Women and Patriarchy in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half of a Yellow Sun: A Comparative Analysis

The current study explores the representation of women and the structures of patriarchy in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half of a Yellow Sun. Using African feminism and new historicism as theoretical frameworks, the paper examines the sociocultural positions of women in the Igbo society as depicted in both novels. While Achebe portrays women within a pre-colonial Igbo patriarchal community, Adichie presents a more nuanced representation of female agency in postcolonial Nigeria. The comparative analysis highlights the evolution of gender roles, the resistance to patriarchal constraints, and the intersections between gender, colonialism, and nationalism. The findings contribute to broader discussions on the role of literature in shaping and reflecting societal gender dynamics.