LITR / CRCL 5734: Colonial & Postcolonial Literature

Student Text-Dialogue Presentation 2008

Thursday, 31 January: Conclude Heart of Darkness (54-76; complete); begin Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1-51; through chapter 6).

·        Dialogue between Heart of Darkness & Things Fall Apart:

leader: Corrie Manigold

Narrating Civilization: The Treatment of Women in Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart

It has been said a thousand times that the measure of a civilization is indicated by the treatment of its women. The intent of this dialogue is not to determine which society is more 'civilized' but rather what can be learned of each  through the novels' depictions of women within the contexts of the respective narratives. In conjunction to this, isolating gender as a point of discussion can lend insight into one of the myriad aspects that make up the vast cultural divide represented in the colonial text, Heart of Darkness, and the post colonial text, Things Fall Apart.

Heart of Darkness:

(A) context: Marlowe responds to his Aunt's talk of civilizing the Africans.

'It is queer how out of touch with the truth women are. They live in a world of their own, and there had never been anything like it, and never can be. It is too beautiful altogether, and if they were to set it up it would go to pieces before the first sunset. Some confounded fact we men have been living contentedly with ever since the day of creation would start up and knock the whole thing over' (28).

(B) context: Marlowe foreshadows his visit to Kurtz's “Intended” to deliver his letters.

'Girl! What? Did I mention a girl? Oh, she is out of it—completely. They—the women I mean—are out of it—should be out of it. We must help them to stay in that beautiful world of their own, lest ours gets worse' (80).

            (C) context: Marlowe replies to Kurtz's fiancee's request to hear Kurtz's last     words.

            'I pulled myself together and spoke slowly.

            “'The last word he pronounced was—your name.”

            'I heard a light sigh, and then my heart stood still, stopped dead short by an exulting and terrible cry, by the cry of inconceivable triumph and of unspeakable pain. “I knew it—I was sure!” [...] Hadn't he [Kurtz] said he wanted only justice? But I couldn't. I could not tell her. It would have been too dark—too dark altogether...' (123).

Passages to briefly note:

(p. 119) Description of 'Intended': “fair hair...pure brow...ashy halo”

(p. 99) Description of 'Barbarous, Superb Woman': “savage and superb, wild-eyed and magnificent” 

[To be asked as a back-up question]

*Do these two descriptive passages tell us anything about the speaker's(/Victorian) view of women? What about the “male gaze”? Is there a comparable passage in Things Fall Apart?

Things Fall Apart:

            (A) context: Narrative background is given as Umuofia decides reaction to murder of a fellow clan member (a woman).

[Umuofia] was powerful in war and in magic, and its priests and medicine men were feared in all the surrounding country. Its most potent war medicine was as old as the clan itself. Nobody knew how old. But on one point there was general agreement—the active principle in that medicine had been an old woman with one leg. In fact, the medicine itself was called agadi-nwayi, or old woman (11-12).

(B) context: Okonkwo, in a negative state of mind, is looking for an outlet for his anger.

            “Who killed this tree? Or are you all deaf and dumb?”

            As a matter of fact the tree was still very much alive. Okonkwo's second wife had merely cut a few leaves off of it to wrap some food, and she said so. Without further argument Okonkwo gave her a sound beating and left her and her only daughter weeping. Neither of the other wives dared to interfere beyond an occasional and tentative, “It is enough, Okonkwo,” pleaded from a reasonable distance.

[...]

Unfortunately for her [second wife], Okonkwo heard it [snide remark] and ran madly into his room for the loaded gun, ran out again and aimed at her as she clambered over the dwarf wall of the barn. He pressed the trigger and there was a loud report accompanied by the wail of his wives and children. He threw down the gun and jumped into the barn, and there lay the woman, very much shaken and frightened, but quite unhurt. He heaved a heavy sigh and went away with the gun.

            In spite of this incident the New Yam Festival was celebrated with great joy in Okonkwo's household (38-9).

            (C) context: Ekwefi speaks with Chielo; Chielo is described by the narrator.

            She was the priestess of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and the Caves. In ordinary life Chielo was a widow with two children. She was very friendly with Ekwefi and they shared a common shed in the market. She was particularly fond of Ekwefi's only daughter, Ezinma, whom she called “my daughter.” [...] Anyone seeing Chielo in ordinary life would hardly believe that she was the same person who prophesied when the spirit of Agbala was upon her (49).

The excerpted text from Heart of Darkness is indicative of a male-enforced dichotomy of the domestic (female) sphere—which, though “beautiful,” is characterized by fantasy and impracticality—and a public (male) sphere, where real-world problems and situations are confronted and subdued.  As a result of this prevailing view, we see the narrator (Marlowe) describe the need to protect feminine naiveties, as well as his own actions to this end.    

In the excerpts from Things Fall Apart, however, we receive a very different picture. While, there is indeed a sense that the women of Umuofia occupy a subservient, domestic role in light of the practice of polygamy and the rather harsh wife-beating portrayed above, there is also a certain degree of honor and freedom to be attained for some who occupy religious roles.

Question: These novels differ drastically in both their narrative style and content. The depiction of women offers only one of many points of contrast. Do you think that differences in narrative voice  affect the way we assimilate the information regarding women?