Women in Colonial Space: A Study of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Ferdinand Oyono’s Houseboy

Abstract

Chinua Achebe and Ferdinand Oyono in their novels, Things Fall Apart and Houseboy, present women in three phases: as people who are sadly oppressed by their male counterparts, people who contribute in their subjugation by accepting the norms placed on them, and as powerful women. Many critics have focused their analysis on the oppression of women without considering the role of women in their own subjugation. Though their assumptions may appear to be right, women in these novels possess a degree of power. This study submits that, women’s suppression comes as a result of indigenous patriarchy and colonial patriarchal custom. The study has as findings that women accept some of the positions given them and even help in their suppression. The ones who try to speak out are either not heard, that is, “speaking in the belly of a beast” or considered in other lights. This study uses the Postcolonial feminist theory for its analysis. The theory is suitable for this study because it presents the forms of marginalization and exclusion of women, and the misrepresentation of their roles. The study concludes that women are active, but their roles are underestimated by their counterparts, and they end up accepting the position given to them.