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
