Anita Nair points out a plain truth that the non-performance or lack of performance of women is social, professional and political fields are due to their ignorance in the respective fields. Their life is centered on their husbands and children and family and their social contact is also very limited. Hence there are many women who are incapable of thinking anything beyond marriage and children as their greatest aspirations.
It is often said that "A modem man is a walking civil war". But it is more applicable to modem woman who undergoes the ceaseless and serious inner struggle of choosing between the conventional ideal of femininity and the modem mode of new womanhood. Anita Nair and Jhumpa Lahiri are acutely aware of this disturbing decision making drama which has been going on in the minds of women from birth to death, making them conformists or non-conformists, traditionalists or modernists, feminists or antifeminists and winners or losers.
Man-woman relationship is a core theme in the novels of Anita Nair and Jhumpa Lahiri. Their new women characters are not ready to comply with the conventional and hierarchical world of hetero-sexuality. They not only dismiss the domineering and superficial man-woman relationships, but demand intimate and enriching relationships which are solely based one quality, justice and mutual affection and admiration between men and women. Anita Nair and Jhumpa Lahiri give a cultural shock to the patriarchal world by making their female characters reveal honestly and openly their feelings and experiences while they deal with men. They express their affection, anger and frustration which they experience in the roles as lovers, wives, mothers and daughters. Both writers present the truth that in any ma...
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...d inherent talents and ask them to achieve their ambitions and aspirations without any doubt about their own abilities.
While traditionally trained women experience a feeling of emptiness, meaninglessness and frustration in their daily lives, these new women characters in spite of their struggles for existence, experience the thrill and joy of self-discovery and self-actualization. They are women who raise above the usual routine of their gender assignments and operate beyond the existing conventions and customs by bravely and gladly getting involved in many a useful project whenever and wherever possible. For example Jhumpa Lahiri's protagonist Ashima, is spite of all her past painful experiences, derives immense satisfaction and pleasure out of her social commitments. Similarly Anita Nair's Radha is a dancer who enjoys her life and the social status it brings her.
To begin Bazán theme on the relationship between male and female, it similar to millennial ideas of a relationship. She expresses that women have
Love and affection is an indispensable part of human life. In different culture love may appear differently. In the poem “My god my lotus” lovers responded to each other differently than in the poem “Fishhawk”. Likewise, the presentation of female sexuality, gender disparity and presentation of love were shown inversely in these two poems. Some may argue that love in the past was not as same as love in present. However, we can still find some lovers who are staying with their partners just to maintain the relationship. We may also find some lovers having relationship only because of self-interest. However, a love relationship should always be out of self-interest and must be based on mutual interest. A love usually obtains its perfectness when it develops from both partners equally and with same affection.
From an outside view, everything in relationships seems to be wonderful. However, on many occasions, taking a deeper analysis of the women and their daily lives, one can realize the true dangers they face around their husbands. It is important to understand the reasons why the women in the following stories behave and feel the way they do. Firstly, in the story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway, the female character is in danger because her boyfriend wants her to have an abortion. Secondly, in the story “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Mrs. Louise Mallard is at risk because her husband, throughout years of marriage has limited her freedom. Finally, in the story of “The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinback, it is the frustration Elisa Allen feels towards her life because her husband never shows admiration towards her beauty which leads her to have a melancholic and miserable life. Even though men took an important role in the stories, it is clear they were the cause of the women’s suffering and perilous lifestyles.
Despite their competitiveness, males had professional jobs while females were stuck with full-time or part-time jobs. Unfortunately, even though their generation worked hard, the work place wasn’t flexible enough to provide them with equal jobs. Sandberg argues that it’s unfair that women outperform men in classes, yet there’s still a huge ambition gap between the two sexes. It seems that due to reality, women have lost hope and have given up on more “successful” careers.
Since the beginning of civilization, the role of men and women have been portrayed by their capabilities. During wars, men were asked to fight against enemies because they had the necessary strength to combat. On the other hand, women were asked to take care of the household chores and to give birth to increase the overall population of the country. This concept of roles has been highly present in our societies. Women fighting against the gender inequality have created a stir among the dominant group which are men. Since men are still more dominant and keep reigning in this world, often women are restricted from getting fair opportunities to achieve in their goals. Till now, women are forced to be obedient to men in certain societies. From past few decades, this perspective is slowly coming to an end in most of the society. Women are now being empowered by ideologies which is reshaping their identity in many societies.
explores not only the way in which patriarchal society, through its concepts of gender , its objectification of women in gender roles, and its institutionalization of marriage, constrains and oppresses women, but also the way in which it, ultimately, erases women and feminine desires. Because women are only secondary and other, they become the invisible counterparts to their husbands, with no desires, no voice, no identity. (Wohlpart 3).
