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Rebati: Women’s Education and Emancipation

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341 views2 pages

Rebati: Women’s Education and Emancipation

Uploaded by

Tista Paul
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Analysis
  • Introduction
  • Conclusion

REBATI – FAKIR MOHAN SENAPATI

1. How is “Rebati” a short story based on women education and emancipation? / How
does the story deal with questions of feminism and modernity?

INTRODUCTION
The eminent French feminist, Luis Irigaray had famously said, “The uniquely metaphysical
logic of dichotomous oppositions” has always dominated “philosophical thought: for
instance, Presence/Absence, Being/Nothingness, Truth/Error, Some/Other,
Identity/Difference, etc."

The same aptly applies for Oriya literary history that has turned a blind eye to gender issues.
It is exactly, at this junction, a reading and re-interpretation of a story like Fakir Mohan
Senapati’s “Rebati” gains importance to (re)construct the missing link in tracing the
continuity of the female literary tradition in Odia literature that has indisputably been one of
the predominant voices in modern Indian literature whether it be in its agrarian concerns
(Six Acres and a Third), or tribal life (Paraja) and so on.

ANALYSIS
A young graduate, Basudeva (fondly called ‘Basu’) had come to open a school in the village
where Rebati – the titular lead and her family stayed. Basudeva struck a friendship with
Rebati’s father Shyambandhu Mohanty and became a frequent visitor to their place. When
Shyambandhu learnt of a girls' school in Cuttack, he became so inspired that he requested
Basudev to teach Rebati regularly. Rebati expressed a feeling of exaltation when she
overheard the chance of her getting educated:

“I’m going to study. I’m going to learn to read.”

However, the attitude of Rebati’s grandmother towards the broaching of the issue of
Rebati’s education at the newly opened girls’ school in Cuttack was that of a vehement
protest:

“What good will it do to you? How does book-learning help a girl? It’s enough to
learn how to cook, bake, churn butter and decorate walls with rice-paste.”

Rebati was not a girl to submit to her grandmother’s suggestion. She started a revolutionary
attitude:

“You silly old fool [to her grandmother] …Father, I do want to study.”

The grandmother is a symbol of old world order and orthodoxy. She becomes the principal
impediment on the way of Rebati. Her superstitions create a ‘fence’ around Rebati, confining
her from the emancipating embraces of modernity knocking at the door through education.
The exploiter and the exploited, both being women does not dilute the severity of women
subjugation in the story. It sensitizes it. Rebati's act is ultimately an act of defiance against
the dominant patriarchy and the feudal ethos of the village community of Patapur, most of
whose members are indifferent and unsympathetic to Rebati and her parents.
For Rebati, images as icons are important as they help her to escape from her entrapment
and mediate with the outside world. Education becomes the primary means for
empowerment. Rebati began her studies on Sri Panchami Day and never failed to skip her
reading even for a day. She learnt alphabets and rhymes and everything that Basu taught
her.

When the cholera epidemic killed Shyambandhu and his wife, Basu fended for Rebati and
her grandmother, who blamed Rebati for the misfortunes that befell the family. Thus goes
the description:

“…the wretched girl was the root of all her misery and misfortune; her education
had caused it all – first her son died, then her daughter-in-law; the bullocks had
been sold off; the farm-hand had left; the cows had been taken back by the
zamindar; and now her eyes had gone bad. Rebati was the evil-eye, the hell-devil,
the ill-omen.”

She kept cursing her repeatedly, “Rebati! Rebi! You fire, you ashes!” Rebati’s grandmother
also blamed Basu for teaching Rebati because of which he was supposed to have attracted
the tragedy that befell him. Ultimately, even Rebati succumbs to a fever. The tale thus leads
to a progressive destruction of the family. The sense of psychic and physical isolation acts
backdrop to the refrain of the old woman:

"What is the remedy for self-created evil?"

And the narrator adds:

"You fell ill because you dared to acquire education. Surely it is no fault of mine.”

The end of the tale shows every one dead. The message becomes clear: Rebati was the
cause of it all. She invited a wholesale calamity because of her forbidden desire for
education. The cruel hand of Fate that acts as a nemesis for Rebati serves only as a
transparent facade, a narrative device with its ironical tour de force, central to Fakir
Mohan's ideological vision.

