In Things Fall Apart, Achebe explains the role of the precolonial African woman in Ibo society. It presents women as a sadly oppressed and powerless group. Even in these circumstances, women play the most important role of all. The relationship between men and women in this novel is based on the masculine. Men without titles are compared to women (representing weakness) and given no respect. Men are expected to control and direct their wives and children. Those who cannot accomplish this are not considered men. Men are considered important. They are more respected with age and revered with their achievements (Achebe, 1994). The highest honors bestowed upon the successful farmer, warrior, and man of valor are wives, yam barns, and social titles. A man's social status is determined by these distinctions (Mezu, 2013). Women are presented in the novel as those who should be seen and not heard. They are expected to do their household chores, raise the children, and be ready to respond to their husbands' demands without questions or complaints. They are beaten by their husbands without recourse. They constitute the core of the rural workforce. Yet women are considered unimportant. The family structure in Things Fall Apart is the husband as the head of the household. Men marry more than one wife and have many children. The men in the family have specific roles that only men play, such as carrying their father's chair to a wrestling match. They are trained early in life to be like a man, to dominate and control. Girls are also prepared to perform women's tasks. They are taught how to be a mother, how to cook and clean with their mother in order to learn the way of life. In the novel, there are several references to...... middle of paper ......itedAchebe, C . (1994). Things are falling apart. New York, NY: Anchor Books. Chun, J. (1990). The role of women in Things Fall Apart. Retrieved from http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/women.html Hiatt, KP (2006). The role of women in Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/the-role-women-chinua-achebes-things-fall-apart-42100.htmlMercedes, A. (2009). A feminist analysis of the novel Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. Retrieved from http://voices.yahoo.com/a-femanist-analysis-chinua-achebes-novel-things-3187491.html?cat=38Mezu, RU (2013). Women in Achebe's World. Retrieved from http://www.nigeriaviallagesquare.com/forum/books-creative-writing/4420-women-achebes-world.htmlStrong-Leek, L., (2001). Reading as a Woman: Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe and feminist critic. Retrieved from http://web.africa.ufl.edu/asq/v5/v5i2a2.htm