Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart & Gayatri Chakaravorty Spivak’s Can the Subaltern Speak.

Discuss the relationship between race and any one of the following themes in post/colonial African literature: environment, gender, nation, language.

The relationship between race and gender is important to discuss when reading within post/colonial African literature because the dynamics between the two themes vary and change dependent on a range of variables. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (1958) will be read to address these two interlinked ideas within postcolonial African writings, and more specifically, Igbo accounts and representations within this discourse. To further this analytical reading, Achebe’s work will be read alongside Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s Can the Subaltern Speak? (1985) to highlight elements of the subaltern in terms of Igbo culture and gender differences. The definition of the subaltern that will be referred to throughout, as defined by Spivak in the context of colonial production, refers to somebody who “has no history and cannot speak” (1985: 83). Although Spivak writes on the subaltern in the context of Marxism and a range of minorities, her theory will be examined in this reading in terms of class conflicts and divisions in relation to race and gender differences in both the pre-colonial and post-colonial Igbo community of Things Fall Apart.

To discuss Things Fall Apart in its post-colonial context, it is imperative to relate the publication alone being written in parallel against colonialism. Achebe began writing this novel when the colonialism began, and as a result, his work could not be published. Things Fall Apart claimed publication just as Nigeria regained its independence, and this delay in publication epitomises the issues faced by the subaltern being silenced, even outside of fictional frameworks. As an African writer, Achebe presents a civilized Africa before colonialism took place. Likewise, Achebe’s novel being written in English language with elements of native tongue displays the paradox of failing to resist further colonial power, while also critiquing it. This choice also creates another mode of silencing those historically oppressed and foregrounds the often-expected responsibility of these people to tell their story for a Western audience, and in many ways to argue their history. The implication in the delayed publication for Things Fall Apart only furthers the argument Achebe addresses throughout, that with colonialism comes negative change. Although Achebe is an educated male, by withholding his publication highlights that the issues he addresses of the subaltern are viewed as less worthy of being grounded in literature than Western presentations of Africa, and colonialism as a whole. As Mostafaee explains, “Achebe’s novels…are a manifestation of colonialism and its subsequent impact on the literary text and dominant discourse” (2016). Therefore, Things Fall Apart indefinitely tackles Eurocentric ideas on those labeled subaltern, however, the novel as a whole needs to be understood as an example of silencing subaltern experiences in its own right.

Throughout Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, there are multiple occasions where women are silenced by male counterparts, and do not have personal identity. This passage from Spivak expands on this idea that women are subordinate to men when she says “…both as the object of colonialist historiography, and as the subject of insurgency, the ideological construction of gender keeps the male dominant… the subaltern as female is even more deeply in shadow.” (1985: 83). A stark instance when men shadow women within the novel can be overtly seen in Okonkwos interactions with his wives. Woman are commodities that men are possessive over, seen through Okonkwos physical and verbal abuse, “Do what you are told woman” (1958: 14) and when he beats his youngest wife it is rationalized as, “provoked justifiable anger” (1958: 27). These hyper-masculine notions of ownership over women are not only limited to Okonkwo either, but across the Igbo community more widely. For example, ”Nwakibie sent for his wives” (1958: 19). Here it is evident women are shadowed by men and used as vehicles for fertility and at male disposal. However, Spivak's ideas on the female subaltern cannot be applied to all aspects of African tribes and the traditions that they practice. Within Igbo culture for example, the goddess figure and her peace week are valued among the natives. Women are only powerful in the circumstances of religion, as Purwarno relays “religion is used to prevent women from overstepping the social order” (2009: 9). The goddess Chika presents a woman with agency and control. Although she is a singular person, her power is beyond any males in the tribe and this is apparent when Okonkwo is banished to his motherland for rebelling against the goddess’s rules on beating. Similarly, the line “she was greatly feared” directly addresses her power explicitly. Despite this, the sexism and hierarchical imbalances women experience overall cannot be overlooked. With Spivak's ideas rooted in hierarchies, her following point is valid for this argument when she contends, “For the ‘figure’ of women, the relationship between woman and silence can be plotted by woman themselves (1985: 82). Therefore, this research on Subaltern historiography, employed onto postcolonial literature, is required to gain full understanding of their true subaltern position. Ekwefi, Okonkwo’s second wife, is directly subject to this silencing following her beating, “I cannot yet find a mouth with which to tell the story” (1958: 46). As Spivak theorizes, subaltern woman are shadowed and oppressed by men throughout a number of interactions.