CONCLUSION

The story becomes even more important, on the pretext of 1871, the year when for the first
time a school was established for girls to get education. It is a story of subjugation and
exploitation, a targeted attempt towards denying an agency, or even the possibility of a
creation of a “third world woman intellectual”. It is also a story of a protagonist, who is
daring enough to become a torch-bearer for women emancipation and education, a
“gendered subaltern”, whose ‘can speak’ and inspire, the displaced figures to raise their
voices, in years to follow.

Common questions

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"Rebati" reveals that 19th-century Indian society harbored deep-seated resistance to women's education. The vehement opposition by Rebati’s grandmother illustrates the prevailing belief in confining women to domestic roles, fearing that education disrupts societal norms and brings calamity. This narrative underscores the need for a cultural shift to dismantle these regressive attitudes and embrace women's intellectual growth .

The personal tragedies in "Rebati," involving disease, death, and blame, are used as a microcosm to comment on broader social issues such as gender discrimination and resistance to modernization through education. The sequence of events following Rebati's pursuit of knowledge showcases the destructive power of social superstitions and prejudices, illustrating the deep-rooted fears society holds against challenging traditional norms .

Fakir Mohan Senapati employs irony in "Rebati" to critique societal norms by juxtaposing the potential liberation through education with the catastrophic consequences that befall the characters. While education is depicted as a pathway to empowerment, Rebati's pursuit of it is ironically blamed for the family's misfortunes, culminating in tragedy. This irony underscores the contradiction between progressive ideas and the regressive societal values that thwart them, reflecting Senapati's critique of the resistance against women’s emancipation .

"Rebati" juxtaposes fate and individual agency, depicting Rebati’s pursuit of education as an act of personal agency amidst societal expectations. However, the narrative suggests fate intervenes through successive tragedies blamed on her educational pursuits, painting a deterministic view that individual efforts to break away from social norms may be futile. This portrayal critiques cultural fatalism while highlighting the challenges faced by individuals seeking change .

In "Rebati," female solidarity is complicated by subjugation. While Rebati seeks empowerment through education, her grandmother actively subjugates her by blaming education for their misfortunes. This relationship highlights the complex nature of female solidarity where, instead of mutual support, traditional beliefs held by elder women can perpetuate the cycle of subjugation, rather than fostering unity against patriarchal norms .

"Rebati" addresses fatalism through the narrative structure where Rebati's desire for education is seen as the cause of her family's misfortune, leading to the eventual deaths of her parents and herself. The society's oppressive views, relayed through her grandmother's blame, reflect a fatalistic worldview where any deviation from tradition results in ruin. This narrative underlines the ironic belief that Rebati's education, meant for liberation, triggers her destruction, highlighting societal resistance to change .

Basudeva acts as a catalyst in Rebati’s educational journey, offering her access to the transformative power of education. By agreeing to teach her, he becomes a symbol of progressive change, challenging the prevailing gender norms and facilitating Rebati's initial steps towards self-empowerment, albeit within a social context fraught with traditional opposition .

Familial relationships severely impact Rebati’s educational aspirations. Her father's initial support contrasts with her grandmother's staunch opposition, reflecting the duality within family units regarding women's roles. While her father's encouragement fuels her ambition, the grandmother’s persistent blame and superstitions ultimately overwhelm Rebati, leading to familial destruction and regret, demonstrating the powerful influence of family dynamics on individual aspirations .

Rebati symbolizes modernity through her determination to pursue education, representing new ideas and progressivism against the backdrop of traditional values embodied by her grandmother. Her quest for learning stands as a challenge to the age-old customs that confine women to household roles, illustrating the tension between the forward-thinking aspirations of individuals and the conservative constraints of society .

Rebati challenges traditional views on women's education and emancipation by defying the societal norms represented by her grandmother, who believes that girl-children do not need education beyond household skills. Despite obstacles and familial opposition, Rebati insists on pursuing education, symbolizing a defiance against patriarchal and orthodox traditions. Her journey highlights the potential of education as a tool for empowerment, even though it ultimately leads to her being blamed for the misfortunes that befall her family .

REBATI – FAKIR MOHAN SENAPATI 1. How is “Rebati” a short story based on women education and emancipation? / How does the sto
For Rebati, images as icons are important as they help her to escape from her entrapment and mediate with the outside world.

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