scholarly journals Gender Nonconformity and Casting around Individuality, Free Will and Survival: Sharat Chandra’s Women in His Novel Srikanta

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 08
Author(s):  
Sultana Jahan

<p>The present paper is a sincere effort to explore the image of Indian women in the early 19th century social context as depicted in Sharat Chandra’s  novel S<em>rikanta</em>. In this novel Sharat Chandra’s  portrayal  of  women  characters-  Rajlaksmii,  Annada,    Abhaya  ,  and  Kamal Lata  assert    their  individuality, self-worth  and    deliverances  boldly  in  the  then  male-controlled  and traditional society. These characters are unwavering and resolute enough to cast around an emancipated futuristic outlook. They are all precursors to the later day women characters depicted by the feminist writers. Sharat chandra is not a feminist in the traditional sense nor does he take the side of forceful assertion of women rights but he shows    a  significant  understanding  of  woman  psyche  and  to  a  great  extent, protests against  social  and  religious  double  standard  that  ultimately  results  in  gender nonconformity.  He  values humanity more than chastity  and raises his voice against traditional  morality  and religious dogmatism  in depicting  illicit  love relationship  and in disclosing  the deceptions  underlying  the established  marriage  custom. To all  female  characters, Rajlaksmi,  Annada,Kamal  Lata,  and  Abhay,  marriage  fails  to provide  congenial atmosphere  to love and value each other;  rather to them, marriage is nothing but  religious  and social yolk that come up with patriarchal applaud   but result in self-deception. This paper is an attempt to elucidate Sharat Chandra’s unconventional idea of chastity and reversed roles of women going deep into the female characters of this novel who fearlessly look down on the patriarchal impediments.</p>

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-81
Author(s):  
Mrs Sarika

Bharati Mukherjee is a famous Indian born American non-fiction writer, short story writer and journalist. She is one of the well-known novelists of Indian Diaspora. Within a really short creative time, she has achieved enviable position in the field of English literature. In her works, she has very well depicted the Indian immigrant experience of her women characters both in her novels and short stories. In her works, she talks about the lives of Indian women immigrants in the U.S.A and their journey of transformation and adjustment of their lives and personalities. She tries to explore the themes of immigration as well as transformation. She portrays the various phases of her characters such as the phase of expatriation, the phase of transition and phase of immigration. She very well depicts how the cultural clash or cultural conflict between the west and the east leads to the psychological crisis in the minds of her women characters. In her novels, she has given importance to the feministic perspective of her women characters. Her women characters are the protagonist and hero of the novels. She has tried to portray how her female characters sacrifice their dreams, hopes, desires, wishes, what the various problems, fear, torture they face, and how they finally do their best to overcome from all the hurdles. She has drawn her female characters in various situations and circumstances.


Author(s):  
Ekawati Marhaenny Dukut ◽  
Nuki Dhamayanti

The world of literature can be a medium of expressing the writer's expressions and ideas. Universal topics such as, love, death, and war often become subject mailers in the world of literature. In the novel, of The Color Purple. Alice Walker describes the oppression experienced by Afro American women in the female characters of Celie, Nellie, Shug Avery, Sofia, and Mary Agnes who faced sexual discrimina!ions in a patriarchal society. Womanhood, education, and lesbianism are factors that help the Afro American women to free themselves from traditional values. The Color Purple puts into words the process of its main character, Celie, who tries to reject and escape from the male domination of her world. The other Afro American women characters that help Celie to find her selfidentity represent the manifestation of the rejection of the traditional values. This article. which uses the socio-historical alld feminism approach. is intended to analyse the Afro-American women's rejection of traditional values by focusing on the major character of' Walker's The Color Purple. Celie. as she develops from being a victim of traditional values to the rejoiceful discovery of her selfidentity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. e45888
Author(s):  
Cielo Griselda Festino

This article brings a reading of the short-story collection Monção [Monsoon] ( 2003) by the Goan writer Vimala Devi (1932-). The collection can be read as a short-story cycle, a group of stories related by locality, Goa, character, Goans, from all walks of life, and theme, in particular women´s milieu, among other literary categories. In her book, written from her self-imposed exile in Portugal, Devi recreates Goa, former Portuguese colony, in the 1950s, before its annexation to India. A member of the Catholic gentry, Devi portrays the four hundred years of conflictive intimacy between Catholics and Hindus. Our main argument is that Devi´s empathy for her culture becomes even more explicit in Monção when her voice becomes one with that of all her women characters. Though they might be at odds, due to differences of caste, class and religion, Devi makes a point of showing that they are all part of the same cultural identity constantly remade through their own acts of refusal and recognition. This discussion will be framed in terms of Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson’s theory of autobiography (2001) as well as the studies on Goan women by the Goan critics Propércia Correia Afonso (1928-1931), Maria Aurora Couto (2005) and Fátima da Silva Gracias (2007).


