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What is the relationship between Chielo and Ekwefi?
Chielo is friends with Ekwefi, and they get along well. Chielo sometimes gives bean cakes to Ekwefi to give to Ezinma. However, when Chielo becomes the priestess, she becomes like a completely separate person with no empathetic relationship with Ekwefi. Ekwefi is afraid of this incarnation of Chielo.
Why does Ekwefi recoil from Chielo when she turns around?
Ekwefi recoils from Chielo because Chielo embodies the spirit of Agbala, the Oracle of the Hills and Caves. Agbala is a powerful and feared deity that commands respect and obedience from the villagers. Ekwefi, like others, is in awe of Agbala's spiritual and mystical presence.
What is Chielo's position in the village and her relationship to Ekwefi in things fall apart?
Chielo is the priestess of the Oracle to Agbala. Her opinion as a voice to the gods and ancestors is held in high regard, particularly regarding inter-village relationships. Chielo is a friend to Ekwefi.
What reasons might Ekwefi have for following Chielo despite her fears and her husband's assurances that everything would be fine?
It is not despite her fears that she follows Chielo, but because of them. Because Ezinma is an ogbanje, and additionally because Chielo took Ikemefuna from the family, Ekwefi fears that Ezinma will not be returned to the family and something will happen to her. Ezinma is her only child, and Ekwefi does not know what she would do if she lost her.
Why was Ekwefi powerless to stop Chielo from taking Ezinma to the Oracle?
Ekwefi was powerless to stop Chielo from taking Ezinma to the Oracle because Chielo was the priestess of the Oracle, which held significant spiritual authority in the community. Chielo's actions were seen as divinely inspired and were not to be questioned or interfered with. Ekwefi had to respect the traditions and beliefs of the community, even if it meant temporarily relinquishing her parental authority.
What does Ekwefi do after Chielo took Ezinma?
Ekwefi follows Chielo as she goes to the other village and finally back to her cave. She then waits outside the cave, not daring to invoke the god's wrath upon herself. While she is following Chielo and Ezinma, Ekwefi tries to take care not to be discovered by Chielo, and thus displease the gods.
Who follows Chielo and Ezinma?
In Chinua Achebe's novel "Things Fall Apart," it is Okonkwo who follows Chielo and Ezinma during their journey to the Oracle. Okonkwo is Ezinma's father and he accompanies them to the shrine to ensure Ezinma's safety.
What do Ekwefi and Chielo mean when they say that they hope Ezinma will stay?
Ekwefi and Chielo both hope that Ezinma will stay in the physical world and not be taken by the spirits like her other siblings. They value Ezinma's presence and want her to live a full and healthy life.
Why does Ekwefi tell Chielo that you cannot find a mouth with which to tell the story?
Ekwefi tells Chielo that you cannot find a mouth with which to tell the story because she is conveying the indescribable pain and anguish she feels at the prospect of losing her daughter, Ezinma. The depth of her emotions cannot be adequately expressed through words alone.
How has Ekwefi suffered in the past?
Ekwefi was first married to Anene, a man she did not love, for two years. Nine of ten children that she bore died in childbirth, while Okonkwo's other wives had many healthy children. Ekwefi was occasionally beat by Okonkwo. Ekwefi was nearly shot by Okonkwo's gun when he was in a rage. Ekwefi had to let her child go with Chielo in the middle of the night as Ekwefi worried about her.
Who appears in front of Ekwefi as she waits tearfully outside Agbala's cave?
Okonkwo appears suddenly before dawn. He decides to wait with Ekwefi outside the Oracle's cave. Subtly, Okonkwo could be considered to be waiting for both Ekwefi and Ezinma, as he might consider it unmanly to wait for Ezinma, but would consider it manly to support Ekwefi as she waited for their daughter. Eventually both the priestess and Ezinma appear.
What doe Ekwefi and Chielo mean when they say I pray she stays?
Ekwefi means that she prays that Ezinma will remain alive, now that she is ten years old. Many of Ekwefi's children have died during their infancy, and Ezinma had bouts of sickness as a child including one serious bout when she was 9.
