Problematizing polygyny (1) in the historical novels of Chinua Achebe: the role of the Western Feminist Scholar.

ABSTRACT

As a cultural system that still exists in three out of every four African communities, polygyny dehumanizes women in numerous ways. Polygyny, as represented in Chinua Achebe's historical novels and as it exists in the world, is, however, a multidimensional custom. How, then, can Western feminists respond to Achebe's portrayals of polygyny without projecting a "West is best" ideology onto our discourse and without further objectifying and silencing the real women involved in polygynous relationships? Drawing on the theoretical frameworks of bell hooks and others, I contend that Western feminists can, and should, think and speak about polygyny. The Western feminist agenda must recognize that despite its benefits, polygyny is intrinsically destructive to women's autonomy. One way that we can move toward this goal is by drawing attention to literary representations of polygyny, like Achebe's, that obscure the immediate problems and cultural legacies that result from this system of marriage.

I believe that in our situation the greater danger lies not in remembering but in forgetting, in pretending that slogans are the same as truth; and I believe that Nigeria, always prone to self-deception, stands in great needs of reminders.

--CHINUA ACHEBE, MORNING YET ON CREATION DAY XII

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In "Chinua Achebe and the Invention of African Culture," an article in the special issue "Chinua Achebe at Seventy," published in Research in African Literatures in 2001, Simon Gikandi lauds Achebe's novels as the "Ur-texts of our [African] literary tradition" (6). He goes on to extol the "tremendous influence [Achebe's] works have had on the institutions of pedagogy and interpretation and the role his fictions have come to play in the making and unmaking of African worlds" (6). Certainly, with the publication of his first novel, Things Fall Apart (1959), Achebe was almost immediately taken up in literary circles as the father of African literature and has since remained at the center of African literary studies. Furthermore, and perhaps more significantly, Achebe occupies a position of great importance for his African readers. In general, his writing is regarded as having restored a sense of pride to Africa (see Moore; Omoyele; Williams). Early in his career, Achebe seemed to recognize and, most honorably, to take on the difficult responsibilities that came with his privileged position. In his essay "Novelist as Teacher" (1965), Achebe describes his own perception of his role as a prominent African writer: "I would be quite satisfied if my novels (especially the ones I set in the past) did no more than teach my readers that their past--with all its imperfections-was not one long night of savagery from which the first Europeans acting on God's behalf delivered them" (72). In many regards, Achebe has achieved his goal. In his historical novels, Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God (1964), Achebe depicts precolonial Igbo life with great complexity. Although his characters are not without flaws, Achebe portrays their lifestyles and belief systems as worthy of respect. Achebe recalls his African heritage with pride and "teaches" others to do the same. If only for this reason, Gikandi and others are certainly justified in considering Achebe's novels foundational for teachers and scholars of African literature.

As feminist critics have long noted, though, Achebe's novels, especially his early novels, reveal real blind spots when it comes to important gender issues that continue to plague many postcolonial African countries? In his two historical novels, in fact, Achebe consistently side-lines the place of the postcolonial woman in order to focus on postcolonial manhood. Women's lives often serve as little more than fodder for the exploration of masculinity. And because Achebe does hold such a high-profile position in African studies, his gender-determined blind spots demand careful scrutiny. The apparent dismissal of womens issues in Achebe's early novels suggests a "first things first" approach to nationalism, an approach which dictates that Africans deal with national problems before they move on to "less important issues," such as gender politics on local levels. We know, however, despite the immediate attractions of the "first things first" movement, that gender issues are indeed integral to nationalist causes. Certainly, in order for African nationalism to serve all Africans, women's issues must make their way into public discourse and, ultimately, women must take part in the actual formation of African nations. Polygyny, or the marriage of one man to more than one woman at the same time, is one system, still prominent in many African communities, that keeps women from taking part in this important business of nation-building. Ironically, in his historical novels, Achebe seems to dismiss the issue of African polygyny, which I consider an important gender concern for feminists the world over, as a nonissue. (3)