Things Fall Apart 5

Polygamy in Things Fall Apart It is obvious that in reading Things Fall Apart that polygamy was alive and well in the village of Umuofia. Not only was it accepted it was expected. Men's wealth was judged by their huge barns [and their] number of wives and children. The more wives a man had, usually meant more children. If a man had several wives and many offspring, he of course had to provide for all …

…time job. Maybe that's why they beat their wives and no one interfered; it was the only way they knew to bring order into their households if only for a short while, until the next jealous eruption. A lot of extra work for the poor man but then in order to keep peace in his life one would assume it is the price to pay for someone who chooses to have more than one wife.