Abstract:The exploration of self andthe candour with which Kamala Das has expressed her personal concerns and predicaments lend an authentic tone to her poetry and help create an authentic image of Indian womanhood caught between her individual awareness and feminine consciousness and the demands of a traditional patriarchal mindset. Despite its Anglo-American origin, the concept of Feminism is highly relevant to the Indian context. Assumptions, methods and procedures of thefeminists can be applied as a tool to evaluate the image, status, role, and the socio-cultural recognition of women in Indian society represented through various literary texts –classical, contemporary, regional, Hindi or Indian English Literature. Whether it is the classical …show more content…
The early Indian English women poets like Toru Dutt and Sarojini Naidu have celebrated the 'ideal' image of Indian women in their poems. Commenting on Toru Dutt’s delineation of womenA. N. Dwivedi says that Savitri, Sita andJogadhya Uma are the ideal representative of Indian womanhood and offer an opportunity to the poetess to reveal the mysterious feminine nature.Toru’sintimatefeelings are expressed through them.(Dwivedi118)Her first poem "Savitri" narrates the fortune of the princess Savitri, the ideal of Indian womanhood, who follows Yama boldly in order to reclaim her husband from the clutches of Death and when she is asked to retrace her steps home and perform the duties of a widow, she refuses to obey. It depicts the constancy of the heroine, her chastity, womanly modesty, humility as well as her courage and her great love for her husband Satyavan. Her actions are considered as "the highest standard of conjugal love”in the traditional Indian society even today. Nevertheless, through the story, Duttalso discloses the pitiable plight of the widows of her time. She
With Egyptian woman being of one aspect of a multi-dimensional look at woman of the ancient times, woman who wrote classical literature in India also played an important part in providing future generations with stories and poems that were skillfully explained with suggestions, compared to the graphic descriptions that were seen in Ancient Egyptian love poems. One of the ancient Indian authors who perfected this technique is Vikatanitamba. Even though Vikatanitamba is similar in evoking passion within her poems, like the ancient Egyptians, she shows her able show her multi-dimensionality, but discretely. One poem where this was skill was shown was “As he came to bed”. Within the first line, she is able to subtly explain her dress falling off
In the course of our lives, we will encounter a diverse group of others and experience a variety of events releasing various emotions and responses. These experiences and encounters may be beneficial while others could potentially have a negative impact. All of these external factors help shape and determine who we become as based on the lessons we learn from those around us and the discoveries we make from our experiences. Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse, a modern novel that relates Siddhartha’s life from a child to an adult on a journey to enlightenment, built on Buddhism and the idea of escaping the endless cycle of rebirth. Siddhartha experiences many contrasting events throughout his journey, shaping his values in life and how he views the
As a common theme in society, politics, and books, gendering originated from mythology. Hindu mythology repeatedly reinforces gendering in Indian society, in which the males have a certain point to prove and the females are forced to sacrifice their own happiness. In the Ramayana, a ruthless villain Ravan kidnaps Sita. Her husband, Rama, saves her, but then doubts her chastity because she has lived with another man for so long. Sita is then forced to prove her innocence. Stories with this same archetype are repeated throughout the Mahabharata, another Hindu mythological text. In this story, the female character, Draupadi, is the common wife for a group called the Pandavas. The Pandavas pawn her as a prize in a game against a villain named Duryodhana. The Pandavas lose, and Duryodhana takes Draupadi captive. As a standard characteristic of Hindu mythology, the female sacrifices for the male's ego. Hindu mythology epitomizes the roles of males and females, which as a result, influences gendering in modern-day society by disadvantaging females.
“There are only two types of women— goddesses and doormats.” Pablo Picasso used this quote to describe how he saw the woman of his era, and for the most part, this interesting quote is somewhat correct when looking at the role of women in literature over the years. The woman either goes above and beyond for others without thinking of herself, or she stands firm in her beliefs and is respected for her actions and looks. In sum, the woman is either overlooked or is adored and cherished. There are still many people who continue to belittle and degrade the woman’s role in the twentieth century. Over the many different periods in time and the several eras, the roles of women in literature have changed in the eyes of numerous authors. However,
Kate Chopin boldly uncovered an attitude of feminism to an unknowing society in her novel The Awakening. Her excellent work of fiction was not acknowledged at the time she wrote it because feminism had not yet come to be widespread. Chopin rebelled against societal norms (just like Edna) of her time era and composed the novel, The Awakening, using attitudes of characters in favor to gender, variations in the main character, descriptions and Edna's suicide to show her feminist situation. Society during Chopin's time era alleged women to be a feeble, dependent gender whose place laid nothing above mothering and housekeeping. In The Awakening, Chopin conveys the simple attitudes of society toward women mainly through her characters Leonce, Edna, Madame Ratignolle, and Madame Reisz. She uses Leonce and Madame Ratignolle to depict examples of what was considered adequate in society. In a critical essay written by Emily Toth, she states that "The Awakening is a story of what happens when a woman does not accept her place in the home. The novel moves us because it illustrates the need for women's psychological, physical, social, and sexual emancipation--the goals of feminists in the twentieth century as well as the nineteenth" (Toth). However, Chopin takes account of the opposing characters of Edna and Madame Reisz in a determination to express desires and wants concealed by the female gender.
