3

WOMEN AS COMPLETE INTELLECTUAL BEINGS — SEARCH FOR

IDENTITY

“I exist as I am, that is enough

I f no other in the world be aware I sit content

And i f each and all be aware I sit content

One world is aware and by far the largest to me and that is

Myself

And whether I come to my own today or

In ten thousand or ten million years

I can cheerfully take it now or with Equal cheerfulness I can wait ” /

There has always been uncertainty as to where to place women in life and society.

She was sometimes defined as ‘devi’ or ‘apadevi’ by the male dominated society. The

woman was either the goddess o f heaven or the gateway to hell. It took long time and a lot

o f sacrifices to get out o f those extreme moulds- one exalted and the other degraded to

come round eventually to a position where she began getting an ordinary human status.

In determining the correct place for woman in life as well as in society, men always

vacillated in uncertainty. As a result, on one hand women were deprived o f all types of

freedom and on the other hand they were saddled with a ‘superhuman’ tag by men, women

were gateways to hell yet they are goddesses, epitomes of virtues, idealized concept of

virtues. It took long time and a lot o f sacrifices to get out o f those extreme moulds one

exalted and another degraded to come round eventually to a position where she began

betting an ordinary mortal's [Link] life of an average woman in a third world country

like India is a hard struggle in which she negotiates this thorny terrain. All around her are

forces, not merely of surveillance but of patriarchal rituals o f pleasures and desires that try

to keep her precariously poised on a razor’s edge.” 2

44
 Still wom an could not be considered simply as a sexual organism. W om an‘s

awareness o f herself is not defined exclusively by her sexuality, it reflects a situation that

depends upon the economic organization of society which in turn indicates what stage o f

technical evolution mankind has attained.

Till towards the end o f the eighteenth century, the women's role in the society was

limited to household chores, the raising o f children and looking after her husband and in­

laws. The m ale centric society did not bother at all for her intellectual and spiritual

development.

“The subjugation o f women was so complete that they did not consider themselves

human beings. They were destined to play a passive role.” This comes out sharply in the

early autobiographies. Again and again they refer to them selves as ‘m eyem anush’ not

‘m anushh It seems, they were embarrassed even about their own existence. There only

duty was to efface them as thoroughly and completely as they could............ They lacked

the sense o f self; they basked in the glory o f their husbands.” They also accepted their

subjugation as natural they did not want deliverance.” 3

But the nineteenth century changed it all. Despite the divergent views on the nature

o f Bengal Renaissances, the spread o f education in Bengal brought in unprecedented

changes in the sphere o f social life. Free from the baggage o f age old prejudices and

heavily fed on reformist id ea s, the generation next began to discover women in a new

form.

In the m eantim e, winds o f change began to blow in the realm in o f social life.

Reformers like Vidyasagar, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Dwarakanath Tagore, Prasanna Kumar

Tagore etc. rebuilt a new social system based on an intermingled East-West influence a

social system where women were not slaves to men, but were complimentary to them.

“The saga o f Bengal Renaissance in the first half o f the nineteenth century is closely

interwoven with the thinking and the activities o f a group o f young intellectuals who waged
45
a revolt against tradition, an attitude o f conformity in the society.” 4.

“The Bengal Renaissance is a vital com ponent o f B engal’s self image for a century

or m ore has been variously interpreted as the search for identity in the m odem w orld,

nation building, and linguistic modernization, the flowering o f the Bengal literary genius, the

socio religious purification o f Hinduism and the finest hour o f creative achievem ent by the

‘bhadralok’.” 5

“R ationalism , cosm opolitanism and dynam ic classicism w ere th e three key

intellectual values transm itted by B ritish O rientalists to the B engali intelligentsia while

functioning as w indow s to the west. These characteristic com ponents derived from the

A ge o f Enlightenm ent in Europe were universal rather than parochial in tenor.” 6

“Fem ale education received a considerable im petus from the renaissance spirit

which perm eated Indian life during the nineteenth century. Further the efforts o f som e high

thinking and philanthropic In d ian s... and the enterprises o f sam e C hristian m issionaries

contributed to its spread during a period o f indifference on the part o f company government." 7

R aja R am m ohan R oy the spiritual father o f Indian R enaissance advocated their

right to education.

“ ■'tFRsr R rfhr f w <?r«n st«m at ^ u t t fa tm "*n#t asrSfast' caz?rra

arasm « fontam 'srrfcf aiftaift wi istacaa

i i®rai a t f t p i t caw a w ft i a m ira ft®r ai, ,®k i a w a rs a tfw

aw fcw m i atfatm tfe iw arawm a RwsronsRt aw (srat a ra a r 8

“arawm am # ^snfea <mam !©fam few uw c^i*t sa afenr® fta ansa a acw i” 9

In the w est, the first im portant book T h e S ubjugation o f w o m en ’, w ritten for

women, was brought out in 1869 by John Stuart Mill. Raja R am m ohan Roy and Vidyasagar

w ere tw o proponents o f w o m en ’s liberty in India. T heir contribution as reform ists w as

unparalled. T hey did not stop at writing b o o k s, they m aterialized their dream by helping

enacting laws. Their names will be written in golden letters in the histoiy o f wom en’s liberation.
46
 The women’s liberation movement, the spread o f female education, the introduction

o f widow remarriage , all these revolutionary events slowly paved they way for the

development of their intellect and search for their much sough after identity.

Vidyasagar dedicated his life towards the welfare o f women out o f unbounded

sympathy for their pitiable positions. He realized that education is the primary need to seek

individual freedom. The Missionaries established the Female Juvenile Society to educate

Indian females. Educated English women took initiative to spread education but they did

not get adequate support from the masses initially. N evertheless, the foundation of the

Hindu Valika Vidyalaya in May 1849 marked a turning point in the history o f female

education. Anew'edition o f ‘Strir Sikshavishayak’ was published under Bethune’s guidance.

