The Role of Women in the Ibo Culture

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The Role of Women in the Ibo Culture

The culture in which 'Things Fall Apart' is centered

around is one where patriarchal testosterone is supreme and

oppresses all females into a nothingness. They are to be

seen and not heard, farming, caring for animals, raising

children, carrying foo-foo, pots of water, and kola.

The role of women in the Ibo culture was mostly

domestic. The men saw them as material possessions and

thought of them as a source of children and as cooks. As a

man made his way in life by farming yams, he needed a

strong workforce. This workforce included his wives and

children. A man would have many wives. The more wives and

children a man had, the more honor and respect he received.

If a man had dishonored himself in the eyes of the other

men belonging to the tribe by acting in a cowardly way or

by being lazy, they called him a woman for insult.

A man was to rule the household with a heavy hand.

Okonkwo's wives and children lived in fear of his quick

temper (13). When his youngest wife was not home in time

to cook him lunch one...

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