Feminist Criticism of
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart
Research Question: In what ways do structures oppress women in the text?
Things Fall Apart is a novel by Chinua Achebe which follows Okonkwo, the hyper-masculine leader of an Igbo clan in modern-day Nigeria during the colonial period. The African novel attempts to return a voice to Othered African peoples by realistically portraying their customs and culture, including familial structures and the treatment of women. As a result, a feminist lens, which specifically evalautes the treatment of and expectations placed on women, is an appropriate method to explore topics such as the patriarchy, objectification, and misogyny. According to Linda Napikoski, a journalist and activist specializing in feminism and global human rights, in patriarchal structures, women are often presented and treated as mere objects, usually sexual, from a male perspective, which consequently reduces their value. Moreover, when women attempt to challenge patriarchal structures which value men and masculinity over their opposites, they are met with policing, often violent, known as misogyny. Thus, through this line of inquiry, it becomes apparent in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart that patriarchal structures oppress women through objectification, limited societal roles or duties, and violence.
Firstly, through their objectification, the novel depicts the ways the patriarchy oppresses women. During the egwugwu ceremony, Odukwe mentions a “law of Umuofia” stating that “if a woman runs away from her husband her bride-price is returned” (147). By linking the words “bride-price” with the use of a hyphen, brides become likened to a monetary value, thus, commodifying women and indicating that they are objects to be sold and bought by men. As a result, women in this setting lack agency and are characterized as powerless objects to be sold and bought; their worth is determined based on price. Therefore, the text highlights how Igbo gender structures oppress women through objectification. This is important because referring to women as objects dehumanizes them. Moreover, Sandra Bartky, a professor of philosophy and gender studies, argues that objectification is extremely harmful as it leads to self-objectification where “women learn to see and treat themselves as objects to be gazed [at]” due to feeling “constantly watched by men” (Papadaki). With this logic, one can see how such rhetoric regarding women limits their roles to that of the objects of men within the Umuofian setting.
Also, during Akueke’s marriage ceremony, “her suitor and his relatives surveyed her young body with expert eyes” to “assure” that she was “beautiful and ripe” (95). Lexical choices such as “surveyed” and “expert eyes” have connotations with gazing emphasizing how prolonged and intense the gaze was. Furthermore, the word “ripe” has connotations with fruit that is fully grown and ready to be picked or eaten by men. As a result, this choice sexually objectifies Akueke by minimizing her to a sexual object reserved for mens’ visual pleasure. In addition, imagery is used to intensely focus on her physical appearance rather than her personality while the suitors and relatives are just briefly mentioned. As a result, Akueke is characterized as an innocent young woman. However, due to imagery that only focuses on her physical appearance, readers do not know anything about her personality. Furthermore, her relatives and suitor are characterized as impure; they value Akeueke for her sexual appeal. Consequently, the setting or atmosphere is uncomfortable and stressful due to the unsolicited sexualization of a young woman. Hence, the text emphasizes the libidinous male gaze where women are oppressed due to how males view them through an excessively sexual and objectified point of view. This dehumanizes women and considers them valuable only through their physical appearance. Also, instead of caring for their character and personalities, they are seen as sexual objects created to please men. Overall, structures oppress women by objectifying them.
Additionally, structures oppress women by forcing them to fulfill traditional roles or duties which limit their value. For instance, Ekwefi, “had borne ten children” but “nine of them had died in infancy.” She felt depressed as her “sorrow gave way to despair and then to grim resignation.” For her, “birth” which is usually a “woman’s crowning glory” became mere physical pain (104). The use of gradation from Ekewfi’s “sorrow” becoming “despair” and then turning to “grim resignation,” depicts that she has become hopeless. In addition, the words “woman’s crowning glory” evoke ideas of power due to connotations between the words “crowning” and royalty. As a result, if women cannot fulfill their role of giving birth to children, they are deemed worthless and powerless. Thus, women are characterized as worthy only if they are able to bear children. Hence, this suggests that a woman's worth is tied to the number of children she can bear. Because Ekwefi had failed multiple times in giving birth to healthy children, her tone is depressing and gloomy. Thus, the text depicts how women are oppressed through the expectation to fulfill roles that limit their value in society and how men have the power to determine the worth of women. As a result, if women are unable to fulfill their roles, they are considered useless outsiders.
Furthermore, Okonkwo’s youngest wife was in charge of “cook[ing] the afternoon meal” for the household. However, she “did not return early enough” to do so, thus, Okonkwo was “provoked to justifiable anger” (38). Okonkwo’s anger being “justifiable” suggests that it is acceptable to be mad at women who do not fulfill their roles. Lexical choices such as “provoked” develop ideas of anger through connotations with annoyance or stimulation. Therefore, the setting is patriarchal as it is normative for men to tell women what to do and become angry at those who do not fulfill certain roles. In addition, Okonkwo is characterized as an aggressive and demanding male; he believes that women are useless if they do not fulfill their limited traditional gender roles. Hence, roles as such oppress women by forcing them to be subservient to their husbands. Furthermore, such roles decrease the value of women by limiting them to common, traditional duties or roles such as cooking. As mentioned by Judith Butler, “by enacting conventions, we do make them real to some extent but that does not make them any less artificial.” An example of such convention is “gender roles;” by “embodying those fictions in our actions,” people start to believe they are “natural and necessary” (“Modules On Butler”). This suggests that women become oppressed by having to stick to traditional roles that have now become natural and necessary; if one does not do so, they are treated differently and looked down upon. In sum, by forcing women to fulfill certain roles and duties, structures oppress women.