In the inaugural speech o f Calcutta Female School, Bethune said— “I believe that you,

having felt in your own person that elevating influence o f a good education, would before

long begin to feel the want o f a companion, the cultivation o f whose taste and intellect

m ight correspond in the same degree to your own, that you would gradually begin to

understand how infinitely the happiness o f domestic life maybe enhanced by the charm

which can be thrown over it by the graceful virtues and elegant accomplishment o f well

educated women.” 10

“But their efforts produced brilliant results. An intense spirit of reformation influenced

many Bengali m inds they have discovered that women like them are made o f flesh and

blood is governed by similar emotions. Accordingly they find it no breach o f morality or

religion to dispel from their minds the gloom o f ignorance.” 11

More over intellectual teachers like Derogio sowed the seeds o f free intellect in

minds o f the young Bengalites. Due to familiarization with the western literature, the 'Young

Bengal' dreamt o f a free world where women would not merely be the bed partners but be

the life partners o f their husbands. Derogioans like Michael M adhusudan Datta became

worshippers ofindividualism and humanism. Free from the mendacity o f routine daily life.
47
these neo-romantics started voyage o f imagination in the lands o f dream , where women

became the subjects o f male romanticism. The search for personality then began in women,

thereby heralding the advent o f modernity.

“Hindu college in its uncompromising modernity became the controlling force o f

the new movement and its record thus possesses a peculiar interest and importance in the

early history o f western education in Bengal. Its failures and success being equally instructive

.... Young Bengal wanted to see the world from a new angle; this attitude was prompted

not by the spirit o f iconoclasm, but by their impatience with the false notion, absurd practices

and conventional restrains, from which they strove to free themselves even at the cost of

alienation from the deep rooted nation sentiments and traditions.” 12

Young mind inspired by the western artists and poets searched emotional as well

as intellectual inspiration from woman. They nourished a desire in their hearts.... That of

getting ‘M ananer M adha’ (Intellectual Succor) from women. They wanted intellectual

partners in them.

“In this way, however, blundering the way might have b e e n . mediaeval Bengal

was being transformed into modem Bengal.” 13

The Brahmos initiated the crusade for social reform. Effective support for the

movement came from the enlightened Hindus.

A long w ith reform ers like Raja Ram M ohan Roy were Kesava Chandra Sen,

Dwarkanath Ganguli, Anandamohan Bose, Pandit Sivnath Shastri etc. who worked with

profound zeal for the growth o f female education.

Thus 19!hcentury heralded new promises for women.

At the centrestage o f the social reform movement o f the nineteenth century, lay

the important issue o f granting women the basic human rights and independence and putting

brakes on the prevalent trend o f their ‘commodification’ . This w ay, ‘renaissance’ came to

be termed and how rightly!

48
 m f e s r ^fSp*r * r ® w s w s ? ^srarcsrar w w c w tra ^m o? «ra ^ s ^ ? *it

^rrlta5 :?i<ra w rf% 31 w r r c«fw sinf^s ,®#?isim gr1%&T w?tw 'S "sra "8«g

"Ups’'9M3 3 l^> fb (Tf^H '»ll(.'1fl®1*l I ^f% <£% ifl<pfi> C^CS "^p ^J T 1 'ilO5) 'S vst®,*ft*f

^an«fi” 14

The nineteenth century reform movements were the first organized all India response

to the challenges posed by the colonial ru le .... “There was a great deal o f questioning in

the existing status o f women in the Indian society. The questioning in turn was generated by

two concurrent but diverse streams o f thoughts. One known as Revivalism objected that

the existing status o f woman was not in keeping with the very ancient tradition, which was

far more liberal. This group spoke o f a Utopian past and desired a return to it. For these
I

revivalists, emancipation o f women was a gift given by their male counterparts, they wanted

women to be submissive and g en tle, full o f traditional qualities. But the second group

known as the Reform ers was against this passive and fatalistic view. They were vocal

against the subordinate position o f women. “Impressed by the humanism and application

o f rational thought in the European philosophy o f the eighteenth and the nineteenth century,

they were greatly interested in the speculations o f European intellectuals on society and

social patterns and the works o f Mill and Bentham were greatly favoured by this group.”15

Calcutta university too granted women the right to appear in the examination. But

initially, only Christian and ‘Brahmo’ women availed o f the opportunity. Other than the

upper caste Hindus and Christians, no one could get admission in the famed Bethun college

including a Muslim. Once the doors for education were opened, women like Chandramukhi

Basu and Kadam bini Basu passed the B.A. examination in 1883. Within the next ten

y ears, twelve more women such as Priyatama D u tta, Kumudini K hastagir, Suprabha

G u p ta , Lila S in g h a, Sarala G h o sh al, Sharat C hakraborty. Jeebanbala D u tta , Indira

Tagore, Priyambada Bagchi got through that examination. In the above-referred period,

Chandramukhi Basu and Nirmalbala Shome also passed the M.A. examination. Nirmala
49
Shome passed in two subjects, while Bidhumukhi Basu and Violet Mary M itra passed

M.B. examination. This is how female education took roots in Bengal.

sb-vs am crow *ffNn c*sm fhm 3w o t 1 (St

s m f i w 3 m (33? ^ § r a i wm ^ s m -m jm P i i # 5 3 5 # f l 5^ <33? ^ p r C3s p ft®!

