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Voicelessness and Voice in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah

by Jane Martin-Brown

In "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourse," Chandra Talpade Mohanty suggests a fundamental flaw in most western feminist analysis: the presupposition that women, "across classes and cultures, are somehow socially constituted as a homogenous group identifiable prior to the process of analysis." It is a flaw in thinking that results in "the assumption of women as an always-already constituted group, one which has been labelled 'powerless,' 'exploited,' 'sexually harassed,'etc., by feminist scientific, economic, legal and sociological discourse." For Mohanty, such erroneous thinking results in feminist discourse "quite similar to sexist discourse labelling women as weak, emotional, having math anxiety, etc." In such feminist discourse, "the focus is not on uncovering the material and ideological specificities that constitute a group of women as 'powerless' in a particular context. It is rather on finding a variety of cases of 'powerless' groups of women to prove the general point that women as a group are powerless" (200).
Furthermore, Mohanty suggests that there exists a "claim to authenticity," a claim, in her view, too often ignored by Western feminists--the idea that "only a black can speak for a black; only a postcolonial subcontinental feminist can adequately represent the lived experience of that culture" (201).
Mohanty's arguments are well worth considering: the stereotyped categories of oppression that Mohanty notes as being typical of western feminist analysis (women as victim of male violence, women as universal dependents, married women as victims of the colonial process, etc.) can indeed be nearly as reductive, constricting, and wrongheaded as sexist discourse. But are Western feminists necessarily doomed to objectify Third World women in the way Mohanty suggests? Is the idea of a "claim to authenticity" a valid one, that only someone from a cultural or ethnic group can truly understand that group?
Critics like Sara Suleri, in "Woman Skin Deep: Feminism and the Postcolonial Condition" (Critical Inquiry 18 Summer 1992: 756-69) reject at least, in part, Mohanty's "claim to authenticity." These critics feel that to avoid any critical examination of any group outside the one in which we ourselves belong is to submit to a form of intellectual solipsism. Still others, question whether objectification of women from another culture is unavoidable.
Of course, Mohanty is not the only scholar to critique Western feminist perspectives. Anias Loomba in her valuable introductory text, Colonialism/Postcolonialism, cites a number of writers, including Gayatri Spivak, Hazel Carby, Ann Jones, Pratibha Parmar, and Valerie Amos, (Loomba 164-165) who have addressed the difficult position Western feminists find themselves in. Such critics have cited specificities such as a geographic area's history, culture, demographic makeup, and its interaction with colonizing nations, as well as the usual concerns of gender, class, and race as essential to any valid analysis that attempts to shape questions of patriarchy and gender. Each of these specificities requires analysis and incorporation into an overall understanding of the Third world woman's position within her culture.
With these warnings in mind, an examination of Chinua Achebe's treatment of women in Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah is obviously inherently fraught with danger. One must somehow avoid the tendency, as Mohanty warns, to objectify Third world women, preventing them from rising "above the debilitating generality of their 'object' status" (213). And one must be aware of cultural, historical, and religious differences that make Achebe's world so different from our own, as other critics have suggested.
Obviously, such an essay would far exceed the scope and demands of our present assignment, but the complexity of any analysis of gender issues involving Third world women is challenging, to say the least.
Moreover, in examining Achebe's work, one faces an additional dilemna. As Leonard A. Podis and Saaka Yakubu note, "the African male may be seen to occupy simultaneously the role of oppressed (in relation to the colonial masters) and oppressor (in relation to the African woman)." This situation is worrisome in that "attempts to challenge one sort of hierarchy might simultaneously work to support other hierarchies, or, put another way, to undermine a writer's attempt to challenge other hierarchies" (Podis 3-4).
In an effort to narrow a wide range of complex issues, I have limited the scope of this essay to two Achebe novels (Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah) and the question of whether his depiction of women in them may be considered sexist or patriarchal.
Certainly, there are those who argue that Achebe, particularly in his early novels, and especially in his first, Things Fall Apart, creates a number of characters who seem sexist and, in fact, some argue that Achebe himself through his authorial voice seems to condone sexism. The women are silent, voiceless and invisible, waiting for the commands of their masters. Decisions are made by men, as evidenced by their dominating behavior in the wife abuse trial conducted by the elders. What's more, some would argue that even Achebe's authorial voice employed in the novel seems to condone the questionable behavior of Okonkwo when he abuses his wife (39). Some readers in addition question Achebe's silence when women are ordered about (44) or treated as property.
One such critic is Chioma Opara. Opara in "From Stereotype to Individuality: Womanhood in Chinua Achebe's Novels" cites numerous examples from Things Fall Apart to support her view: Okonkwo's failure to consult his wives when Ikemefuna is brought into the house to be sacrificed after Umuofia's daughter is killed; the submissive behavior of Nwakibie's wife when accepting wine from her husband; and the failure of any interference from the other wives when Okonkwo beats his wife; as well as a host of other examples of the subordinate nature of women in the novel (114). The women in this novel are practically without voice, and certainly have no real power in their relationships with men.
