As the Christians begin to gain power, the villagers see their traditional beliefs as increasingly outdated and powerless. For example, Mbanta's Evil Forest proves to be less sinister than they have believed; their gods allow the missionaries to escape punishment. Here, Achebe implies that clinging to old traditions and an unwillingness to change may contribute to their downfall. Achebe does not pass judgment on their point of view, but he illustrates the kinds of circumstances that could make things fall apart.
The missionaries are beginning to influence not only the community's religious views and practices but also its deeper social customs and traditions; for example, they welcome the first female convert, a woman who is scorned by the community because of her four sets of twins. To her, as well as to other early converts shunned by the clan for one reason or another, the missionaries provide support and acceptance. The missionaries will not throw away newborn twins, and the community will eventually see that they are as normal as other children.
The missionaries apparently expect the new Christians in the community to accept a new weekly calendar: "Come [to church] every seventh day." Suddenly, the narrative refers to "Sunday" instead of the Igbo days of the week. Did the missionaries know about the Igbo four-day week? Did they preach the seven-day creation story? Consider the impact on a community when outsiders impose a new arrangement of days and weeks.
Okonkwo's violent reaction to Nwoye's conversion is typical; he immediately wants to kill the Christians. He recalls that he is popularly called the "Roaring Flame." Then he blames the "effeminacy" of his son on his wife and his father and then on his own chi. The last line in the chapter suggests that Okonkwo has an insight: "Living fire begets cold, impotent ash" — perhaps a realization that his own "Roaring Flame" behavior leaves behind coldness and powerlessness in others — as it has in his son.