^ st »!#<re % n *tn a w ## to 3 weft ^pr 3t'S3Ht -33

W W ! S b -b « W , P S ^ t 3^ (33? 3 ^ 1 # # 3 ^ f 3 (3 “3 m 3*313 I ?3T3 - 3 3 3 # W 3 W 3 3W T

<m£i31 c*r , fsw3! w , 3ra%, ^ersi -®<s, #®n fa?5, w t cwrfi, ssr # ,

#333M tp®, ^Pwt ^Tf3, faw n 3!-# oti5 s* ft(3 nr*t 3*bft1 w w m a*® &®wft 3 ^

(33° ftsfm w t O T3 (33(3 *ft*t W I pTSpm O T3 at*! 3*313 f333J I 3 ^ (33? « ! W ®

C^lft -3H 3*3R (3^3 I (3«I3ft ftfWT3 5J531 (33? f33W 3tSi%?rT \" 16

“The growth of national consciousness in modem India is but one aspect o f general

renaissance which has stirred the Indian soul to its depths and has produced remarkable

changes also in other spheres o f life .. .Under the influence o f the general awakening o f the

country. A spirit of reform has now permeated various classes o f Indian society". 17

“The most striking change in Indian social life o f today is in the position o f woman.

Women are not only coming out o f their *Puradah' and receiving education but also taking

active interest in social and political matters and are claiming their rights as citizens......the

growth o f political consciousness among woman is strikingly illustrated by the success of

the w om en’s suffrage m ovem ent since the day when the historic All India W omen’s

Deputation waited upon Mr. M ontager in M adras on 18"’ D ecem ber 1917 .M [Link]

Besant, Mrs. Sorojini Naidu and Mrs. Herabai Tata gave evidence before the Joint Select

Committee on the Governm ent o f India Bill ,1919, in support o f the extension o f the

franchise to Indian women. Representatives o f Indian womanhood took part in the round

table conference in London.” 18

“Reform-minded Indian men were interested in developing a progressive society.

If women were educated, Indian society could no longer be characterized as decadant

50
and backward. On personal level, these men yearned for the companionship and support;

an educated woman could give them as they advanced professionally........ On the national

level, they envisioned women in charge of social reform while men pursued politics.” 19

In 1863, Umesh Chandra Gupta, an enthusiastic youth from the ‘Brahma Samaj"

brought out the female journal by the name o f ‘Bamabodhini’. Thisjoumal would publish

various educative articles meant for the advancement o f women o f the day as also their

news. More importantly, the journal used to contain the writings o f women, like poems,

letters etc. In that journal the stress was on the term ‘Women’s liberation' from the very

beigining.

“ fctr'b'O ’ TltPf dM ’Wt'SiS (W'SH 'W ’f ’©W'fE’Sf ■Q’S PRSMS SH5 ■'ifiw! gRSH

’TORI CTCRfRT stRt W O T I W l f W M 0 S # i\5 S^5I I 0OTW3

*iws i sera era's m scsi, ,si wcsiw Pr s w c®mi ssfwt,

aw <£ic^ ot ctfsi c«r?f w s ssm i” 20

“ W g r o % ttsr w r r a f w w r w r a 's r r r m P m t

ta^iw % r Sfe*t ^ (R w a srrr, snft afeffe ^ sr vsa?

ns suit sgfwra iffra R ts a tfw tope w i r c # ^ s m if w w n s ■stosf *n fW t

*im swrfes >toic? i wotiWI t e t $fe?mr 21

The women who wrote in ‘BamSbodhini’ either in their own names or in pseudo­

names mostly hailed from ordinary middle class families. Those who were comparatively

newly educated or had started their writing recently , had their works published in

‘Bainarachana’. They wrote about common, literate w om en, their inner feelings. They

not only expressed their own jo y s, ecstacies, pains, misgivings and doubts, but also held

forth on what the malefolk thought, in those writings.

As historical evaluation, ‘Bamabodhini’ is the contender for the top position from amongst

all the contemporary journals. On one hand it carried the opinions o f the nationalist and

prejudices o f the nineteenth century nationalist leaders and on the other hand, it contained
51
articles evaluating women and their positions in society and family. In doing so ,

‘Bamabodhini’ really left impressions on the minds o f the readers and in a w ay , created

history.

The famous Tagore family was exemplary in the field o f female education and

liberation as was evidenced by the active interest taken by Satyendra Nath Tagore,

JyotirindraNath Tagore and other members of the family in tills regard. They even encouraged

their wives to come out o f the closet to taste the new light o f education and spirit of

freedom.

“sjfir ^ 5^ siftprr <?ph

5^ 1 <£w oths ®r^?rr « w s? 1 'gftr 3 OT§t% <?jw ^ 1% vsrsi osm

fic«fs ,fiRi<iirafi staRfo <t>Rico arat »n1” 22

Had he been asked how he would mould the society according to his choice, his

(Satyendra N ath’s) answ er would have been that the society was m ade up o f each and

every one and that if any one felt for women’s education, he could start with his own family.

Saradfadevi Choudhurani, a Bengali woman from the famous Tagore family is an

excellent example o f the new woman. Her mother Swamakumari Devi was also a novelist

and editor o f a wom en’s journal.

“By straining for new lives these ‘new women' learned where the boundaries were and just

how far they could go. But this was a dynamic process, women were becoming educated

and then becom ing educators .... The boundaries o f the early 19th century had been

stretched considerably by the early twentieth century. What was deviant behavior for one

generation was acceptable behavior for the next. But the early years o f 20lhcentury Indian

women were full participants in the redefinition o f their futures.” 23

Hum anitarian authors like M adhusudan Datta, Bankim Chandra Chatterjee,

Rabindranath Tagore, Saratchandra Chatterjee portrayed their wom en characters with

sympathy and affection. Through their writings they brought to the fo re, the normal life
52
p ro c e ss o f w o m an a s w ell a s their inner aesth etic sen sib ilities.

“■sjjpjiR, *T3«.b0irS ^Tlt^oss C5! ^ (7I,*R=:-'¥f?R‘ CyNTiFlf’Pf WfS

Htfft <awta #<rcspis cro 501 ^if%rcff% ^tr® i owra iaife*ra cOTt® sffe®

OTsn'S OTsfi'8 24

M a d h u su d a n se a rc h e d in h is h e ro in es both o f ‘ M e g h n a d B a d h ’ an d ‘ B ira n g a n a

K a b y a ’ en lig h ten ed p artn e rs, so m e o f th em are r e b e ls ( P ra m ila , J a n a an d C h itran g ad a).

