Feminist lens, Things Fall Apart
When I read “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe, I felt that it was mainly about the men and women played no significant role. I was not surprised by this since this was about an African society and they tend to be very patriarchal. Since I have chosen to write with the feminist lens, my theme will be as follows. Although most of the female characters in this book play a minor role which reflects the patriarchal historical Nigerian society, the story of Ekwefi portrays a more feminist literary perspective.
I will explain how most of the characters in the book are stereotypical Nigerian women: wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, but their characters remain undeveloped. They cook foo-foo, bring palm wine to their husbands, bear numerous children and are considered property to be bargained for at marriage time. This is comparable to literature to the 1970’s when “Women were sex maniacs, goddesses of beauty, mindless entities, or old spinsters. (? 174). The Nigerian men have multiple wives which also downplays their significance. I will then contrast this to the story of Ekwefi, who is the only female character with any depth. As we follow her into the woods the night that she follows the priestess who takes her daughter on a journey to another village before she takes her to the cave to see the deity, we are given a glimpse of Ekwefi’s character. I believe it’s significant that the child in this story is female, the priestess is female and the character of Okwonko, who is the only male, is secondary in this particular section. Finally, I will explore the idea of mother. Although it appears from the stereotypical characterization at the beginning that the motherhood has little significance, at the end of the book, there is a section that discusses motherhood in a different light.
