Women and Nature for Plunder: an Ecofeminist Study of Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People

Abstract

Nature and women have through all ages been victims of exploitation, oppression and subjugation. Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People recreates the exploitation of both nature and woman. While A Man of the People has enjoyed wide-ranging critical examination, and unlike Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God which have been examined from ecocritical perspectives, not much has been done to underline Achebe’s ecofeminist underpinnings as depicted in the novel. This study, therefore, examines A Man of the People through the Ecofeminist critical lens as this allows for a nuanced examination of the connectedness of the domination of women and natural resources in the novel. By engaging Achebe’s all-time famous text, A Man of the People, through the Ecofeminist lens, the study serves to underscore the complex gendered drama that unfolds when women and nature are exploited by capitalist patriarchs. The study draws attention to Achebe’s master craftsmanship in exposing the complex network of forces that have over time sought to objectify women and nature, in service of selfish interests. The study concludes by drawing attention to Achebe’s vision for emancipating women and nature from bearing the brunt of capitalist modernity.