Gender Roles In Things Fall Apart

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Women are often thought or rather viewed as the weaker, more vulnerable of the two sexes. In the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, women roles are subdued and subordinate. Women are shown powerless, unequal, and inferior and have no freedom. Women are not respected as humans, but they are used as property, laborers, and the producers of children. A woman has no identity of her own; her husband defines her status and the position she holds in the society. She must follow all the orders given by her man. Achebe depicts role of women in a male-dominated society through this novel. Firstly, Achebe shows the constant struggle between gender, identity, and class. He says that the inequality between man and women still exists to this day, as it is a cultural thing. They are taught that males are dominant and females are inferior. He shows that the only purpose of women was to satisfy the men’s needs and follow all the orders given by men. From the birth women are taught to follow what men say, when they are young they follow the orders of their father and once they…show more content…
They received little or no respect in the Igbo society and were harshly abused. As we saw in the book that Okonkwo treats his wives terribly, he even beats them. The recurring theme of gender conflicts helps us understand and learn how important women are to the men, yet they do not receive the treatment they deserve. Women in the Igbo society are expected to do the following chores: raise children, cooking, cleaning, and farming. These are important functions of a role of a woman, but they still are not given much credit for their existence in the roles women. The man holds the highest importance of the family and it is he who holds the titles and the power to lead the entire family. He is the one who takes the decision for the entire family and everyone must follow and agree to what he says regardless whether he is right or

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