Things Fall Apart, An Examination of the Treatment of Women

901 Words2 Pages

At first glance the treatment of women in an Igbo marriage is appalling, the woman may be beat if she is out of line, she raises the children, does the housework and even some farm work without hesitation. For the Igbo clan, a marriage is the union between a man and as many women as he desires and can afford to buy. A marriage is done for the purpose of having numerous children and love between man and wife is not even a requirement. The wife is given the option to leave if she is unhappy and despite the fact that the choice to leave or to stay seems obvious, the pros seem to outweigh the cons for an Igbo woman.

For the most part an Igbo marriage takes into consideration two factors: religion and the fertility of the couple. Children are one of the main focuses for the Igbo tribe and being married is among the first essential steps towards having children. It is extremely vital for a married couple to have children, actually a woman is not welcomed into her husband's family until she bares him a child. "The birth of the child gives her the title of wife, before this time she may be said to be a wife only in anticipation." (Obi, Celestine). The birth of a male child is much more accepted than the birth of a female child. A male child will eventually do the harder labour, go to war, and carry on the family name where a female child will marry into another family. In Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart Okonkwo clearly illustrates resentment toward his daughter Ezinma simply because she should have been a boy, she is however his favourite daughter. Okonkwo's resentment towards his favourite daughter demonstrates how stressful life would be as another one of his daughters.

When the main importance of a woman's life is to produce chi...

... middle of paper ...

... raised in a religious household and will continue the traditions of the family and of the religion (Brians, Paul).

Although it has obvious flaws according to our society, an Igbo marriage is well-built and the foundation is strong. Women have the choice to leave if they are unhappy and men have the option to marry a second wife if there are problems with the first one or if they can afford to take more wives. This system is undoubtedly unethical but has proven to be more productive than a monogamous marriage.

Works Cited:

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Oxford: Heinemann, 1996.

Brians, Paul. "Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart."

www.wsu.edu:8000/~brians/anglophone/achebe.html Date accessed: February 23, 2004.

Obi, Celestine A. "Marriage among the Igbo of Nigeria." www.nigeriamasterweb.com/igbomarriage.html Date accessed: February 23, 2004.

Open Document