Literator ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Murray

This article offers a feminist literary analysis of selected contemporary South African texts by women writers in order to explore how they represent female characters’ engagement with conventional understandings of time and its chronological and linear progression. These engagements are represented as being particularly fraught for women characters as they find themselves constrained by various temporally located constructions of femininity even as they attempt to heed the temporally dislocated voices of gendered trauma that consistently speak through their bodies. In this article, my focus will be on Bridget Pitt’s novel, Notes from the Lost Property Department (2015), Elleke Boehmer’s The Shouting in the Dark (2015) and Mohale Mashigo’s The Yearning (2016). Despite frequent references to the importance of temporality in making sense of the experiences of the female protagonists, there has been a dearth of scholarly attention to the complexities of the intersections between gender, time and trauma in contemporary South African fiction by women. While gender violence and trauma are topics that have received extensive critical scrutiny in South African literary studies, this article demonstrates that the inclusion of temporality in the analytical framework enables a richer and more nuanced reading of the experiences of the female characters in the selected texts.


Text Matters ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 135-144
Author(s):  
Monika Rogalińska

Women characters in Muriel Spark's novels are diverse, some strong and powerful, some weak and unable to make decisions. And there are characters who develop throughout the novel and learn from their own mistakes. From being passive, they gradually start acting and making their own choices. Loitering with Intent and The Public Image present women characters who go through metamorphosis, from being dependent on others into living their own lives and freeing themselves from former influences. Such kaleidoscopic change enables them not only to be able to finally make their own decisions but also to overcome many difficult situations threatening their future life. Fleur Talbot, a heroine in Loitering with Intent, finds herself at a point in which she thinks that everything she cares for is lost. Chronically passive and naïve, she cannot imagine another way of being until she understands that she is being cheated, that her life will be ruined if she does not act. Everyone around her seems to be in conspiracy against her; only taking a firm stand and opposing her surrounding world can help. Fleur's life has become totally dependent on her ability to be strong and decisive. She knows that if she remains what she is, her career and prospects for the future will be lost, so she decides to prove her determination and her will to be finally happy. Her transformation into a powerful character saves her dignity and makes her a successful writer. Annabel, a character in The Public Image is the same type of person as Fleur, as she lacks self-confidence and has no support from anybody, even her own husband. Muriel Spark, however, presents her as another example of a heroine who develops as the action progresses, able to evoke strength in herself when her situation seems hopeless. Annabel, at first treated as a puppet in the hands of other people, who use her image for their own benefit, shows that she is capable of anything by the book's end. When her career and reputation are threatened and her privacy invaded, she decides to leave the country. This requires both effort and sacrifice, as she has to leave behind everything she has worked for all her life, but this is the necessary price for her freedom. The ability of both female characters to show so much determination reveals an inherent inner strength, and their weakness and vulnerability as just superficial. When the situation requires it, both Annabel and Fleur are ready to fight for their rights, for their freedom and self esteem, and they discover that they are indeed capable of changing their lives.


Author(s):  
Rajneesh Kumar ◽  

Identity crisis is one of the most dominating thematic concerns in the novels of Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai. Sucked into the vortex of ascribed and achieved identities, the characters portrayed by these two authors struggle to create their personal identity and individuality. Roy has dwelt on the idea of identity on several platforms, be it on the page or stage. She has an in-depth understanding of individual and collective identities. On the other hand, Desai focuses on multiculturalism and dislocation in families that pose athreat to one’s social, civic and cultural identity. Her works offer some fresh insights into diaspora identity. This paper critically examines identity crisis suffered by the women protagonists in the novels of Roy andDesai within the comparative literature study framework by focusing on the method of thematology. Roy mulls over the significance of women in families and society. There is no dispute regarding their inevitable role, but their status is definitely a matter of debate. In her debut novel, Roy speaks freely about the concerns of women, but the issue of identity crisis outdoes in her second novel due to the polyphonic sounds of her women characters. Desai, to the contrary, presents an idealistic picture of Indian women. This paper delineates that Roy and Desai unearths various dimensions of womanhood in general and wifehood in particular. Both Roy and Desai deal with the issue of identity against the socio-cultural backdrop of India. They depict a panoramic view of identity crisis faced by women.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. 140-152
Author(s):  
Dr.K. Jaya ◽  

