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Igbo nigerian gender roles things fall apart
African feminism in literature
Igbo nigerian gender roles things fall apart
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In a world that often seems to revolve around patriarchy, we are all taught about gender roles and pressured to adhere to them, whether they are enforced or not. For example, the female gender role involves women having children, cooking and cleaning, and being overall submissive. The male gender role focuses on men being the “bread-winners” and “protectors” of their household, by working, being tough, and having a dominant nature. In both Purple Hibiscus and Sin is a Puppy that Follows You Home (commonly referred to as Sin is a Puppy), two West-African based novels written by female, feminist authors, the characters seemed to fit into their stereotypical gender roles perfectly, especially Beatrice and Rabi, the two matriarchs of the novels, …show more content…
On the other hand, Balaraba Ramat Yakubu, the author of Sin is a Puppy, is a Hausa woman who wrote her story in Hausa, intended for Hausa audiences (Sotonwa). Therefore, Purple Hibiscus is meant to feature plot twists, dramatic characters, and traumatic events in order to keep a western audience entertained. While, on the other hand, Sin is a Puppy was written for a secluded, Muslim audience, so its storyline is mundane, realistic, and probably relatable to the Muslim audience. For example, the very first chapter of Purple Hibiscus features Papa, also known as “Eugene”, throwing a missal intended to hit his son, which is meant to provide initial shock value for the drama-craving Western audience. However, since male-dominant gender roles are traditional in Muslim Nigerian society, Yakubu gives her Muslim audience what they would expect (the patriarch being unfaithful, a man swooping in and saving Rabi’s daughter from ending up like her, Rabi giving in to accepting her husband back, etc.). There is not much shock value in a man in a traditional Muslim society seeking other women and leaving his family, and it is only expected that he be accepted back. However, there is shock value in a seemingly quiet and subservient woman deciding to act out of character and murder …show more content…
For example, when Jaja, their son, stated that his grandfather, who Papa hated, may not have wanted to convert before death, Beatrice quickly tried to divert Eugene’s attention from him so he would not become angry and strike Jaja (Adichie, p. 191). Rabi, even though her kids were suffering, did not complain, beg, or ask any help from her husband. Instead, she decided to care for them on her own, even though it meant she had to ask for hand-outs from her family members. Since Abdul’s way of abuse was more mental and verbal, Rabi’s response was to be quiet and independent. However, since Eugene was more of a physical abuser who did provide for his family, Beatrice’s response was to be submissive and dependent, yet protective of her children. It’s important to note the author’s intent with this as well. Adichie, being an outright feminist (Flanagan), is a strong believer in female-independence and in women standing up for their children. However, due to the limits set by the gender expectations of Igbo society, she could not make Beatrice independent, so it was important that she give her some “fight” per say, at least in the defense of her own children. It can also be argued that Yakubu expressed her feministic views by making it so Rabi never fully depended on her husband and still did all she could in order to provide for her children while simultaneously caring for them. However, due to the limits
Many different depictions of gender roles exist in all times throughout the history of American culture and society. Some are well received and some are not. When pitted against each other for all intents and purposes of opposition, the portrayal of the aspects and common traits of masculinity and femininity are separated in a normal manner. However, when one gender expects the other to do its part and they are not satisfied with the results and demand more, things can shift from normal to extreme fairly quickly. This demand is more commonly attributed by the men within literary works. Examples of this can be seen in Tennessee Williams' “A Streetcar Named Desire”, where Stella is constantly being pushed around and being abused by her drunken husband Stanley, and also in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's “The Yellow Wallpaper”, where the female narrator is claimed unfit by her husband as she suffers from a sort of depression, and is generally looked down on for other reasons.
In both The Bell Jar and Enormous Changes at the Last Minute, we often see women as being subordinate to men. For example, in "Debts", one of Grace Paley's characters is happy because she has found "a husband to serve"(Paley, Enormous Changes at the Last Minute, 11). Her life has no meaning apart from her role as wife. She is defined by her husband. The idea that women are defined by their husband is so pervasive that we even find it in the language of the stories. In "The Burdened Man" there is a newspaper article describing the shooting of a wife and her lover by her husband. The husband and the lover are called by name, Sgt. Armand Kielly and Alfred Ciaro, respectively. The wife is only referred to as Mrs. Kielly. In The Bell Jar, when Buddy Willard proposes to Esther, he asks her "How would you like to be Mrs. Buddy Willard?"(Plath, The Bell Jar, 75). In both these instances, the language used defines the women in terms of their husband. This casual indication of dominance says a great deal about the culture.
illustrates the discrimination against women and the issues that arise from a gender double standard society.
Finally, even though, for a long time, the roles of woman in a relationship have been established to be what I already explained, we see that these two protagonists broke that conception and established new ways of behaving in them. One did it by having an affair with another man and expressing freely her sexuality and the other by breaking free from the prison her marriage represented and discovering her true self. The idea that unites the both is that, in their own way, they defied many beliefs and started a new way of thinking and a new perception of life, love and relationships.
