WOMEN AND THE COLONIAL SPACE: A RE-SIGNIFICATION OF WOMEN IN ACHEBE'S THINGS FALL APART

Abstract

In this article, the re-signification of women in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is examined, placing them as agents of change and resistance within the colonial space. An allusion to two well-known colonial texts that continue to obliterate and marginalize African women: Joyce Cary's Mister Johnson and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness buttress this discourse on the African women in colonial space. Using a Postcolonial Feminist perspective, this study looks at how Achebe's depiction of Igbo women subverts colonial preconceptions and patriarchal conventions that have traditionally marginalized and repressed them. Through highlighting the experiences of women such as Ekwefi, Ojiugo, and Ezinma, Achebe challenges the prevailing colonial narrative and demonstrates the intricate and varied roles that women played in preserving cultural identity such as emotional, spiritual and cultural roles; opposing colonialism, and influencing the course of their communities. Women are humanized and empowered by this re-signification of them in the colonial sphere, which also emphasizes their agency and contributions to the fight against colonialism. By reclaiming and revaluing the lives, experiences, and viewpoints of women in the colonial space, Things Fall Apart provides a potent counter-discourse to the colonial enterprise, as this study ultimately shows.