Question

In about two hundred words, show what you understand about the roles of men and women in the Igbo society.

Answer 1

Answer:

Explanation:

In the Igbo society, masculinity is associated with strength, and femininity is associated with weakness. A man is not considered “manly” unless he can control the women in his life. A man can have more than one wife, but a woman can have only one husband. Women play subservient roles in the household and are treated like property. When a man takes a wife, he must pay a “bride-price.” Women cook, clean the huts, weed the yams, and prepare for special occasions.  Some women, however, hold important positions in the community. Chiela, a widow and mother of two children, is the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of Hills and Caves. In her role as priestess, she makes important decisions for the village.  It is acceptable for a man to beat his wives if they displease him and do not do as he wishes. The community accepts this abuse somewhat lightly, unless it interferes with religious and spiritual practices. During the Week of Peace—when no violence is permitted in the village for fear of offending the Earth goddess.

Answer 2

 Much of the traditional Igbo life presented in this novel revolves around structured gender roles. Essentially all of Igbo life is gendered, from the crops that men and women grow, to characterization of crimes. In Igbo culture, women are the weaker sex, but are also endowed with qualities that make them worthy of worship, like the ability to bear children. The dominant role for women is: first,  to make a pure bride for an honorable man, second, to be a submissive wife, and third, to bear many children. The ideal man provides for his family materially and has prowess on the battlefield. The protagonist in the novel is extremely concerned with being hyper-masculine and devalues everything feminine, leaving him rather unbalanced. Much of the gender theme in the book centers around the idea of balance between masculine and feminine forces – body and mind/soul, emotionality and rationality, mother and father. If one is in imbalance, it makes the whole system haywire.