goddess. In the Igbo culture, it is necessary to cleanse the polluted land following a severe crime and Okonkwo's compound, property, and animals are destroyed by his neighbors as retribution from the earth goddess. It is also customary for a villager who committed a crime against the earth goddess to seek refuge in their motherland, which is why Okonkwo lives in exile with his wife's family. The reader also learns that Okonkwo must live in exile for seven years before he is allowed to return to Umuofia. In Mbanta, Okonkwo falls into despair and Uchendu explains to him why it is customary for a man to return to his motherland by telling Okonkwo

A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you.

Okonkwo has many mixed feelings about returning to his homeland in Things Fall Apart. Most of them stem from his bitterness, which only grows during his years of exile. Okonkwo is a man who sees himself only as a part of the society he lives in. Throughout the novel, there are very few—if any—cases of self-reflection that don't include the presumed opinions of his peers. Everything that Okonkwo thinks of himself or of anything else, really, is rooted in that hierarchical system that he's a part of. Therefore, to him the exile means being cut off from his true life and his true destiny. He might as well be dead for seven years. So he views his exile as a cruel punishment and looks forward to it ending, which would allow him to return to the life he left behind.

In exile, Okonkwo continues to work hard, as he has always done. In his mind it would be unmanly to do less than he's capable of. But the work he puts in is emotionless. Okonkwo doesn't seek to thrive in exile, he seeks to manage well enough not to draw criticism. The seven years are meaningless to him, because his entire vision of the future is connected to his homeland. In that sense, his self and his homeland are the same. Only at home could Okonkwo become what he wants to be, so he feels nothing but anger and longing when he's away. When he thinks of going home, it's bittersweet. He sees himself continuing where he left off, but he is also keenly aware that he has lost many years—and not just any years, but prime working years. He is slightly too old to be the fighter he used to be in his youth, but Okonkwo is not by any means an old man when he's exiled. The loss of time and opportunity is the root cause of his bitterness. By the time he's allowed to return, he has missed so much: the chance to put in work on his own lands, the chance to gain more titles and the chance to express his opinion of the Christians.

In the time Okonkwo's in his exile, he doesn't change at all. You could even say he stubbornly becomes more himself. His goals, his dreams, and his philosophies remain the same as they always were. The exile is nothing but his life being paused, and Okonkwo goes through its motions, gritting his teeth and only looking forward to the day he can go back. He hopes to restore everything to the way it was in his homeland, too, but that does not work out in his favor. By the time he gets back, the world has changed too much and trying to live according to the old ways takes Okonkwo to his sad end.

Okonkwo is determined to redeem himself upon his return to Umuofia, but he remains bitter and angry at the seven years he feels were wasted in his exile. He has prospered while in Mbanta, adding several children to his family. However, he knows he could have achieved greater success having stayed in Umuofia. He also considers his mother's clan womanly, and rejects the idea that “Mother is Supreme.” He doesn't understand the balance necessary for happiness and true success, and remains inflexible and focused on personal achievement.

Because of all this, Okonkwo plans a grand return to his village. He has lost his place among the egwugwu, and has missed his opportunity to take the highest titles in the village. Therefore, he decides to build a magnificent compound and initiate his sons into the ozo society. Okonkwo believes he will be held in high esteem, and he sees himself taking the highest title in the clan. However, he has not anticipated the hold that the Europeans will have gained, and the power of the new religion and laws they have brought with them. This will prove his greatest challenge, and ultimately, his downfall.