T h ey d az zled w ith their rational feelin g an d sensitivity. T ago re g a v e an e x p licit definition o f

the true an d en d u rin g b a s is o f m an w o m an relatio n sh ip in h is d a n c e d ra m a ‘ C itrangadH ’

“ ■pjsff 3Tj3tC3 5JM1, OT*S

•tt,
fro , ct « 5# 1 *netf tnwi
w lw 7T\^s{.S'S ■'’iW, fbtsl-a

tfi'e, ^ 'spp% -<ph

TfPt CTIiS ^
^wiii 'ow ■s’lfibji 1” 25

I f y o u r tim e o f n eed

H a v e m e b e sid e y o u ,

I f you

L e t m e sh are y o u r w o rrie s

O r a llo w m e to

H elp y o u th rou gh y o u r o r d e a l,

You w ill then

D isc o v e r m e . ..

“ T h is is the q u in tessen ce o f the n ew fe m in ist m o v em en t w h ich w a s th u s heralded

b y T a g o re . T h e s e w o r d s in sp ir e d th e y o u n g , e d u c a te d la d ie s o f In d ia in th e T w en tieth

C en tu iy .” 2 6

53
 The wom en characters in these stalwarts’ novels overcame all humiliation and

subjugation to emerge the embodiment of love and compassion. They truly dazzled in their

inner beauty. In their quest for self-determination, they never forsook their basic personality,

sensitivity and o f course their respect for values. Madhusudhan portrayed his heroines as

enlightened partners in both ‘Meghnadbadh’ and ‘Birangana Kabya’. Some o f them, such

as Pramila, Ja n a , Chitrangada were even rebels. All these women were bright with their

rational feelings and sensitive minds. Women became the main force in the literature of that

era.

Female education, widow remarriage, freedom o f movement, the narrowing down

o f the difference between male and female etc have brought into the fore new forces in

literature. With a keen sense o f their own emancipation, women in the literature o f the

nineteenth century became real women o f flesh and blood. Thus the woman became the

central force behind the art and literature o f the age.

“ 3t t*w i, •'Btpt R u i 3 's n i R est , R u t, c tew w " 'flb r r s ts fa 1

Fra- -Jr# pntpra t£w ^p«rra, ■siwFFBr 3t$r

w p feras i gf*i% « €1^51 f e isct n tfesi

<3* irat 6*®*i ip ro i@ f e lt am ■mw “fsrr

“The Industrial Revolution dealt a fatal blow to feudalism in the upheaval which

followed many new social factors raised their heads. Side by sid e, democratic revolutions

such as the French Revolution initiated a new ideology and a new philosophy o f life. Those

whom tradition and religion had long oppressed, saw a ray o f hope in the new message

and slowly the dum b grew articulate and soon the inert m ass became convulsed into a

mighty tidal wave that nearly shook the western world from end to end. Equality, human

rights, new slogans filled the air. The long suppressed women found new champions to

encourage and lead them and thus arose the feminist movement.” 28
54
 Now let us turn our attention western feminist movement:

“Since patriarchal times women have in general been forced to occupy a secondary

place in the world in relation to men— a position comparable in many respects with that

vast minorities inspite o f the fact that women constitute numerically at least half o f the

human race and for that this secondary position is not imposed o f necessity, by natural

feminine characteristics but rather by strong environmental forces o f educational and social

tradition under the purposeful control of m en... .this resulted in the general failure o f women

to take place o f human dignity as free and independent existents. associated with men on

plane o f intellectual and professional equality, a condition that not only has limited her

achievements in many fields but also has given rise to pervasive social evils” 29

“One is not bom woman but rather becomes one” 30

The feminist writer, Toril Mori rightly said, if feminist criticism is characterized by its

political commitment to the stmggle against all forms o f patriarchy and sexism, it follows

that the very fact o f being female does not necessarily guarantee a feminist approach.

Any study on women is imperfect without touching feminist theories. It is veiy difficult

to record a systematic history o f the development o f feminist political theories for many

writers and their ideas have disappeared from history. The development o f feminist thought

has not only been uneven, it has also involved deep theoretical disagreements. These partly

reflect the varied needs and perceptions of women in different societies and situations.

Concern for women’s rights dates from the Enlightenment when the liberal egalitarian

movement began, it extended from the bourgeoisie, peasants and urban labourers to women

as well. Ideas concerning women’s rights were fully set forth in Maiy Woi Istone Crafts ‘A

Vindication o f rights o f wom en’. Published in England in 1792, this book challenged the

idea that wom en exist only to please men and proposed that wom en receive the same

opportunities as men in education, work and politics.

For Mary Wollstone Craft and those of her contemporaries who were concerned
55
with the status o f wom en, w om en’s rights were seen in the context o f human rights in

general. Men and Women alike must be involved in revolution.

“The ideals o f liberty and equality were thought to apply to both men and women if

fraternity made all men, brothers, then men must recognize that they had sisters as well.

Socialism and feminism were at the beginning o f the nineteenth century, inextricably linked

and Mary Wollstone Craft was a pioneer o f such joint ideals. The practical attempts at

communal living, the visions o f anew society were labour and power were evenly distributed,

all those social experiments which came after the ‘vindication’ had as their common theme,

the prospect o f all human beings living in friendly equality.” 31

Her crusade for an enabling education for women thus means not ju st class room

education but the broader notion o f social conditioning.

“In the nineteenth century, however, the awareness o f w om en’s need for equality

with men crystallised in the movement to obtain women's struggle. A milestone in the rise

of m odem feminism was Simone De Beauvoir's book ‘The second sex’ that raised the

feminist consciousness by appealing to the idea that liberation for women was liberation

for men too. A nother m ajor work was ‘The Feminine M ystique’ published in 1963 by

Betty Frieden— an American. She attacked decading domesticity— the condition o f women

to accept passive values and depend on male dominance.” 32

Beauvoir in her book protested against the otherness o f wom en’s identity.