Another example of this want to diminish women is Okonkwos thoughts on his daughter Ezinma also daughter of Ekwefi. The repetitive thoughts of Okonkwo on his daughter wishing, “She should have been a boy” (1958: 60), and her strength in more masculine roles present two gender issues of the character. The first is that Okonkwo has a desperation for a son rather than a daughter, and therefore expands the point that woman are unneeded for anything other than male desires. The other idea is that it highlights the Igbo values that ‘girls’ cannot embody anything considered a masculine trait and if they do, they will be punished, such as when Okonkwo shouts at Ezinma. Importantly, when Spivak introduces the idea that “White men are saving brown women from brown men” (1985), Things Fall Apart does not adhere to this. Many of women in the novel are sexualized and labeled as mere products of Igbo men for “bride-prices” or submissive wives outside of white male interactions.

Alongside these representations of women in the novel, there are also explicit representations of men, specifically tied into race, something Spivak does not directly consider. Okonkwo is introduced immediately in the opening lines as a man who is “well known throughout the nine villages”(1958: 3) and his personal appearance creates a highly masculine image. Likewise, there is a lexical field of violence, especially towards women throughout the novel, “he would use his fists” (1958: 4), “a man of action, a man of war” (1958: 10), and “ruled his household with a heavy hand” (1958: 27). Okonkwo has hard-line beliefs within the Igbo community on what masculinity entails. Okonkwo is focused on removing himself from associations with his father, who is described as “lazy and improvident” (1958: 3). To do this Okonkwo aims to be the opposite of his father and as a result, he acts extremely violently towards his wives. Okonkwos relationship to violence and the importance of being invincible is favored in Igbo culture to gain status, and therefore Okonkwo desires this. For instance, the scene where Okonkwo returns home with a severed head is normalized by the community and viewed as an act of strength.

A more distinct example of this masculine identity would be the father-son relationship Okonkwo has with his son, Nwoye. Nwoye is subject to being silenced by both the white and black man. Traditional Igbo values are pushed onto Nwoye by his father such as Okonkwo being “happy when he heard him [Nwoye] grumbling about women” (1958:49), and the requirement to be able to “control his womenfolk” (1958: 49) if he wants his fathers approval and to be considered a man. Okonkwo has shame on his son and the narrator accounts this, “how could he have begotten a woman for a son?” (1958: 145). Nwoye rejects his cultures masculine ideals by valuing woman’s stories, something Okonkwo disapproves of and silences woman in doing so. At the end of the novel, Nwoye's relationship with his father has collapsed, much like Okonkwos and his fathers, due to his neglect on masculine traditions, but moreover, his shift into the colonizers indoctrination. This is apparent when Nwoye leaves home and changes his name to Isaac, which Christianizes himself and removes him from any indigenous identity. Achebe’s decision on this scene is powerful in relating how men of a strong ethnic upbringing can be subject to colonization and revoked of their manhood in this process. He shows how Christianity and the legal system undermine the Igbo culture via corruptive processes. In a similar way, Okonkwos decision to favour his own selfish masculinity over gratitude can be understood in his illicit killing of Ikemefuna. Despite Ikemefuna not being his biological son, Okonkwo builds a relationship with him and abolishes this within moments. When the murder occurs, out of pride, Okonkwo allows Ikemefuna to die because “he was afraid of being thought weak” (1958: 57). In addition, Ikemefuna is a character that feels emotion and does not follow these masculine tropes of anger and hatred within the community.

