The Place of an Igbo Woman
...with him that it was the sacred week. But Okonkwo was not the man to stop beating somebody half-way through, not even for fear of a goddess" (Achebe 21). The only reason Okonkwo was even punished was because it was the Week of Peace, not because he had beaten his wife, which had happened on more than one occasion in the past. It is evident that not only other tribe mates but also, each of his wives and his own children fear him. The second time the novel mentions Okonkwo beating his second wife we see that the other wives fear him because, "neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative 'it is enough Okonkwo,' pleaded from a reasonable distance" (Achebe 27). The way it is explained shows me that this is almost an every day occurrence in their lives. After all he had almost killed his wife by pointing his gun at her, but missing. These are just a few of the clear instances of abuse, and neglect suffered by the wives of Okonkwo. There were also many instances of not only physical abuse, but also mental abuse brought about by fear of Okonkwo. He was able to provoke fear in his wives by his abrupt and explosive actions, but he was internally a weak man. Only a weak person would treat another human with blatant disrespect. The women of the Igbo tribe were treated like property, or objects. The men used them to show their own riches. Like property the women were exchanged for other property when it came time to marry. The men who had the most wives were the men of the tribe with the most titles and monetary values. “These three -- wives, yam barns, social titles -- are the highest accolades for the successful farmer, warrior, and man of worth.” (Mezu 2) Although some may say that it is the woman that makes the man, in this novel the woman, no matter how valuable a possession she may be, she is not allowed equal access such as the man. Also the use of the word “woman” was used so harshly in the novel. It’s use seemed as though it was a bad word, and always used with a negative connotation such as when Okonkwo calls another tribe’s man a woman when he spoke up. He also uses the term to describe his son as “woman-like” because he sees him as weak. On the other hand Okonkwo also wishes that Ezinma could have been a boy since she posses stronger traits than most women would at her age. We are shown in the beginning of the novel that women also have no place in politics. Thus, affecting them because they have no say in any...