“Humanity is male and man defines woman not in herself but as relative to him, she

is not regarded as an autonomous being...... (Woman) is simply what man decrees; thus

she is called ‘ the sex’ by which is meant that she appeals essentially to the male as sexual

being.... She is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference

to her, she is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He i s .. ..the Absolute

- she is the other.” 33

Sunil him self said that he supports feminism as an ideology, as (Feminist ideology)
56
“opposes commercialism, nuclear proliferation, increasing militarization and violence at the

domestic and state level it stands by the wretched o f the earth by supporting all struggles

for social legal and economic justice.” 34

M ore broadly, the growing feminist movem ent sought to change the prevailing

stereotypes of women as relatively weak, passive and dependent individuals who are less

rational and more emotional than men... Feminism sought to achieve greater freedom for

women to work and to remain economically and psychologically independent o f men if

they chose. Fem inists criticised society’s prevailing emphasis on women as objects o f

sexual desire and to broaden both wom en’s self-awareness and their opportunities to the

point o f equality with men. As one feminist activist once w rote, which is also applicable to

Sunil’s heroines:

“Has my role gone contrary to take private... .female nature? Why should my face

project serenity alone? Why not ecstasy, fear failure, anger achievement - emotions that

inhabit the spaces I live in? Do 1have to play the goddess or be a woman with a name?” 35

“Feminism does not believe in replacing male chauvinism with the female brand.

But it certainly believes in the women’s right to reach for half the sky because therein was

the basic truth o f the relationship which is essential for the survival o f the world.” 36

In the wake o f the first world w ar, the complexities o f a deteriorating society got to

the ‘Kollolites’ ( the writers representing the ‘KolloF group) and as a result they developed

a negative attitude o f life which was at variance with what Tagore and Sarat Chandra

wrote. In a w a y , their whole m ovem ent started with opposing everything that Tagore

stood for.

Post-second world war, all round anarchy made its presence felt with degeneration

becoming all-pervading. Life then was a non-existent soul, devoid o f any sense — one that

has no place for love and the beloved. That time around, the male and female characters of

literature lost their speciality, their larger than life appeal having given way to a diminishing
57
existence. Even literature was assailed by this sense o f gloom and negativity which had its

genesis in a feeling o f insecurity about life. But on the positive side, this degeneration gave

rise to a new dim ension in literature. The monopoly that the hither-to glorified female

characters had enjoyed in literature was now broken by the deluge o f characters from the

new era who epitom ized struggle and resistance o f the changed world and whose life

seesaw with virtue and sin, happiness and sorrow.

The female characters [Link] thus acquired a special place, travel as

it did with all these ups and downs. It is in this context that I have taken the female characters

o f, easily am ongst one o f the best amongst the present-day Bengalee novelists, as my

subject o f research.

But the history o f post colonial period shows that as the m an’s world has been

subjected to varying pressures, changes and developments, the pressures have also reformed

the image o f women.

The new ideological constructs have their roots in the oriental literature. At the same

time, the woman o f the modem Bengali literature is a citizen o f the world who is expressive

o f her own rights and positions in the society.

Gangopadhyay’s characters are full of variety, yet multi-dimensional. All ofthem are

original and are the reflections o f the author’s overall thoughts about [Link] first thing

that struck me after studying his female characters is that they all have their intellectual

existence. The woman, to him, is a complete intellectual being. Life’s multi-hued experiences

and a voracious reading habit have enriched the w riter’s mind. He has definitely been

influenced by the wom an’s movement in the western world. In that respect his women are

definitely conscious o f their rights o f existence.

In his short story ‘Pratham Manabi’ published in ‘Desh’, we find Sunil’s vision about

women’s intellectual power. He questions through the mouth o f Lilith the first companion

o f Adam who asked equal rights from Adam to enjoy a life o f pleasure like him. When
58
Adam said that God desired man and woman to be different from each other and thus

intentionally m ade woman a weaker s e x , Lilith answered b a c k , “Does this reference

apply to our hearts and brains?” To put in other words, is a woman inferior to man in her

thought and imagination? Adam represents the age old patriarchy; Lilith was tortured and

discarded for her rebellious spirit. Adam found a better com panion in Eve who had no

identity crisis and had surrendered herself completely to Adam ’s wishes.

“^>nw<! W \51 « f t C?# ft (reraR COT W

CT <JS 'G3T '3J-OTT WRRt 'SJvs^T « SW•?!, 'at ;5Ttfsi'S <II1 M CT '3fRT3
w i” 37

In this story o f the ‘Pratham Manabi’ or ‘The first wom an’, Sunil depicts the ciy o f

a woman o f intellect that has been going on from times immemorial

“No, no........no one can get me against my will.”

All o f them have their mental world, where they are their own, are not only more

equal than their male counterparts, but are much more sensitive.

His prim e female characters are not simplistic dolls. They are not dependent on

others like parasites, but are like seif-growing trees that are firmly rooted to the ground.

The depth o f their understanding has made them exceptional or unconventional. They do

not stop at raising voice against the prevailing societal practices but follow it up by leading

a different life style in every which way. In this process, they bring to the fore many hidden

truths o f life—the truths which have not been uttered or heard before in Bengalee literature.

Philosopher Descdhte wrote: “I think therefore I exist.”

Every individual is an independent entity. Some o f Gangopadhyay’s characters are

so original in their fundamental thinking and philosophy that they can be called social

iconoclasts or even anti-traditionalists. But they all are in possession o f a mind that can

think transparently.

One can not say how history will evaluate Gangopadhyay for his contribution in the
59
field o f women’s liberation. But lack o f clarity is one tiling his writings can never be faulted

for. The journey that a woman takes to progress from a mere woman to a human being is

quite evident in most o f his writings. He has very dispassionately shown that women have

also had the capacity to search for truths, to introspect and above all come face to face

with existential questions.

