Women and eco-spirituality in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958): A symbiotic relationship with nature

Authors

Keywords:

African mythology, Goddess, Earth-Based Spirituality, Ecofeminism, Priestess.

Abstract

This study discusses the woman’s earth-based spirituality in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. It focuses on the woman’s physical and spiritual connection to the environment. Achebe, in this novel, venerates the woman symbolically as a goddess and spiritually as a Priestess. He connects the woman’s spirituality to the land and uplifts her image to that of a priestess, a goddess, and an educator. This paper is built on the assumption that though Achebe’s main character Okonkwo seems to be sulky and unruly, he obeys and respects the iconoclastic woman who is a symbol of the gods. From an ecofeminist interpretation, the study reveals that the woman as a goddess and priestess is more dignifying in the Igbo community. This study, therefore, is linking ecofeminism to African mythology that relates womanhood to nature. The study is discussed in two clusters – the woman as nurturer and the woman’s spiritual strength as exhibited in the text.

Dimensions

Achebe, C. (1959). Things fall apart. New York: Random House.

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Plant, J. (1989). Healing the wounds: The promise of ecofeminism. Philadelphia: New Society Publisher.

Shelton, A. (1971). The igbo-Igala borderland: Religion and social control in indigenous African colonialism. Albany: New York Press.

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Published

2021-04-19

How to Cite

Ayuk-Etang, E. N. M. (2021). Women and eco-spirituality in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958): A symbiotic relationship with nature. Journal of Postcolonial Writing and World Literatures, 2(2). Retrieved from https://royalliteglobal.com/world-literatures/article/view/578

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Articles
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Copyright (c) 2021 Elisabeth N M Ayuk-Etang

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