Amitav Ghosh is one of the most popular novelists of the period, with an amazing intelligence of place, history and politics. Ghosh has joined the ranks of notable novelists such as Monohar Malgonkar, Shashi Tharoor, Khushwant Singh, Salman Rushdie, Chaman Nahal, and others. In Ghosh’s novels, one may detect a feeling of historical realism. Ghosh’s writings are characterised by a strong desire for strong identifications and race relations. Amitav Ghosh recognises that society must be reformed from problems such as caste system, gender discrimination, ill-treatment of women, child marriages, poverty, exploitation, and demonic tradition, among others. Ghosh’s humanistic approach provides voice to the forgotten and lowly women characters in his works. He wants to free the entire world from the squabbles of caste, race, gender, religion, untouchability, and geographical dislocation that obstruct human development. It is also demonstrated how the sacrifices of marginalised and female characters have gone unnoticed in the pages of history. This paper examines the Cultural conflict and trauma of the protagonist in AmitavGhose’s The Glass Palace.


Author(s):  
Rucha Dharma ◽  
Subrat Guha

Indian mythology has been a subject of deep study and interest. Many people have reviewed and shared their thoughts regarding various mythological subjects. Various primary, secondary, male, female characters have been discussed on various platforms. But, there are many women characters who have not got justice regarding their lives and personality. A lot of them have been portrayed as negative and dark characters. The explanation behind their angst and revenge has been unknown or hidden. Kavita Kane in her works has tried to unravel the hidden personalities and various aspects of these characters. In this paper, the focus has been made on a very negatively approached woman character, Shurpankha, sister of Ravan, from the epic Ramayan. Was Shurpankha really hateful? What would have been the reasons behind her anguish and dark nature? Kavita Kane has made an effort to answer many such questions about Shurpankha, in her book ‘Lanka’s Princess’. Even being a princess, what might have been the reasons about her revenge taking acts, that caused war between Ram and Ravan.


ATAVISME ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-100
Author(s):  
Dara Windiyarti

Tulisan ini bertujuan mengungkap konflik batin tokoh-tokoh perempuan dalam novel Tempurung. Sumber data penelitian ini adalah novel Tempurung karya Oka Rusmini yang diterbitkan tahun 2010. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan teknik kepustakaan. Penelitian ini menggunakan teori psikoanalisis sosial Karen Horney. Metode yang digunakan dalam tulisan ini adalah metode deskriptif analisis dengan pendekatan psikoanalisis. Pembahasan ini menghasilkan hal-hal berikut. Pertama, adanya hubungan buruk orang tua-anak, dan keadaan budaya dan tradisi telah menciptakan berbagai peristiwa yang mendorong munculnya konflik batin tokoh-tokoh perempuan. Kedua, tindakan-tindakan yang dilakukan tokoh-tokoh perempuan untuk menanggulangi atau me- ngurangi konflik batinnya diekspresikan dalam tindakan balas dendam. Abstract: This paper aims to reveal the inner conflicts of women characters in the novel of Tempurung. The source data of this study is Tempurung, a novel of Oka Rusmini which was issued in 2010. The data was collected by librarian techniques. This study uses the theory of Karen Horney’s social psychoanalysis. The method used in this paper is descriptive analysis method with the approach of psychoanalysis. The discussion results in the following. First, the bad relationship of parent-child and the state of culture and tradition have created a variety of events that encourage the emergence of inner conflicts of the women characters. Second, the actions taken by the women characters to overcome or reduce their inner conflicts expressed in acts of revenge. Key Words: novel; female characters; inner conflict; social psychoanalysis


Author(s):  
Pushpanathan

This paper seeks to focus primarily on the psychological exploration of inner mind of Indian women in the novels written by an Indian writer in English. There is a need and relevance to dwell briefly on some of the novels of Anita Nair to study the aggressive nature of her women characters and their significance with a view to substantiating this issue. Physical behavior which is threatening or involves harm to someone or something or behaving in an angry and violent way towards another is one sort of aggression.


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