There are women — not the docile, self-denying types— who are so moulded as to

be resplendent in the dazzle o f their own personality, who strive to attain their rights through

their own efforts and capacity without submitting to the almighty for the improvement o f

their lot. Gangopadhyay always empathized with such women. In the heart o f his heart, he

approved o f human rights for women, a healthy existence for them in the society. For this

show o f empathy, he did not want to take any credit. That he is very m odem and impartial

in his approach can be gauged from the fact that he never wanted to confer any godhood

on them. He wanted to judge women by the same yardstick o f good and evil, right and

wrong like men. But the priest o f beauty that he is, his mind was not free from romanticism.

That is why he could not afford to be rude while portraying his fem ale characters. He

searched eternal hum an qualities in women. The researcher asked him why his female

characters are so short on vice. His brief answer was— “I have not seen a bad woman in

my life.”

This does not mean that his women are burdened with the unnecessary baggage o f

morality and things like that. They are all human, at the same time, they do not lose their

natural womanly virtues in the whirlpool o f life’s complexities. In the face o f utmost pressures,

they trounce their desires with their innate goodness. But that ‘deliverance* has nothing to

do with spirituality; It is self-illuminating, not regardless ofbasic human desires. To materialize

their rights and dem ands, these women are even desperate, confident and self-reliant.

This self-reliance is the fruit o f their intellectual upliftment -th e very essence o f their self-

analytical existence. They did not deceive themselves like other normal Bengali women
60
do. They knew what they wanted and they were very conscious o f this.

His female characters are all very original, not stereotypes. But basically they are

all educated, modem and well-read. I have selected a few such characters for my discussions.

In the novel ‘A ijun’, the hero is Arjun, a meritorious boy whose family suddenly

found itself rootless after the partition. The novel is about his fight for finding a foothold in

this world against all odds. The presence o f Shukla, the novel’s heroine lent a new dimension

to the novel. Her free life-style, her unprejudiced mind, her aggressive yet undemonstrative

postures made her attractive. A science student, she at the same time does not fight shy of

reading Tagore. She read both the National Geographic journals and the works o f Manik

Bandopadhyay and Bibhuti Bhushan Mukhopadhyay with equal elan. She was equally at

ease while dancing with her male partners in clubs and cooking at a picnic party. She was

an unshackled soul; a free bird. She did not have any confusion about her existence.

Overly gleeful, her intellect and sensitivity made her broad-minded and gave her confidence

to mix with males, go with them to movies, clubs without her existence being threatened.

In spite o f her openness, she had no spot on her character. She could carry herself and

handle her responsibilities in a matured way. The realization o f true intellectual freedom

gave her a sense o f self-resistance. That is why, the concept o f freedom never narrowed

down to licentiousness in her case, even though she was too progressive for her generation.

The writer, through the mouth o f Aijun, commented:

cryns xstomst ( w l ? « t fe w e=Msr w a c^t if to i’ 38

‘This unconventional girl is never static, is very lively. In sum, terribly beautiful. Though

she always seem s to be out o f re a c h , still never fails to look nice. Can any one envy

Tajmahal only because his bed room is not as beautiful?’ Here Tajmahal’s white splendour

found comparision with Shukla’s transparent,graceful beauty that was enhanced by her

unstated yet strong personality.

61
 Like Shukla there is another individualistic character called Aparna o f the novel

‘Aranyer Din Ratri’. Gangopadhyay’s comments on the beautiful, educated and young

Aparna as —

'‘tsrf*! w < $ z sra, w fa ^<#1 wra w ^ i ” 39

This twenty one year old girl does not have any unnecessary girlish coyness. Her

stare is as crystal-clear as stream water. Her intellect rather than her physical charm fascinates

[Link] was m ore matured compared to the other girls o f her age. She had the natural

power o f seeing through m en’s mind, could distinguish between truth and falsehood. She

could warm up to a man, but did not allow herself to be an object o f lust before him. That

she was not weak was evident when she stopped an excited, desire-struck Ashim from

proceeding further— 1Not n o w , Ashim Babu”. She knew where to draw the line. Behind

her mild exterior lay a firm personality that placed her apart. She had no hesitation in

mixing up with the boys o f her age, but her reason always remained crystal-clear, unaffected

by emotions. She could play tennis with th e m , could go inside the woods in search o f

some unknown flowers in a moonlit night. But her freedom was never synonymous with

licentiousness. She always let her wisdom guide her. Her conscience and natural intelligence

gave her strength to keep all kinds o f cheap temptation at bay. She was not in the habit o f

showing off her intellect, though, basically she was a sensitive girl. Most importantly, her

intellect never came in the way o f her sim plicity, but rather it became the source o f her

spontaneity and transparency.

Another unconventional woman is Shakuntala, the first ‘N ark o f Gangopadhyay’s

‘Dui Nari’. By profession, a sculptor, she is a divorcee who follows a masculine life-style,

not hesitant in the least to invite her male friends to her residence. But her strong personality

prevents them from taking any undue advantage from her. The many bitter experiences she

underwent in her struggling, personal life did not make her weak, rather made her strong

and self-reliant. N ow she also learnt how to pay others in their own coin. Her addiction to
62
smoking and drinking , her life-style which is anything but bohem ian , may appear

unbelievable to the common readers. If they delve deep into her psyche, they will realize

that the hard realities of life have robbed her o f her natural, feminine tenderness, hardships

o f life have forced her to become cynical, tough and defiant. But the root o f her strong

personality was grounded in her artistic mind. The artist in her always had the urge to

transform the void o f her life to artistic freedom. This apparently haughty, self-reliant, very

much masculine, straight-forward lady does not fit our definition o f femininity. She lives her

own life, free from all social norms and bondage and in this straggle for existence; her sole

companion was none but her intellect, her confidence and her inborn artistic talent.

