Women and Spiritual Leadership in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Toni Morrison’s Beloved

This chapter presents a comparative and contrastive discourse on the theme of women leadership, power and performance in the context of fictional representation of females as spiritual leaders. The interest of Chinua Achebe and Toni Morrison in the theme of religion is evident in their other works such as Arrow of God, Anthills of the Savannah (Achebe), the Bluest Eye and Song of Solomon (Morrison). Generally, both authors often deploy religion as both a tool of communal cohesion as well as oppression. However, in their respective depictions of women as religious leaders in Things Fall Apart and Beloved, religion is exploited as an instrument of communal harmony, restoration and healing.