Comparing and Contrasting the Role of Women in Things...

Role of Women in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness Women were once little more than slaves to their male betters. Some women might have been respected, but their places were limited to roles as wives and mothers. They might rule a home, but were not believed intelligent enough for any other role. This chauvinistic attitude is well reflected in the novels Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, and Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad. In Things Fall Apart, women are praised in their capacities as wives and mothers, almost revered really. In many instances, Achebe paints glowing pictures of them in these roles. Anasi was a middle aged woman, tall and strongly built. There was authority in her bearing and she looked†¦show more content†¦There were many women, but they looked on from the fringe like outsiders (Achebe 87). With the festivals, held in the public places, men presided and took the seats of honor in front. Women were forced to stand at the edges and look on from there because they simply werent as important. It was the men who held the courts of justice and decided on punishment. Also, throughout the book, Achebe emphasizes the womens role in childbearing and their fault if the children are not born healthy. Nneka has had four previous pregnancies and childbirths. But each time she had borne twins, and they had been immediately thrown away. Her husband and his family were already becoming highly critical of such a woman and were not unduly perturbed when they found she had fled to join the Christians. It was a good riddance (Achebe 151). Because Nneka could no longer fulfill her role as a mother in Ibo society, she was no longer respected. She was not valued for her intelligence or her personality. She was valued by whether or not she could produce healthy children. Because she couldnt, she no longer had a place in her society. In Heart of Darkness women are not paid much attention beyond that of Kurtzs mistress and his fiancee. The only other women mentioned in the novel are the two ladies knitting with skeins of black wool, and the narrators aunt, who got him his job with the Company. Since the aunt and the knitters are no mentioned hardly at all, only theShow MoreRelatedWitness by Peter Weir Notes12043 Words   |  49 Pagesnewspaper article. The camera moves to a close up, containing little or no background, and enables the director to show emotions and reactions Editing: * Mise en scenea ‘realistic’ technique whereby meaning is conveyed through the relationship of things visible within a single shot (rather than, as with a montage, the relationship between shots). An attempt is made to preserve space and time as much as possible; editing or fragmenting of scenes is minimized. 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