The world before her is a film of hope and dreams for Indian women. We examine two girls with different paths but one goal in common, empowerment. This term conveys a wide range of interpretations and definitions one of them being power over oneself. Both Prachi and Ruhi manifest a will for female empowerment but both have distinct views on how this is achieved. Prachi believes the way to achieve empowerment is through her mind and strength, while she still confines to tradition views of Indian culture. Ruhi desires to achieve female empowerment by exposing her beauty in a non-conservative way while maintaining her Indian identity.
Some people believe that opposites attract. Others believe that people who are more similar will have a better relationship. Some prefer relationships with older people, and some prefer them with younger people. Jhumpa Lahiri, author of the short story collection Interpreter of Maladies, explores the dynamic of relationships in her works. In her short story “Interpreter of Maladies” a married woman confesses a secret to a man she barely knows. In her story “This Blessed House” a couple fights over the religious relics they find in their new home. While one reads Lahiri’s stories, a theme begin to emerge that shows the woman of the relationship behaving like an adolescent and the man behaving like her father due to the internalized idea of
In this paper I have shown how women differ from men. They differ in everything from sports and education to their home life, women are unequal. Steps need to be taken provide equality for the whole nation. Maybe not to long after our century mark, everyone in this country, male and female, will have the same opportunities and chances for advancement in every aspect.
Ramamoorthy, P. “My Life is My Own: A Study of Shashi Deshpande’s Women” Feminism and Recent Fiction in English Ed. Sushila Singh. New Delhi: Prestige, 1991.
Shashi Deshpande is one of the India’s leading contemporary novelists. She writes about issues related to women. Man-woman relationship is one of the most important areas of interest in her novels. Love in all its forms is an important theme in her novels. Deshpande is equally interested in mythology. A perceptive reader of Deshpande novels is familiar with her use of cultural narratives as allusions, reference-points and embedded-narratives. One of her concerns is to address contemporary issues with the help of myths and legends. Her novel In the Country of Deceit (2008) deals with the themes of desire, adult-love and deceit. The novel is a revisionist mythmaking of king Yayati and his maid Sharmishtha’s adulterous love-affair. This paper
This chapter serves as a theoretical framework for the thesis, with the focus on patriarchal constructs like masculinity and femininity. It also deals with the major ideas of feminist thinkers regarding women’s subordination and enslavement especially in their families. The patriarchal ideology that the private space of the family is the domain of women is questioned by them. The salient features of Western feminism and their influence on Malayalee women writers and activists are also dealt with in this chapter.
Most of socio-cultural and religious traditions in their original form regarded a comparatively low position to woman. Controlled by patriarchy, woman has suffered discrimination, subjugation, otherness either as a lesser being or as a super being. A number of social and literary movements have helped women attain equality and independence. 20th century has witnessed an increasing awareness amongst women about their sexuality, desires, discovery of self-identity and existence. The contemporary writers are striving to provide the desired liberation to women from the socio-cultural confines and the dictatorial myths. In order to achieve gender-equal epics, there has been a resurge in countless revisits/ re-tellings of The Ramayana and Mahabharata. Amish Tripathi, Devdutt Pattanaik, Volga, Kumaran Asan, Vijaya Dabbe, Vayu Naidu and Kavita Kane are some of such authors who have attempted to re-visit/re-tell Ramayana from Sita’s perspective. These writers have emphasized on her humanity, they have perceived her indulging in day-to-day activities, highlighting her involvement in the ordinary works. Sita is portrayed as someone with agency. She is a resourceful woman and an inspiration to other women. She chooses her own actions instead of blindly following someone’s commands. Instead of being a passive character, she actively learns things from different situations and continues to find herself at different phases in her life. The study, for the detailed explication of its hypothesis, would focus on the following as primary
Throughout the history of mankind, the rank of women has been extremely pivotal in the development of the humans. At present, the progress of the nation is determined by the high positions of the women in the society in terms of the employment and the work. It is said that without the contribution of the women in the political, business, social, economic and national activities, the growth of the country will stagnate. In the past, the women were more accustomed to working in homes and taking care of children, etc. but now they are stepping into the outside world due to advances in education for women and increasing awareness.
In today’s society, women are increasingly gaining ground in the professional environment, because her skills are being more recognized and valued. Women have come over the years reconciling intelligently their life as mother, wife and professional, this power to harmonize their roles is the main feature of the modern woman. The increased participation of women in the labor market brings benefits to society because it promotes gender equality and stimulates the economy.