Pinpointing Sources of Misogyny

As our previous blog posts made very clear, Things Fall Apart and The Poisonwood Bible share a lot of similarities, as well as a lot of differences. One of the most striking similarities is the fact that both novels feature a man who is revered and respected by his community but is extremely misogynistic. In Things Fall Apart, that man is Okonkwo, and in The Poisonwood Bible, that man is Nathan Price. Although they have all of the previously listed things in common, though, they are as different as the two books are from each other. Still, a similarity of sorts can be found in their deep-seated feelings of misogyny.

First and foremost, Nathan and Okonkwo are very similar. They are both prominent figureheads in their towns, and their opinions are trusted by the people in those towns, but at some point, they are both exiled. They both have a large quantity of women in their immediate family: Okonkwo with his three wives, Nathan with his four daughters. They both go into battle when the opportunity arises, and they both emerge with honor and distinction. However, when they come into contact with another race and culture, they both face extreme downfalls.

As for their differences, one can begin to find them just by looking at the similarities. They are both exiled, but Okonkwo was exiled by law, while Nathan was exiled by choice. They both have multiple women at their sides, but through their violent rages and downfalls, Okonkwo’s wives stay with him and remain loyal and loving to him, while Nathan’s daughters leave him behind and regard him with bitterness and hate. They both go to war, but Okonkwo emerges a hero, while Nathan emerges with an injury and an incurable self-loathing. Finally, the largest difference of all: Okonkwo and his people were disturbed by an incoming race and culture, while Nathan was a member of that incoming group of people.

Then, there is the source of their misogyny. Neither of them were born with such disdain for women; they can both be traced back to a specific source. For Okonkwo, it is a desperate desire to avoid being anything like his father, a lazy and artistically-minded man. For Nathan, it is an equally desperate desire to do right in the eyes of God and avoiding any sinful action. Unfortunately, both of these desires require looking down upon stereotypically feminine qualities. The laziness and musicality of Okonkwo’s father, the wastefulness and desire for material goods that Nathan gets so enraged about in his daughters: these are all seen as aspects of the woman that so many TV husbands go to bars and strip clubs to avoid. Nathan and Okonkwo did not set out to hate women; they simply want to follow their own strict moral codes. However, in doing so, they would have no trouble with joining those husbands.

So Nathan and Okonkwo do have a lot in common. They also have a lot of differences: after all, one is a racist, and one has a lot of bitterness towards white people. Differences are inevitable and easy to spot. However, things are not so black and white, literally and figuratively, in their personalities. They have both been through similar experiences, if not always on the same sides. They are both striving constantly to do what is right. And, in doing so, they both possess extreme and unhealthy levels of misogyny.