The Role of Women in "Things Fall Apart", by Chinua Achebe.

Woman of Umuofia. In the novel, "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe, the arrival of the white man, changes the society of the Ibo people. The Ibo culture is very simple, and may seem silly, but is justified by them. They have a social class order and women are never part of it. The women in Ibo society are dominated by the men. The main character Okonkwo, struggles throughout the novel with himself and the …showed first 75 words of 704 total…

…showed last 75 words of 704 total…could wear. "(20) This showed the ranking system within a family and the privileges given to the first wife. Okonkwo's main downfall in the novel is his fear of failure and of weakness. His resistance to the white mans new reflection on religion and politics, led to his suicide. He felt that if he joined them, he would be seen as weak, and to be weak would be feminine, and that was unheard of in Umuofia.