If Shakuntala appears to us intangible and unreal, then her more tangible and real

version is M andiraof‘Dhulibasan’. A brilliant student o f Political Science, M andira, during

her abroad-days fell in love with the British Youth leader Tom Brokoye. She married him

without her family’s consent, but very soon she realized that she had married the wrong

person. High ideals, noble principles which he once had advocated, were nothing but a

ladder to reach his selfish goal—— which was to acquire more power, wealth and social

status.

But the luxurious life abroad could not give her content and she soon understood the

hollowness o f her existence. She was only the mother o f Tom 's children, no more than

that. She lost the warmth o f her married life. Life became a drag to her— monotonous,

meaningless. In her m id-forties, she was left with no other alternative than to opt for a

different life. With that end in view she returned to India to look for her root so as to get

back her identity. She turned over a new page in her life, started living in a small village near

Sunderbuns, spreading the light o f consciousness to the simple villagers, who were so

long unaware o f the machinations o f the so-called greedy, powerful people. She registered

her protest against such forms o f oppression and thus got a new m eaning to her so far

stagnant life, though, she had to prove herself again and again in the face o f the deep-
63
rooted male chauvinism and unhealthy village politics. She was insulted, even raped. But

she never embraced defeat. She strove hard to let her intellectual self be alive. Against all

odds, she became successful to illuminate some o f the dark, ignorance-ridden minds.

She got many things in life, but still in the heart o f her heart she longed to get the true

worth o f her womanhood. The sincerity o f love which she did not get from her husband

was sought in the relationship with a much younger Javed. That was not her lust or wild

power, but recognition o f her self, o f an inner desire to love and be loved. Though she was

alive to the possibility o f Javed oneday leaving her for a younger woman, she knew that

today she was the only woman in his life. Her marriage to Javed was not about satisfying

carnal desires, but was a triumph o f both the lover and the wom an in her. This w a s , in a

way, was a big slap to her polygamous husband Tom.

Another exceptional woman is Prarthana o f ‘TcctrC. The author describes her a s —

“Very sharp-featured, has flashy legs, not an ordinary girl”.

sttflTM CBTPt fo$F5 ssnw, 4 WEST ^ I CTO®*? <jf§83 tiRS&f fog ^ 5 1

fop sto <?r, fog o^etts isfo>! ot w m i ” 40

Again the girl has something in her eyes which is not about p rid e , but somewhere

she has got some strength and she knows it. If one goes deep into the novel, one realizes

that the source o f that strength is her self-confidence. The wife o f a professor, she wanted

to be self-reliant herself and also wanted to make other women self-reliant through the

means o f independent businesses. And then she noticed the self-made, extremely strong-

minded business magnet Arindam. She felt attracted towards him and wanted help from

him — not sympathy. She was self-reliant, very intelligent, active and had oodles o f

personality. In order to reach her g o a l, she was ready to take any risk. Being not able to

tilt Arindam to her side, she did not hesitate to put fire in his factory. But still the good heart

that she was endowed with and her basic honesty did not fail to impress us. She wanted to

live life on her own terms. The failure that she ultimately embraced did not slide her to the

64
path o f self-pity and destruction. Rather it hardened her.

Mandira, Sakuntala, and Prarthana— all o f them strove to get a name o f their own,

asserting a separate identity -— which generations o f women had grown up negating.

Besides, the above, there are many more female characters o f Gangopadhay which

dazzle in their own brightness— Oli and Shreelekhaof‘PurbaPascim ’ , .Thilli o f ‘Prabasi

Pakhi’, Alice o f ‘Hriday Prabas’ , Raka o f ‘Raka’ and so on. I will not, perhaps, get time

to discuss all o f them in details. But I can not ignore them either, for that will leave the

chapter incomplete.

In ‘Ajo C am atkar’ , we see how hard the protagonist Deepa struggled to support

her two young brother-in-laws and infant son after her husband’s untimely d e a th , with

only a positive life-force as her capital. But here Sunil was not free from romanticism. He

did not give weightage to the complexities o f a society ridden with prejudices against

women and widowhood. His main focus was on Deepa’s striving for existential struggle.

Her struggle for survival w as, no way less to any male’s. She took the responsibility on her

slender shoulder, handled the situation admirably and fought the adversities with all her

mite and main.

Sunil was not concerned for mass, individual was his main interest. He had high

regard for individualism, “As philosophy, individualism involves a value system, where the

individual is an end in him and is o f supreme value... .society from this point o f view is seen

as only a collection o f individuals, each o f which is a self contained, self sufficient entity.”

41

Thus his heroines are more or less self directed, se lf contained and unrestrained

individuals.

Though he had given his women complete intellectual liberty but they lack intellectual

introspection, and inner life, worth peeping into. This romantic investigation o f self is very

rare to his women characters. They do not have self love (narcissism) or disgust (both the
65
feelings, the romantics are affected by).

Sometimes their intellect or individualism creates the situation o f mental alienation as

they are mentally far more advanced to their contemporaries, but that also does not strike

us, this alienation does not create any problem for them as it does in the case o f his male

protagonists. M aybe. a male wordsmith lacks the power to delve deep in a female's heart.
./»
Though Sunil talked about wom en’s rights and position, he did not project any light on

subjects like identity crisis but surprisingly this question o f identity crisis was the main

feature to build his male angry young man heroes around.

We do not see in them Faustian identity crisis —

“Despair, lust, superstition and the forces o f the unconscious, the love o f innocence,

the conviction o f sin, and crime, the horrors o f hypocrisy and conventional lif e , the

temptations o f wealth and power, the disgust with pedantry and established religion. and

yearning for infinite knowledge in the hopes o f attaining by it wisdom and peace.” 42

In short, they rarely go through any intellectual crisis. Therefore, we hardly have any

intellectual growth whatsoever in them. There is no turn or twist in their inner world, no self

contempt, no rediscovery. What they were at the beginning were also , surprisingly, almost

the same at the end. We, som etim es, find them mono-dimensional. The reason may be

that the romantic in Sunil did not take interest in projecting the complexities o f wom en’s

mind. His eyes were dazed by their outward beauty, smartness and intelligence, but he

could not search the wounds and pain in their inner selves. It is noteworthy that his lesser

women are more vibrant in livelier tinge. Not denying their intellectual qualities, Sunil’s

projection o f women is romantic and far-fetched.

