Author(s)

Udeagha Nduka¹, Nwamah Grace Ozioma²

¹Department of Religion and Cultural Studies, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
²Nwamah Grace Ozioma, Department of Religious Studies, Imo State University, Owerri, Nigeria.

The paper examines the role of women in Igbo religious culture as portrayed by Chinua Achebe in his classic novel, Things Fall Apart. It explores the position of women in Igbo cultural practice by highlighting the valuable and indispensable role of Igbo women as derived from the novel. Achebe’s portraiture of the feminine gender has continued to draw a lot of attention as a result of their largely perceived degrading roles. This was done by a critical analysis of the novel, Things Fall Apart, which ultimately formed the fulcrum of the study, as well as other relevant documents. Based on the key religious, educational, socio-cultural and other roles of women as derived from the novel, the paper finds out that contrary to the general notion that women are to be seen and not to be heard, women are actually seen and heard especially, as a result of their indispensable roles in the traditional Igbo society. The place of women in Igbo cultural society is pivotal and very critical in the sustenance and continuance of human society.

Things Fall Apart, Women, Role, Igbo Traditional Society, Religious Culture

Nduka, U. and Ozioma, N. (2019) Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and the Role of Women in Igbo Traditional Religious Culture. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 7, 272-289. doi: 10.4236/jss.2019.712020.