However, despite Okonkwos attempt to fulfill the villages masculine ideal, Achebe’s decision to have him abruptly commit suicide at the end of the novel is at the antithesis of this. To have to novel finish on Okonkwo taking his own life may present Achebe’s critical standpoint on Igbo ideas, and more broadly, African ideas on masculinity. On the one hand, this act relates to Spivak's ideas on suicide in the final parts of her essay. However, Spivak only relates this to women’s experience and how their position as women means they are unable to speak outside of patriarchal channels, “the subaltern as a female cannot be heard” (1985: 104). Spivak’s focus on relating suicide with menstruation, within subaltern context, illegitimatizes male experiences with this. The ethico-theological phenomenon of suicide in Igbo culture can also be proposed towards male experiences, which is something Spivak does not account for. As Oparaji contends, “Among the Igbo’s, suicide is known as onwu ojoo (a bad death) and dreaded or regarded as nso ani (taboo or grave sin against natural order)” (2015: 8). Therefore, the death of Okonkwo is considered as sinful and in many ways reflects back to his father and his death. The suicide of Okonkwo comes at a significant time for the Igbo community. Part two of Things Fall Apart sees Okonkwo being banished to his motherland for seven years, and during this time the missionaries enter into Nigeria. When Okonkwo and his family return, the country is starting to be overrun by European colonies. This is significant as Okonkwos position changes. The latter part of the novel presents these dynamic changes between the Igbo race and male gender, “the white mans fetish had unbelievable power” (1958: 141) and “we have heard stories about white men who made the powerful guns and the strong drinks and took slaves away across the seas, but no one thought the stories were true” (1958: 132). The introduction of white men in the novel can be argued as the cause that eventually leads to Okonkwos death; something that at the beginning of the novel during pre-colonial society would not have been expected. Okonkwos death is a form of silencing and although in Igbo culture, women are typically the subalterns, when this shift in power happens, Igbo men also become the subaltern at the hands of white men and imperial power. There is a pre-colonial and post-colonial presentation of deterioration of the village as whole in the novel. The latter part of Things Fall apart encompasses this, “their manly voices were not heard” (1958: 186). The community that everybody knew has been subject to change because of colonialism, something Achebe presents through Okonkwos death. On the other hand, Maggio proposes an idea also contrary to Spivak, “Spivaks terms of engagement always imply a liberal-independent subject that is actively speaking” (2007: 419). In alliance with this, Okonkwos suicide is possibly more of an affirmative political stance on the impending colonization, rather than a cowardly act. This death still holds a strong voice without him literally speaking. Therefore, a better term to use may be ‘can the subaltern be heard’, rather than ‘can the subaltern speak’. For Okonkwo to disregard the Igbo values on suicide being a taboo, arguably the worst offence an individual can do, he is encouraging everybody to almost negate the white mans prophecies.

Both the novel and the selected critical texts forefront the notion that these groups of people are subject to hegemonic power, and with this has brought the silencing of the subaltern, especially within women. Chinua Achebe’s’ Things Fall Apart provides an account of how race and gender are interlinked and interact differently in pre and post colonialist context. However, Spivak fails to address the male subaltern and any positive representations of women with agency. Achebe still tries to give voice to the subaltern women but also adheres to traditional views of women as well, which is some ways contradicts his personal stance, but presents true Igbo culture despite the traditions not aligning with his own.

References

Achebe, C. (1958). Things Fall Apart. US: William Heinemann.

Friesen, A, R. (2006). Okonkwo’s Suicide as an Affirmative Act: Do Things Really Fall Apart? US: University of Regima. 2(4): 1-11.

Maggio, J. (2007). “Can the Subaltern be Heard?”: Political Theory, Translation, Representation, and Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Alternatives: Global, Local, Political. 32(4): 419-443

Mostafaee, J. (2016). Investigating the Female Subaltern, Colonial Discourse and False Consciousness: A Spivikan Marxist-Post colonialist Reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease. Advances in Language and Literary Studies. 7(5): 222-226.

Oparaji, N. (November 2015). A Theoretical Evaluation of Suicide in Igbo Traditional Culture. Trinity International University (Via ResearchGate): 1-18

Purwarno. (2009). The Role of Women in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. University of North Sumatra, Medan. 9(1): 1-12.

Spivak, G, C. (1985). Can the Subaltern Speak?: Speculations on Widow Sacrifice, Wedge, (7/8): 120-130.

--- (1988). Can the Subaltern Speak? Nelson, C and Grossberg, L. Ed. Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture. Urbana: University of Illinois Press: 271-313.

Taylor, M. (May 2017). When Things Fall Apart: Understanding (in) the Postcolonial Situation. Department of European Languages and Studies at The University of California: 10-11, 37.