Much of the traditional Igbo life presented in this novel revolves around
structured gender roles. Essentially all of Igbo life is gendered, from
the crops that men and women grow, to characterization of crimes. In
Igbo culture, women are the weaker sex, but are also endowed with
qualities that make them worthy of worship, like the ability to bear
children. The dominant role for women is: first, to make a pure bride
for an honorable man, second, to be a submissive wife, and third, to
bear many children. The ideal man provides for his family materially and
has prowess on the battlefield. The protagonist in the novel is
extremely concerned with being hyper-masculine and devalues everything
feminine, leaving him rather unbalanced. Much of the gender theme in the
book centers around the idea of balance between masculine and feminine
forces – body and mind/soul, emotionality and rationality, mother and
father. If one is in imbalance, it makes the whole system haywire.
