Women's rights are systematically suppressed in Joseph Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness" while in Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart", the powerful Mother of Spirits is worshiped and her daughters beaten and persecuted because of their gender. These authors vividly described the reality of the repression of women at that time. They exploit women's vulnerabilities by criticizing all their stereotypical feminine qualities. Being called “woman” is one of the most offensive insults uttered against the weak and meek. In “Heart of Darkness,” the story is told through the voice of Charlie Marlow, a skeptical and prejudiced white man. In fact, all the characters, including the major and minor characters, the narrator and the protagonist, are all white European men (Smith xx-xx). The underlying limitations of women in this society are very evident in the narrator's lack of understanding and emotional detachment. Ellen Rooney describes these representations of women as the "male narrative of femininity" that uses "stereotypes of women and women" in order to affirm "patriarchy's many stories" about femininity, masculinity and power relations ( 73)(Smith xx- xx).With no names recorded in Conrad's book, the women are only known in relation to the man. For example, the semi-important female characters are known as "Destiny" and "The Mistress". “Destiny” is thus identified because of her relationship with Kurtz as her future (or future) fiancé. “The mistress” is Kurtz’s African lover with whom he cheats on “destiny”. Marlow does not even grant these women the simplest of all courtesies: referring to them by name. They are too inferior and insignificant to deserve such respect. The Mistress and the Middle of Paper......Eminity Quotes Page 1." Shmoop. Shmoop University Inc., nd Web. January 18, 2014. Postcolonial and Post-Imperial Literature: An Overview. Np, nd Web. January 21, 2014. Smith, Kathryn. "Revisit(it)ing Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness': Women, Symbolism and Resistance Kathryn Haynicz-Smith (Kathryn Smith) Np, nd Web." "SparkNotes: Heart of Darkness: Main Characters Analysis." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides Np, nd Web January 20, 2014. "SparkNotes: Heart of Darkness: Characters List. "SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Np, nd Web. January 22, 2014. "SparkNotes: Things Fall Apart: Themes, Motifs, and Symbols." SparkNotes: The Most Popular Study Guides today. SparkNotes LLC, nd Web January 17, 2014. “Things Fall Apart, Gender Theme.”.. 2014.