Abstract
Societies present gender norms as “natural” to enforce an uneven power hierarchy. This “naturalness” often generates a desire within the gendered body to conform to their assigned identity within particular spaces. This chapter aims to explore gender identity and relations within the domestic space of home in South Asian context through an examination of Vijay Tendulkar's play Kamala, translated by Priya Adarkar. To this end, the study benefits from Nivedita Menon's Seeing Like a Feminist. More specifically, the chapter focuses on the characters Kamala, Kamalabai, and Sarita to analyze the protections offered to the “good” women but denied to the “bad/fallen” ones. It is hoped that the analysis highlights the different workings of gendered identity and roles within particular spatial settings.
TopBackground
The dichotomy between “good” and “fallen” women ensures the obedience and subservience of the good women. The good women are ascribed with the qualities of a traditional image of a woman within a patriarchal society wherein she respects and obeys the dominant male figures, such as father, brother, husband, son, etc., in her life. In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir (1997) describes “woman” as, “She is an idol, a servant… she is everything that he is not and that he longs for, his negation and his raison d’etre” (p. 175). Women are inherently assigned roles that are subservient to men. Any woman who steps out of the normative boundaries becomes a fallen woman. These fallen women are considered unchaste and deserving of all the ill will and hardships that come their way. Only good women are seen as worthy of the various protections offered to them as they fulfil the role of ensuring the superiority of the men in their lives. It is against the backdrop of these women that the traditionally “masculine” traits of men become visible and validated. It also allows the men to behave in self-serving ways with the fallen women with impunity.
The good woman, who is feminine and morally upright, becomes the ideal partner for the male figure. Desire is cultivated within women to achieve and maintain their roles as good women. The contrast in the treatment of the good women and the fallen women becomes the driving force in ensuring that the women embody the qualities of feminine and morally upright good women. These qualities are revered as the qualities of an ideal woman who is supportive of her family. In “Gender and Power,” Graciela Hierro and Ivan Marquez argue that all societies have two basic methods of structuring male-female relationships. They state that it is either a “…pattern of domination, in which a human hierarchy is maintained by force or with the threat of force, or in a model of participation of both genders, based on mutual consensus” (Hierro & Marquez, 1994, pp. 174-5). Both of these patterns are seen in the workings of a patriarchal society. The desire to imbibe the “feminine” qualities into oneself is cultivated within women. This leads to them willingly attempting to conform, as they believe conformity is the only path towards happiness and acceptance under such a system.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Patriarchy: An unequal power structure that favours men over women. It protects its existence by ensuring that the assigned gendered roles maintain the unequal power structure.
Wife: The female who is married off to a man. She is given away by the previous head of the household, her father, or any other male relative in the absence of a father, to another man – her future husband, to be a part of his household.
Power Structure: The system that ensures the distribution of power to individuals. The difference in power between individuals ensures that one will remain under the other.
Fallen/Bad Woman: A morally and sexually unchaste woman.
Good Woman: A woman who follows the normative duties and behaviours assigned to her gender.
Husband: The head of the household. The one who holds ownership of his wife and children.
Family: A created unit within society. They traditionally belong to the males. The other members of the family are seen in relation to the man.
Gender: A socially created term assigned to individuals based on biological aspects such as specific genitalia.
Home Space: The space within the household that has traditionally been regarded as the place where women should remain. The ownership of the space is with the male head of the household.