Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" A discussion of Achebe's portrayal of women in Igbo society.

Chinua Achebe's first novel Things Fall Apart is a story about an Igbo village in the late 1800's, and is one of its important men, Okonkwo. The story analyzes the destruction of African culture when the white man appeared. Achebe writes in a style that is interpretive instead of objective, and reflects the sociocultural organization existing in Africa during that era. Achebe highlights the roles of women in pre-colonial Africa. The female characters in the …

…himself saying "A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say that mother is supreme." (94-95). Women have great power because they know the secret to life since they are the source of life and society looks to them to safeguard life.