Gender-based violence in Things Fall Apart

Abstract

A cursory reading of Things Falls Apart has resulted in some analysists labeling this novel sexist. The main purpose of this article is to argue that, on the contrary, a close reading of Things Fall Apart shows that women are depicted as revered stakeholders with significant religious, economic, cultural, and political roles. This is despite the patrilineal and patriarchal stratification of the traditional pre-colonial and colonial village life portrayed in this novel. The feminine principle is in firm control of the entire social fabric. Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves is undoubtedly the most potent god, but he is only a messenger of Ani, the Earth Goddess, the owner of the land, and the ultimate judge of all morality. Chika and Chielo, Agbala’s priestesses, are also immensely powerful women. Okonkwo, the flawed hero of the novel, is a conceited, single-minded man whose excesses do not represent Igbo values. The crimes he commits are most offensive to Ani. Things Fall Apart is thus exonerated from being sexist.