Thing Fall Apart: Femininity

WHAT'S WITH THE FEMININITY?

... more like the lack of it ...

       As I read this book, I find it weird how everyone seems to disapprove femininity. Everything in the tribe seems to be based on masculinity. It does do some good sometimes. It drives people to do things they wouldn't want to do. Okonkwo had shown off his discipline and masculinity in strength through the things he does. With his masculinity, he threw the cat on his back. In doing so, he won his wife Ekwefi with his brute strength. When it come to planting, hunting, and disciplining his family, he doesn't fail to teach them a lesson. But at the same time, it can overshadow this idea of displaying love mistaken as seeming weak or feminine. Displaying love and being weak aren't the same thing, but the confusion between them can make a person do something they don't want to do. Okonkwo, afraid of seeming weak and effeminate kills Ikemefuna, although he had loved and grown fond of him. If he just shown a bit of femininity, or love for Ikemefuna, Ikemefuna probably wouldn't have had to die. 

        Masculinity isn't wrong, but femininity isn't wrong either. A pretty good balance of them would do, and as I continue to read, I'd like to see some growth in Okonkwo's character, especially in displaying affection for those he loves... unless his great flaw is his fear of being seen as weak like his father.