilities towards their motherland”(Krishnan). Also, a female role in the tribe is…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Status Of Women Essay

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The status of women enhanced during the interwar years as a result of social gains, political changes, and economic developments.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My social issue that I am researching is gender roles. I am looking at how each gender is treated differently based on their biological design. Women are seen as caring, child bearers, emotional, and weak. Whereas on the other hand, according to society men are strong, aggressive, breadwinners, manly, and man of the house. Based upon these different stereotypes given to men and women there is a huge gender difference in abilities and work ethic. Men tend to make more money on average and work than women. Women also are less likely to be in leadership or promoted to boss like jobs. In Afghanistan woman are very much oppressed, very few have an education or work most…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    According to this video, the women are basically the glue of African countries. They are very significant in the African culture. In Things Fall Apart, the Ibo people see women as important. For example, with the phrase “Mother is supreme”, they provide the example that when a child is sad, they will always go to their mother to comfort them. Okonkwo sees women as less valuable as the rest of the tribe actually does. Women also hold places of power in Africa,…

    • 312 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Igbo Gender Roles

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In this novel, a lot of the traditional Igbo life is the way it is because of the organized gender roles. Basically, all of Igbo lifestyle is dependent on genders, like the characterization of crimes, and the different crops that women and men grow. Men, in this culture, are the stronger sex. Women are seen as weak beings, but are respected for certain things they do, such as bearing children. (Shmoop)…

    • 818 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women's Rights Essay

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Women’s Rights have changed without a doubt since 1945. Many opportunities arose for women and women could do things they could never do before. They were able to voice their opinions without being suppressed and this made women very happy.…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Igbo Women Significance

    • 1426 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In fact, women hold more power in some roles they have then men do, which means that men do not hold all the power. On the other hand, men have more power in some areas such as that they can have more than one wife, which shows status, but women can only have one husband. Also, men get to choose who they marry, but women do not get to choose, but her family does decide if her suitor is tolerable. On the topic of farming, both men and women take part in the planting and harvesting of crops, but different ones. Women only plant crops that such as melons, beans, and cocoa yams which are called a “women’s crops”, whereas men plant crops such as yams which is called a “man’s crop”. Besides farming, a woman cooks for her husband and her children, even if a man has multiple wives, they all are expected to prepare him a meal, and so a man would eat one meal after the other. If a woman does not cook a meal or is late for preparing a meal she is brutally punished. Another example of a man holding more power than women is that a man can beat his wives whenever he wants except during the Week of Peace, which Okonkwo breaks and gets punished for. Some important roles women have or are represented by are a priestess, oracle, and a goddess. In addition to these things, they teach their children stories about their culture which is how stories go from generation to generation, also even though their crops are not as important as “man crops”, without their crops their families would have less to eat. When they talk about “women crops” they are really symbolizing a weaker and lesser job. This goes along with motherly qualities, women are supposed to be sympathetic, weaker, hold lesser status, and show compassion to others, so when Nwoye was showing effeminate traits his father was ashamed and viewed this as a negative trait that he got from his mother, because it means that he was…

    • 1426 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Women In The Igbo Society

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the Igbo society the way men treat the women make them uncivilized. The men treat the women terribly, they beat them and treat them like servants, and it is seen as normal. On many occasions Okonkwo beat his wife and no one cared or stood up for her. The text says “without further argument, Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping” (Achebe, 1959, p.38). Okonkwo beating his wife is abuse and no one cares because…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This presentation will introduce you to the feminist critical perspective through a close examination of the short story “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid.…

    • 1603 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays