Just when Okonkwo's guilt over killing Ikemefuna seems to lessen, his rarely displayed devotion to his family is again tested. When Ekwefi informs him of his daughter's illness, he rushes out in the middle of the night to hunt for medicine in the woods. By nature, Okonkwo is not a cold and heartless man; he simply cannot escape the haunting images of his despised father's womanly qualities.
Ekwefi's dedication to her daughter Ezinma exemplifies the important role children play in a woman's life in Umuofian society. Ekwefi says that children are a "woman's crowning glory," and before Ezinma was born, her own life was consumed with the desire to have a healthy child. But nine times, she lost children in infancy. A woman's status in Igbo society is related to how many children she bears and how many of them are male.
But although women's child-bearing abilities are an important aspect of their status, Okonkwo and Ekwefi's deep concern and fondness for Ezinma shows that, despite the divide between manly and womanly qualities, woman play an essential role in Igbo society. Women are responsible for preparing most of the celebratory activities, which strengthen relations within the village and with other communities. Women also create the decorations for the huts as well as elaborate body art.
Another important aspect of women in Igbo society is represented by Chielo, who is significant because, as a woman, she speaks on behalf of the God Agbala. Chielo refers to Ezinma as her "daughter," which may indicate that she will replace Chielo's position as priestess.
In Chapter 6, Ekwefi was hopeful that Ezinma had "come to stay." This observation foreshadowed that Ezinma was no longer an ogbanje because the medicine man dug up her iyi-uwa.
