Describe the polygamous structure of Okonkwo’s family. What does this arrangement reveal about family life in the community?
The world in Chinua Achebe’s novel “Things Fall Apart”, was a society in which males had control on everything. In the Igbo culture, the family structure is very different from what we are used to. They practice polygamy, where it is the norm for men in the culture to have more than one wife, like Okonkwo had three wives. However, it is a taboo for a woman to have more than one husband. The more wives the man has, the richer he is. A great number of wives show that the man is rich because it shows that he is able to support and feed all of them. In this society of the Igbo people, the men are dominating leaders in the family. For example, in the egwugwu ceremonies the women are usually found more towards the backside of the house, with the men in the front portion of the house.
The man that is head of the family lives alone in his obi. The wives along with their children lived at the backside of obi in separate huts. The children helped their parents in work of crops and tending animals. Okonkwo had eight children who did whatever their father asked them to do. Also the women usually looked after their home, children, cooked food for everyone. Their husband would be served food first since he is the head of the family. For the Igbo family, there are a few key ideas that form the basis of an ideal family; mutual respect for each other, a reverence for all past fathers, and unity. The father is not only the provider for the family, but defender of its honour and teacher of his sons. It is important for the father to hand down whatever he has to his son. The fathers usually gave their crops to their sons so they could keep maintaining it. The mother’s duty is to add to the family line by bearing healthy children and also to please her husband. Children are the inheritors of the future and are raised to continue the values of the older generation. This family unit is the most fundamental unit of society and its structure can be expanded to fit a whole community or even a pantheon of gods.
Usually, the first wife is the oldest woman and most respected wife in the family. For example, the first wife must be the one to drink first if the husband offers the drinks to his wives. The first wife is first to drink and others have to wait for her. The first wife is also the only one allowed to wear an ankle to represent her husband’s titles. The other wives would not be allowed to wear this. This is because the husband chose to marry her first, and so she is important to him.
The women in the family are expected to have babies so the family will be able to continue, it is an honor to have a child. Usually, they prefer to have sons because they will grow into men, and they will dominate the society. Also by having sons, they will be able to help out a lot on the crops with the heavy lifting and multiple tasks.