The historical implication of "Feminism" usually means "movement for recognition of the claims of woman for rights (legal, political, familial, etc.) equal to those possessed by men. It is said that Eve is depicted as made from "a supernumerary bone" of Adam; therefore, women have always been considered inferior to men. However, as Barnes suggests, "the minimal criteria for feminism" should include the claim for equal status, rights and roles with men. From the very early time, women began to strive fro their self-evaluation. The Enlightenment Movement and the American and French revolutions contributed a lot to the new rise of feminism. Such literary women as Austin, Brontës, Eliot and Dickenson appeared that time. In the early 20th century, women finally gained the suffrage which marked the climax of the women's liberation movement. In the 1960s, New Feminism concerned with the human rights for black people again came to its climax. This time, it was more pervasive and comprehensive in all fields of society, according feminist literary criticism found its way to critical theories.
The opening of the poem the woman is explaining why painting her nails red is sophisticated “Because a bit of colour is a public service”(1). In line two Satyamurti calls attention to the role of women in the society and in the family- that while they are not being paid for work they do everyday of their lives, it should not be neglected. She acknowledges by “Because I am proud of my hands”, she is explaining that women ar...
Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” shows in society how a woman should be placed and what it means to be a woman. A women doesn’t question her partner, instead she is subservient to him. A woman’s duties include staying at home taking care of the children and cooking; while the man works and brings home the money. A feministic approach to Kincaid’s “Girl” points to the idea of the stereotypes that women can only be what they do in the home, they should only be pure and virtuous, and their main focus should be satisfying their husband.
The Ramayana as retold by R.K. Narayan, explores the roles and duty of women and what it takes in order to be a good woman in Indian society. He explores these roles through the women through out the epic whether it is the wife of a King or some form of deity. While in general women were viewed as subpar to men and were seen as second-class citizens, the women in the book shape the men into who they become and account for much of the manipulation of the individuals and the caretaking of the individuals. Women such as Sita and Kausalya demonstrate those women that are good. These women were regarded as beautiful, not only for their physical attributes, but for their behavior in regards to the males in the epic. They are everything women should be- they are kind and respect the males in their lives above all else. However these women are also met with their opposites, those women who have much improvement to make before being recognized as good women in the Indian society. These women, like Kaikeyi and Soorpanaka go against all Indian ideals. They use their sexuality in order to attempt to manipulate the men of the epic. They do everything in their power in order to get their way, even if it is at the cost of others.
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.
In contemporary society, feminism is emerging as a theory of social construct. In literature it is often challenging to discover female characters that go beyond the limits of marginalized female stereotypes and roles as a means to transgress beyond societal norms. Women are characterized as subordinate objects, amid the dominant patriarchal nature entrenched amid the epic. In The Ramayana, women are portrayed as powerless objects that succumb to the manipulation of men as the text portrays a false empowerment of women, which ultimately succumb to common archetypes accustomed to women in literature; implementing a hierarchy of gender that institutionalizes male dominance amid female inferiority. The women of The Ramayana struggle to oppose the systemic patriarchy and pursue a pathway towards attaining dynamic elements of power, that enable their ability to embody autonomous authority. In Valmiki’s The Ramayana, while women appear to be empowered, ultimately they are feeble instruments utilized to fulfill the desires of men.
Its narrative realizes the female protagonist’s method of living to reconcile with her family, to be aware of the filial relationship and the marital circumstances. The novel is covered with a variety of narratives of Devi, of her mother Sita, her grand mother and of the house maid, Mayamma. This novel is a trial to disclose the inner lives of woman and the inner aspects are concentrated on with complete picture. This novel is written in a woman’s voice. This very novel makes an attempt to overcome an unsolved situation faced by the suppressed and oppressed womenfolk mainly in
For thousands of centuries literature has been used as a clever device to show the negative outlook in which society has on women at that time. The common theme of men exploiting women for personal gain and using their heavy-handed power to make women feel inferior can be seen in writings from the ancient Greeks all the through authors of the 20th century. Writers and intellectual thinkers such as Plato, Peter Abelard, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Henrik Ibsen, and even women such as Virgina Wolfe, and Fatima Mernissi have all written about the struggles caused by domineering men which women have fought against for so long. It is not until the late twentieth century that we see a positive almost spiritual view of women from the stories told by Gao Xingjan in his book One Man’s Bible. The 1994 publication of Fatima Mernissi’s memoirs of her girlhood in a harem spoke powerfully in favor of women shedding prescribed gender roles in favor of embracing their own identities. It is books such as Fatima’s and Gao’s which will help carry out feminist movements into the 21st century.
Women have often been called upon to make sacrifices and suppress their personal desires.They have often been left on the margins of the social set-up as far as their personal desires and fufilment of those desires is concerned. Women are not a minority in our society but their “lives, experiences and values have been treated as marginal” and men’s experiences have been assumed to be central to society. One also needs to contest the often stated view that in India women have always enjoyed a place of respect and dignity, that they have been respected as ‘devis.’ It needs to be seen that “the respect and privileges which accompany the position of a ‘devi’ are not only anti-individualistic,” they are also anti-humanistic and “deny women a personhood”.
Indian Writing in English has a special status in English Literature owing to its treatment of women characters. Short stories help the writers to project select characters in an impressive way to the readers. In Indian context the status of woman in a society and her treatment is very different from those of her European or American counterparts. Women are depicted both as a good and evil in literature by various writers. However, in no literature is a women stereotyped as was done in Indian literature. Away from the mythical stereotyping of women, Ruskin Bond portrayed his women in a different way. The female characters of his short stories range from a small child to a grandmother. These characters are as powerful as men and have left a strong impression on the readers. I have chosen following eight short stories for the critical analysis of Ruskin Bond’s Women in this paper.