Things Fall Apart Women

Comparing the status of two people, one has to be higher than the other. In prior generations, men were thought to have a higher status than women. Even nowadays when gender equality is being promoted, men have a stereotype to have the power. Similar to our society, the clan in Things Fall Apart have fixed expectations due to the status of men and women. During the book, women’s status can be categorised to when they are high ranking and when they are low ranking compared to men. During normal life, the women of Umofia are considered weak compared to men. In the book, the author writes about Okwonkwo beating his wife. “He walked back to his obi to await Ojiugo's return. And when she returned he beat her very heavily.” Normally we beat children to discipline them displaying power and authority them. Okwonkwo controlling his wives shows he has the domination over the household. Not only do women get beat, they also have to serve their husbands three meals a day. “He uncovered his second wife's dish and began to eat from it. Obiageli took the first dish and returned to her mother's

Women have the gift of bringing new life into the world. Even though this is a physical difference, we give respect to the women because of this extraordinary ability. In order for a clan to grow in the number of people, there must be women. Therefore, women become the pillars of the clan. With the capacity to bear children, this gives women a high status. Another interesting fact is that women are in charge of the law. In Things Fall Apart, a marriage was being prepared when a cow was let loose by a child. When the cow was returned to the owner, and a fine was paid. “When the women had exacted the penalty they checked among themselves to see if any woman had failed to come out when the cry had been raised.” Surprisingly, the fine was collected by the women rather than the