Question

“I can’t—we must—I mean it is impossible for me to marry Nweke’s daughter.”

“Impossible? Why?” asked his father.

“I don’t love her.”

“Nobody said you did. Why should you?” he asked.

“Marriage today is different . . .”

“Look here, my son,” interrupted his father, “nothing is different. What one looks for in a wife are a good character and a Christian background.”

–“Marriage Is a Private Affair,”
Chinua Achebe

What does this passage suggest about the role of women in this society? Check all that apply.

The society is run by women.
Men hold power over women.
Women are not treated as equal.
Women’s roles are defined by men.
Women and men are always treated equally.

Answer 1

B C D

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

The passage suggest that :

- Men hold power over women.

- Women are not treated as equal.

- Women's roles are defined by men.

The son does not want to marry Nweke's daughter because he does not love her. To his father, however, this is not a problem because marriage is not about love. Men chose a woman for marriage based on her wife qualities and not on love. She has to be a good Christian, meaning she has to have good moral values and she has to have a good character. Men hold power over women because they chose the best one for wife, regardless of the woman's feelings for the man. Women are not treated as equal because they can not chose freely the man they want to marry. Women's roles are defined by men because all they see in a woman is wife material, regardless of the women's feelings and personal preferences.