Things Fall Apart, An Examination of the Treatment of...

At first glance the treatment of women in an Igbo marriage is appalling, the woman may be beat if she is out of line, she raises the children, does the housework and even some farm work without hesitation. For the Igbo clan, a marriage is the union between a man and as many women as he desires and can afford to buy. A marriage is done for the purpose of having numerous children and love between man and wife is not even a requirement. The wife is given the option to leave if she is unhappy and despite the fact that the choice to leave or to stay seems obvious, the pros seem to outweigh the cons for an Igbo woman. For the most part an Igbo marriage takes into consideration two factors: religion and the fertility of the couple. Children†¦show more content†¦Yet just as horrendous as not bearing any children, it is just as horrendous to have twins or to have what the Igbo clan call an ogbanje child. The birth of twins was abnormal and was unnecessary fertility, the babies were killed soon after birth and the mother would endure extensive rituals so she would not bear twins again (Achebe, xxxvii). An ogbanje child is a child that would die during infancy and the dead spirit would return to the mothers womb to be born again, only to die during infancy. Okonkwos second wife Ekwefi lost a child due to this ogbanje curse nine times, after the death of her infant son Onwumbiko, the body was mutilated by a medicine man as a warning sign to the ogbanje not to return. It was surprising to see how supportive Okonkwo was to his wife during these hard times. Okonkwo sought the help of two different medicine men and did not simply replace his wife when she was not producing healthy children. Before a marriage is performed, men have to pay a bride price; this is paid to the family (more specifically to the father) of the woman to be married. This price can be negotiated (and it is decided with sticks in the Umuofia clan) if the father believes that his daughter is worth more cowries than is initially offered. Since the man has to pay for his bride he will consequently own her once they are married, the women of Igbo are literal possessions. During a discussion between Okonkwo and Obierika about the customs of their neighborsShow MoreRelatedChinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart Essay1736 Words   |  7 PagesThe classic African literary tale Things Fall Apart, written by Chinua Achebe, is a brilliant account of historical African culture and the destruction colonialism can cause upon such cultures. As the reader follows the narrative and complexity of the characters through the novel, a sense of pride, trust, and faith in history emerges. Yet, with the introduction o f colonialism the characters must learn to embrace and adapt to a new culture and set of beliefs or face termination from society. 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