Shifting the Canon: An Analysis of Achebe’s Women in Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah

Abstract

This paper analyses the image of women in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah to bring into focus on the shifting of the canon through Achebe’s depiction of female characters in the two novels. The study focuses on some of the evil practices against the freedom of women, in the Igbo society, as reflected in Things Fall Apart and then contrasts with the positive image of women as reflected in Anthills of the Savannah. While the citizens, in general, and women, in particular, are ignorant in Things Fall Apart, written in the colonial period; they are, both, educated in Anthills of the Savannah, written in the postcolonial period. As findings, this study foregrounds the dynamism of the Igbo society, which allows Achebe, as a writer, to overcome prejudice and make obvious his quest for a once lost female identity. For instance, In Anthills of the Savannah and through Beatrice, Achebe presents the rise of new Nigerian women who are truly as active as men. Thus, for any meaningful development in our societies, the relevance of women must be taken into consideration. Otherwise, we will all end up like the Okonkwo of Things Fall Apart. Finally, in analyzing the position of women in both Things Fall Apart and Anthills of the Savannah, the researcher draws on postcolonial criticism to enable the readers to uncover its contribution to create a society without discrimination