Discuss the representation of family in i n ‘Things Fall Apart’ and ‘A Doll’s House’ The novel, ‘Things Fall Fall Apart’, written by Chinua Chinua Achebe depicts the culture and values of Igbo society and set in the pre- and postcolonial time period of late nineteenth century igeria! The play, A "oll’s #ouse, is written $originally in orwegian% by #enri& Ibsen, and set in late '())s orway! *oth te+ts e+plore family issues and structure, structure, characterised by the social conte+ts, and reecting the values and e+pectations of the period and place in which the te+ts are each set! Achebe and Ibsen essentially e+plore the disintegration of family life through the principal male characters’ mistreatment of, ora from ‘A "oll’s #ouse’, and woye from ‘Things Fall Fall Apart’! #ence, it can be said that both Achebe and Ibsen are challenging the gender ineuality and conformist attitudes dominant in late-'.th century orway and Igbo culture, through the representation representation of struggle and su/ering inicted, as a result, upon the families in each te+t! It could be said that in ‘A "oll’s #ouse’ the strength of a family is centrali0ed and built upon wealth and societal status! Throughout the play, ora’s family is shown to be more of an isolated individual entity, as opposed to a family connected to the surrounding surrounding community! with the supposed ‘head of the family’, Torvald, appearing to display sel1sh characteristics towards the end of the play, where he e+claims, ‘ora, I am saved2’ disregarding disregarding anyone else’s wellbeing in his family until ora reminds him of her familial presence with the uestion ‘And I3’ This perhaps signi1es his slightly super1cial view of family 4 viewing his wife to be an ob5ect of admiration, who contributes towards his overall societal image, and having minimal contact to his children! In contrast, Achebe presents the idea of family in ‘Things Fall Fall Apart’ to have a larger and inclusive meaning, for instance, when a young girl of the village had been &illed at a mar&et in 6baino she is referred referred to as ‘a daughter of 7muo1a!’ #ere the narrative voice indicates the whole of 7muo1a to be as one ‘family’, reecting the strong sense of community found in Igbo culture! Though to an e+tent, e+tent, 8&on&wo 8&on&wo can be seen to act on self-s self-serving erving motives to ful1ll his aspirations in gaining more power, his motivations for wor& can generally be seen to lin& bac& to the wellbeing of his family
*oth Achebe’s and Ibsen’s use of foreshadowing in the novel and play re seen to hint towards the downfall and disintegration of family life! In ‘A "oll’s #ouse’, the opening word of the play, ‘hide’, hints towards to the lies and deceit revealed later throughout the novel, and furthermore ultimately leads to the play’s clima+ where the family falls apart! In the same way, when 8&on&wo’s passion ‘to hate everything his father had loved’ such as ‘gentleness’ and ‘idleness’, is revealed early on in the novel, this could be seen as a foreshadow to later events and also to increase the reader’s understanding of his actions! In addition to this, beating his wife during peace wee& e+poses the audience to his stern attitude, revealing his character aw and indicating that this is what is responsible for the undoing of their family! 9ymbols in ‘A "oll’s #ouse’ can also be found to reect the status of the family tension, anticipating the conict that is to ensue! :ater on in the play, the appearance of the ‘Christmas tree’ prop transitions from being decorated in anticipation for Christmas day to at the beginning of Act Two, where the stage directions tell us ‘The Christmas Tree is ;<= stripped of its ornaments and with burnt-down candle-ends on its disheveled branches’, perhaps symbolically reecting the disheveled state of family life as a result of ora’s deceit and Torvald’s arti1cial love for his family! The perception of family life can also be shown through the perception of other characters in the play and novel> in ‘Things Fall Apart’ 8&on&wo is often compared to 1re symboli0ing his boundless potency and masculinity, even having the nic&name of the ‘?oaring Flame!’ #owever on reali0ing his complete disappointment in his son woye, 8&on&wo has the reali0ation that ‘:iving 1re begets cold, impotent ash’, which ironically indicates his own power to be what creates conicts and destruction of those in his family, namely woye and l&emefuna! The ways in which Achebe and Ibsen depict the structure of family both appear to place men as the most important dominant 1gure in the household, with women holding a much more restricted and inferior position! In the opening scene of ‘A "oll’s #ouse’ the stage directions show ora to ‘tiptoe to her husband’s door’ and ‘listen;s=’, perhaps indicating that she is not permitted to enter this area of the house as it is seen as a masculine wor&place, with no place for a woman! Furthermore, later in this scene Torvald is seen to ta&e her ‘playfully by the ear’, perhaps to clearly indicate to the audience that he holds the power in their family! In the same way, in Igbo
culture, within the compound in which each family resides, the restriction of women from entering the ‘8bi’, where the husband lives and sleeps, indicates the con1ning position of women, where they hold a lower status than the male sons of the family! @hile in ‘A "oll’s #ouse’ verbal abuse is more prevalent, Achebe presents 8&on&wo to use physical violence towards his family to maintain control and e+hibit his power within his family and community! 8verall, it could be said that the depiction of family in the play and the boo& reect the values and e+pectations of the conte+t of production in which the te+ts are each set! The inferior position of women within the family are e+plicitly presented in ‘Things Fall Apart’, as Achebe normali0es the uneual gender roles to be an aspect of the society along with the e+tremist masculine ualities 8&on&wo inicts upon his family, presenting him as a product of his society! In the same way, the signi1cant androcentric ualities of '(. orweigen society are embodied in Torvald’s character along with the structure of his family! #ence, from this it could be implied that Ibsen and Achebe critici0e the societal values and norms, holding them responsible for familial collapse!
