Things Fall Apart

[author]

[class]

[professor]

[date]

Okonkwo and the women in Things Fall Apart

In the novel Things Fall Apart ' Chinua Achebe paints a portrait of a Nigerian tribe through the story of his protagonist , Okonkwo . In aiming to accurately portray the world of Igbo tribe , Achebe does not idealize his characters in to present a perfect world and intensify how the colonizers destroyed this world . One clear proof of Achebe 's balanced treatment in depicting pre-colonial Nigeria is the relationship of his protagonist to the women in the story . Okonkwo

is first described in the novel as a man who gains fame through his physical strength and masculinity , and throughout the story , he asserts his masculinity by repressing weakness and tenderness and ruling an iron hand over the women in his life

In this essay , the author will explore the relationship of Okonkwo to four specific women in the story : Ekwefi , Okonkwo 's second wife , Ezinma the only daughter of Ekewefi to Okonkwo , Chielo , the priestess of Agbala , and Mother Earth , who , according to Igbo belief , determines the fate of Okonkwo in the story . From the relationship of Achebe 's protagonist to these women , the ambivalent female position in Igbo society is revealed both to be valued in terms of its connection to the spiritual realm and marginalized with regard to hierarchy in their society

Ekwefi is introduced in the fifth chapter of the novel during the preparations for the New Yam Festival . She is unnamed at first described only...