What is patriarchy ?

Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold primary power and predominate in roles of
political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. Some patriarchal
societies are also patrilineal, meaning that property and title are inherited by the male lineage.

Varying Interpretations of Masculinity

Okonkwo’s relationship with his late father shapes much of his violent and ambitious demeanor.

He wants to rise above his father’s legacy of spendthrift, indolent behavior, which he views as

weak and therefore effeminate. This association is inherent in the clan’s language—the narrator

mentions that the word for a man who has not taken any of the expensive, prestige-indicating

titles is agbala, which also means “woman.” But, for the most part, Okonkwo’s idea of

manliness is not the clan’s. He associates masculinity with aggression and feels that anger is the

only emotion that he should display. For this reason, he frequently beats his wives, even

threatening to kill them from time to time. We are told that he does not think about things, and

we see him act rashly and impetuously. Yet others who are in no way effeminate do not behave

in this way. Obierika, unlike Okonkwo, “was a man who thought about things.” Whereas

Obierika refuses to accompany the men on the trip to kill Ikemefuna, Okonkwo not only

volunteers to join the party that will execute his surrogate son but also violently stabs him with

his machete simply because he is afraid of appearing weak.

Okonkwo never showed any emotion openly, unless it be the emotion of anger. To show
affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength.

Here the narrator slightly revises the earlier implication that Okonkwo does not know his own

thoughts and feelings. This quotation suggests, alternatively, that Okonkwo does have some

awareness of an emotional life rooted solely in the “masculine” expression of anger. In this case,

the narrator points to Okonkwo having a soft spot for his children, and particularly for his

adopted surrogate son, Ikemefuna. Despite the affection he feels, however, Okonkwo’s long-held
assumptions about masculine behavior prevent him from externalizing that affection, so he

overcompensates with unkindness.

The upbringing of a child is what determines what the child will be in the
future. In the Ibo community, the rearing of a child was solely the role of the
woman who was supposed to make sure that the child was well conversant
with the customs and rules of the society. The knowledge of the societal
norms was all of importance to the mother as she needed to educate the
children about them. This was to avoid situations where the child would be in
trouble for dishonoring the highly regarded goddesses or leaders of the
community which would be a disgrace to the family especially the father who
would put the blame on the mother and possibly beat her. Therefore, in a
society which is dominated by men, the woman had to be very careful about
the reputation the man would have in the society if certain unfortunate things
happened may be from the behavior of the children or herself which is the
reason why mother education to the children was important. The woman’s
reputation depended on that of the man which was important for the woman
to protect.

There are two marriages that are talked about that the writer uses them to
show the meaning of having a woman in the Igbo society. They are the makers
of a home, the prospecting mothers, and people who help men in certain
tasks.

The name Agbala in the Ibo community means a woman or a title less man. In
his early childhood, Okonkwo felt disrespected when called the name Agbala
as the peers were teasing him and more so his father who was seen as a
weakling. This really tormented him and made him become obsessed with
consideration of social status above everything else.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………..0000000
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000…
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………0000000000000000
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
. -