Women in Umuofian Soceity Essay -- essays research papers

Women in Umuofian Society "It is the woman whose child has been eaten by a witch who best knows the evils of witchcraft." That simple saying can best relate to the experience of women in the Umuofian society. A person cannot truly hope to understand how things work unless he or she was there to experience it. And that can apply to learning a new language, a new culture or learning history. The perspective given from the book Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, states the way of life without any favoritism towards any particular way of life. Achebe just affirmed that lifestyle as a native would, void of any outside influences. In this case, the male narration focuses not only of the tragedy of Okonkwo, but also how the people around are affected and how in turn the culture affects him. Women seem to play a minor role in everyday life, but their function in the community is just as important as that of the men. The main role that was given to women was that they belonged in the home and for the most part they were to bee seen and not heard. Their influence and authority do not exist much in that culture, especially for the wives of Okonkwo. A main character in the novel, Okonkwo has several wives. Okonkwo presided over all of his wives and children with a heavy hand. When Ikemefuna comes to live in Okonkwo's household, the first wife questions the length of the boy's stay. In reply he answers, " 'Do ...