In Western culture, it is understood that marriage is based on an equal partnership and not one person controlling the other. On the contrary, in the early 19th century, women were usually in unions that were male dominated. Women were meant to be seen and not heard. Likewise, in the short story, “The Story of an Hour” and the play “Trifles”, two women from very different circumstances share the same fate of being dominated by their husbands and lose their identity while married.
In fact, her father has extremely traditional stereotypes of "male" and "female." He believes that the male should be the defender—strong, powerful, and dominant...
Patriarchal silencing can be enforced in three different ways; physical abuse, emotional abuse, and social demands and/or expectations. Although both books have opposite cultural and racial factors that influence the way in which the women in the books are treated, we can still see that these three ways of silencing women are present. In Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”, the form of patriarchal silencing that is most prominent is the viole...
Throughout this semester, we have come upon two playwrights and one novel, and even though they have different plots, they live a life where society is patriarchy. Back in the day, literature had feminists writers who believed society should be patriarchy and not equally. Women had no rights back then until the 1840’s. They were not allowed to write. Until, the “Women’s Rights Movement” was passed, and women became writers from many different races and published hundreds of novels, short stories, playwrights, and essays. This was a major evolution in literature because women were finally going to have the ability to express what they were holding in all this time. Although there are still societies that continue to be patriarchy, women are
In today’s advanced societies, many laws require men and women to be treated equally. However, in many aspects of life they are still in a subordinated position. Women often do not have equal wages as the men in the same areas; they are still referred to as the “more vulnerable” sex and are highly influenced by men. Choosing my Extended Essay topic I wanted to investigate novels that depict stories in which we can see how exposed women are to the will of men surrounding them. I believe that as being woman I can learn from the way these characters overcome their limitations and become independent, fully liberated from their barriers. When I first saw the movie “Precious” (based on Sapphire’s “Push”) I was shocked at how unprotected the heroine, Precious, is towards society. She is an African-American teenage girl who struggles with accepting herself and her past, but the cruel “unwritten laws” of her time constantly prevent her rise until she becomes the part of a community that will empower her to triumph over her barriers. “The Color Purple” is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker which tells the story of a black woman’s, Celie’s, striving for emancipation. (Whitted, 2004) These novels share a similar focus, the self-actualization of a multi-disadvantaged character who with the help of her surrounding will be able to triumph over her original status. In both “The Color Purple” and “Push”, the main characters are exposed to the desire of the men surrounding them, and are doubly vulnerable in society because not only are they women but they also belong to the African-American race, which embodies another barrier for them to emancipate in a world where the white race is still superior to, and more desired as theirs.
Many critics throughout the years have given the Wife of Bath a title of that of a feminist. She is a strong-willed and dominant woman who gets what she wants when she wants it, by manipulating her husbands into feeling bad for things that they didn’t do, or by saying things that put them to utter shame. No man has ever been able to give an exact answer when she asks to know how many husbands a woman may have in her life...
Through these two novels, we’re able to see the quandaries that women must face when modernity and old customs come head to head. Both of these women remain brave and to try to sustain their new found freedoms, despite any difficult encounters. It is these women with their fierce ideals that would make them pioneers for all women liberation movements.
Both works are similar in the theme of love and marriage, conflicts, and surprising endings. However, they differ in the way the husbands are portrayed throughout the story. Both protagonist in the stories are strong woman who were battling feminine problems of the 19th century. Wiether it was class status or the expected role of women, each woman was unique in the way they handle their conflict in society. These pieces were used to speak out and bring light to issues that common women faced during the time period. The lasting effects of the stories encouraged women to work hard to be who they want in
Friedan and Schlafly have two extremely different views on women’s role in the household, however it is because of these powerful women that influenced today’s female society. Today women still care for their children, husband, and home, but they multitask their responsibilities while holding a professional career. Additionally, women have the same opportunities just like men politically, socially, and economically. Whether it be a liberal or conservative opinion, women have gained the right to develop their stance on important
Inherent differences between the sexes assign women in patriarchal societies into a disparaging, separate class from men. Male standards dictate that woman’s individual traits are meaningless. Oppression of women in male dominant societies reduces them to their ability as mothers and wives. Resisting patriarchal oppression by expressing idiosyncrasies often results in persecution, ridicule, and labeling women as undesirable. Oftentimes, the restraint and maltreatment of diverse womanhood leads to a lower quality of life for women, unhappiness in marriage, and impedes romantic and sexual intimacy. Many feminist works of literature illustrate how punishing unique behaviors and suppressing their personalities women into a class removed from and second to men.
Many women in modern society make life altering decisions on a daily basis. Women today have prestigious and powerful careers unlike in earlier eras. It is more common for women to be full time employees than homemakers. In 1879, when Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, there was great controversy over the out come of the play. Nora’s walking out on her husband and children was appalling to many audiences centuries ago. Divorce was unspoken, and a very uncommon occurrence. As years go by, society’s opinions on family situations change. No longer do women have a “housewife” reputation to live by and there are all types of family situations. After many years of emotional neglect, and overwhelming control, Nora finds herself leaving her family. Today, it could be said that Nora’s decision is very rational and well overdue.