Moreover, due to the physical mistreatment and violence women face, Igbo gender structures oppress women. For instance, Okonkwo’s second wife “merely cut a few leaves off [a tree] to wrap some food” but Okonkwo wasn’t pleased with this so he “gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping.” Out of fear, “neither of [the] other wives dared to interfere” (58). Actions such as “beating” and “weeping” emphasize the horrific result of disobeying Okonkwo. “Merely” connotes and implies that the wife’s action wasn’t severe. Additionally, there is a juxtaposition between the wife’s harmless action and Okonkwo’s reaction. As a result, this emphasizes the severity of abuse and violence women face for the silliest reasons. The lexical choice, “dared,” to interfere connotes tremendous courage needed to go against Okonkwo, and the wives “did not dare to interfere” because of the cruel consequence. Hence, Okonkwo is characterized as a hyper-masculine and aggressive male who believes that women must be disciplined through the use of violence. On the other hand, women are seen as powerless; they are disallowed from protecting themselves. The atmosphere is oppressive, cruel, violent, and uncomfortable. Thus, the text portrays how structures oppress women because they are physically mistreated. This is important because violence towards women often results in depression, anxiety, and trauma for countless women.
In addition, when describing Okonkwo, it is mentioned that “[he] ruled his household with a heavy hand,” and because of this, “his wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper” (17). The lexical choice “heavy hand,” has connotations with weight and physical strength, therefore, implying that Okonkwo dominated and controlled his wives using his physical strength and violence. The idiom also emphasizes Okonkwo’s excessive aggression. Furthermore, the adjective, “fiery,” used to describe his temper highlights how Okonkwo is easily angered. The fact that the wives’ fear is “perpetual” suggests that they have become accustomed to Okonkwo’s physical violence due to its continuity; it is a part of their daily lives. As a result, Okonkwo is characterized as an aggressive and easily angered man. His wives are characterized as fearful because of how violent he is. Thus, depicting how the household is continually violent, aggressive, and unpleasant. For this reason, structures oppress women in the text by allowing them to be physically mistreated and abused. In addition, Judith Butler emphasizes the reason why violence occurs so often against women is that “violence [women face] seeks to secure women as killable [and] dispensable; it is an attempt to define the very existence of women’s lives as something decided by men, as a masculine prerogative” (Yancy). Thus, structures oppress women by justifying violence towards them and this makes women seem invaluable and useless in society. Overall, the text depicts how structures oppress women through the physical mistreatment and violence they face.
In conclusion, through objectification, limited societal roles, and violence that women face, it is evident that gender structures oppress women. In Igbo society, women are treated as objects, specifically sexual ones, that are sold and bought or made to pleasure men. This is extremely problematic because such ideologies oppress, dehumanize, and decrease the value of women. Instead of being seen as complex humans, women are seen as objects made for the pleasure of men. Furthermore, gender structures oppress women such as Ekwefi or Okonkwo’s wives because they are forced to fulfill certain and limited duties to be considered worthy. These roles or duties are traditional gender roles and women aren’t allowed to participate in activities outside of this, further highlighting the oppression they face. Finally, gender structures oppress women by allowing them to be treated with violence for the silliest reasons. Unfortunately, although horrifying to acknowledge, countless women remain oppressed today because they are victims of rape, sexual violence, and objectification. The only way society will develop and female oppression will decrease is by increasing awareness on the harm of oppression and education on such topics.
Works Cited
“Feminist Criticism.” Purdue Writing Lab, https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/feminist_criticism.html.
“Modules On Butler .” Introduction to Judith Butler, Module on Performativity, 2011, https://cla.purdue.edu/academic/english/theory/genderandsex/modules/butlerperformativity.html.
Napikoski, Linda. “Feminist Literary Criticism.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 6 Feb. 2020, https://www.thoughtco.com/feminist-literary-criticism-3528960.
Papadaki, Evangelia. “Feminist Perspectives On Objectification.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 16 Dec. 2019, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-objectification/.
“Transforming Our Society to Dismantle Gender Oppression and Create Equality for Women and Girls.” Grand Challenges for Social Work, 21 Jan. 2021, https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/grand-challenges-for-social-work/transforming-our-society-to-dismantle-gender-oppression-and-create-equality-for-women-and-girls/.
Yancy, George. “Judith Butler: When Killing Women Isn't A Crime.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 July 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/opinion/judith-butler-gender.html.