To counter these charges of sexism in Achebe's early work, some readers point to symbols of female power like Ani, the earth goddess, and Chielo, when the Oracle of the Hills speaks though her. But, although a woman may sometimes serve a nurturing function or as a voice for the "will of the gods," in reality, as Catherine Bicknell suggests in "Achebe's Women: Mothers, Priestesses, and Young Urban Professionals,"she is always "kept in a subordinate position" (125-126).
Defenders of Achebe argue that Achebe is merely realistically depicting Igbo society and the subordinate role of women in it, claiming Achebe merely presents what he sees. To an extent, this defense is valid. The Igbo culture seems undoubtedly patriarchal in any number of ways. And Achebe's desire to portray realistically such a patriarchy might be used to explain why, for example, in the trial scene in Things Fall Apart women were depicted as "outsiders," looking on from the "fringe," not participating in the administering of justice. But contrary to what Achebe may claim, ignoring women in such a situation appears not necessarily to be a realistic portrayal of Igbo society. Catherine Bicknell points to Judith Van Allen's research in "'Aba Riots' or 'Igbo Women's War': Ideology, Stratification, and the Invisibility of Women," which indicates that in the case of trials in which husbands were accused of mistreating their wives, as is depicted in Things Fall Apart, the men "were often dealt with by a delegation of women, whose tactics ranged from insulting songs to tearing down the man's obi, or living quarters" (126-127). Therefore, Achebe's depiction of the elders as powerful men dominating virtually silent women and making the important decisions for their society without the input of women seems a bit in question.
Still, Achebe's supporters persist. Obioma Nnaemeka in "Gender Relations and Critical Mediation: From Things Fall Apart to Anthills of the Savannah" defends Achebe, arguing that most critics have misinterpreted Igbo society. For Nnaemeka, "Okonkwo represents what his people admire and also what they frown upon" (141). Her point is that Okonkwo illustrates an important belief of the Igbo culture: that there is "no one way to anything" and "no absolute anything." Therefore, Okonkwo, as a representative of the Igbo's view of reality, is "both normative and marginal" (140). And Achebe, therefore, is merely representing the Okonkwo as both good and bad in concert with the Igbo culture's way of seeing reality.
Furthermore, in Achebe's defense, most critics do find that he has presented a somewhat more palatable view of women in Anthills of the Savannah. In this work, according to Opara, Beatrice Okoh, the female hero, is "endowed with beauty, brains, and brawn" (118). And for Bicknell, Beatrice is educated in London and has a "personal past," is connected "through her self-awareness; Ö is connected to her African tradition through her priestly vocation; and Öis connected to her people through her adaptability in the face of violent historical events" (134).
In contrast, Nnaemeka criticizes Beatrice's brand of feminism. For her, Beatrice "represents what is wrong with feminismóarrogance, elitism, intolerance of difference, [a] struggle to be like 'one of the boys'" (151). In fact, Nnaemeka sees that "Okonkwo's 'victims' cut across gender lines. Some males, such as Osugo, Ikemefuna, and Nwoye, do not escape Okonkwo's harshness and arrogance in the same way that his wives are subordinated to his high-handedness" (145). Moreover, for Nnasmeka, the women that she feels are "strong, relevant, powerful, and with true feminist spirit" are oddly enough those that most critics find the most repressed--the women of Things Fall Apart:
My own view is that Achebe's depiction of women, if, as Nnaemeka suggests, a realistic presentation of a culture is in fact his goal, must by definition be true to the culture he represents; however, even so, the authorial tone could, if he chose, indicate something of an ameliorating view, so that the harsh patriarchy of the society would not go unanswered. To the extent that Achebe fails to do so, he may well leave himself open to charges of sexism. Further, I tend to disagree as well with Nnaemeka's view of Anthills of the Savannah. Nnaemeka rejects the most common view of Beatrice, that which is represented above by Opara and Bicknell: that Beatrice is a strongly feminist character who indicates Achebe's growing sympathy for feminist issues. To my mind, Nnaemeka's problem is not in actuality with Beatrice, but with feminism itself.
Moreover, I disagree with Nnaemeka's view of the women characters in Things Fall Apart. Nnaemeka's tendency is to see strength in those characters most often viewed by other critics as both weak and oppressed. To do so is to ignore the oppression, not to celebrate the valor of the victims.
In sum, for me, there is a progression in Achebe's depiction of women that can be seen by comparing Things Fall Apart with Anthills of the Savannah?--a progression that reflects Achebe's growing sensitivity to women's issues, an attempt to move his female characters from voicelessness to voice.


Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Anthills of the Savannah. New York: Anchor Books, 1988.
---. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1959.
Bicknell, Catherine. "Achebe's Women: Mothers, Priestesses and Young Urban Professionals." Challenging Hierarchies: Issues and Themes In Colonial and Post colonial African Literature. Society and Politics in Africa. Vol 5. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1998. 125-136.
Loomba, Ania. Colonialism/Postcolonialism. New York: Routledge, 1998.
Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourse." Feminist Review. 30 (Autumn 1988): 65-88.
Nnaemeka, Obioma. "Gender Relations and Critical Meditation: From Things Fall Apart to Anthills of the Savannah." Challenging Hierarchies: Issues and Themes In Colonial and Post colonial African Literature. Society and Politics in Africa. Vol 5. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1998. 137-160.
Opara, Chioma. "From Stereotype to Individuality: Womanhood in Chinua Achebe's Novels." Challenging Hierarchies: Issues and Themes In Colonial and Post colonial African Literature. Society and Politics in Africa. Vol 5. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1998. 113-123.
Podis, Leonard A. and Yakubu Saaka, eds. Challenging Hierarchies: Issues and Themes In Colonial and Post colonial African Literature. Society and Politics in Africa. Vol 5. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1998.


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