I have m entioned in the beginning that the author's thoughts about women are

romantic. The demands he made from the woman’s soul with his first novel “Atma Prakasf;’’

, even after so many years’journey, are still continuing, even after so many years’journey.

66
 E5RT TSTPIT t fia fij 3° 5lS ' ( T T P f f t 'W , C W 'Q a i f N a M

T?TC*tret CWS*1W l ^ W m i i i l ,«H'3 C5TT«!” 43

‘In the magnificent sunrise o f Tiger Hill, I clearly saw a feminine beauty. I still, long

to see the dazzle of that beautiful sunrise in a woman.'

He is searching that unadulterated, eternal beauty which is above the societal mores,

determined by the men folks, which dazzles in self-expression, in its own brightness like

the morning sun.

Here are some important events that documented the various stages o f women’s

emancipation, both nationally and internationally.

National Events

S ir ib -: < S I*W I5 H a ^ S R *! f t w <3 S R s i f t w 5 ? f1

svs<5. arei# CTrawa f iw wcs^t^ t caraftfirir a«m a f e i

s fe w *¥$ c=#§¥ a#fi5 aar <w fafire aw aw cactw a€rii5 f if e aw

c a fe 511

sv8s>: arwra a f e f e arftfiaaa ^prn ca ana os? t fe ca^r awarera ^aa w n a w w Si

fern fa, aca caft ca^r ^ ana afaftfw are asr i

S b -< 14 : ^ 9 < n S ^ fW T a T a C s R f e l t f e 5 a s fe 5 'S W fa R ! ^ s f l a i a 5 S K S R ( a s R \S f % # S < ^ s )

SRsfel

sb-cj'S. ^ ajaft, fwaifaau? a fe aafws ?a 1 awaflar afire aRaaa *jsas arflR "fwiRafe 1

aa#re 1 ^safeia assn® f e a fera aaa1%a ®arafeif¥it f^arca <fsa aw aarra #yfo

are 1

ibre«- "aiwifn^l' afsana aanai ama ®wrren ■$ aaaiw $w*res w i ©w*n f^a ^sres^pa

aftaim aw 1*ma aara aSicmi

>b-bir: ara^att « % ,l;aiars # sr‘ arerfa sfera caai sm 1 iwreca

67
ib-b-s..- a?tafta a # a # a % 5 t aataff asfa* af?m aam'-taa a % k i (awca bbbb)

bbb« at^aia a«w i£? af?a? tarsasi w f i# awtatasra 9 b^ % a^i

ibb* ^sq^atS) (?f% '3ifsrt%'’srf5fo sai taftS^ at^aia aaa a%n alamft’® afefetai

bbfcb aaW 'I 'i l R s ^ b ^ 1 <5tr§a (Age of Consent bill) a W I

isos caaa cattaata Raft saaj "'Siwift<t 'hiaafb1 a<wPi« ?a *(<i*j?i afup<ptai
btsbo ssl-SCo a^FWfh aRatiJfa f*Wta 'SRI aaat (Tff) "'sWS St a?TaQa ’ Waa |
bfeb« wShr atitea saa oetWaana * m aism sikw i b&b^-ts w s *aa? anara bs^s-ta i
b&^H 'sfBr ffeat vSScw ■'M^iwa (AIWC) -isa stRsfet, ata aaa )afata*Rfij ?a ^wos i
bSAs. awtRa!? fenw wta <aawt wta) aw ?a ma w? catawa ftatcw f w aaa bs
W10f< bb art"?a i
bfes* a - b ca, '8 wT?f5T ?sa aaa sfrc#ia> af?at afafet acaaaa ?a 1

w r # % i a fRrat 0 # cStsjatft 1

b&aa f?*[ Rat? aw 1

bs^b a«f aferaa ''sn^t (Dowry Prohibition Act) aaw ?a aiw aaa#a>ti:a bs>b8 w b&b<b a w

a?wta% atatca 'stR'Q as*fofl ana oswt shots i w it ca*t anaa# am aaaat tflwj artaasstca

5t^ aOTSl

bb>Hb catena ttafawa asta cstaanPa wia aaats 1 WTftfar^ stcam-t w ?n5 c«tot

^fw casara 'Sihi ta^ w la faRaat ?a 1

bcuH8 (FSept a>iiif5a faca# "Towards Equality 1 - a a w 1 "a«jat caa c w 1 (bt^t asiaw a%a

cancSa atcaa afww owaaft a # w w t i

btsa-js aiffetfaOTa -^anaa aaia asjfa atsata mfa # f s ? ots i

bt9b« caa faa rothr a*at ?a 1 fasta seaaataca w R#s«ra ata a w antt ?ca a? 1

bstib1!) ^Rsaitaa* at?ai*( atnata ’jfita candR atata5 <.<?"& aj,ca ca faw^ <9 af%catcaa ?a a>ia^

afataf%t® ”w w aRatwa faat?fawf attw® ^^tfaw ^awt1- "The Muslim Women

(Protection o f rights on divorce) B ill 1ataa* faat aw ?a 1 b&btt areaa ?« ta&a ^fea

ca# *n?aF£ iiiaata ^ata ?ftcw6a am a w caoa aw^ca af%aira ?s5tasia alaauo bs^bogm

catatata atata ^aRw ttta ana 1 uaa faaasi calaa#a! ca staa sta ^ aaa wa ^tts 'se.^rfhr
68
 ^bpprt isnwff *115^ a fs gfe fhm wc® gw 3H ^g? gf© "Iffaisrat gw ^ ^aetre? w ^ S i

iS b S 8 C T & e W W B t O T S g W ig ib g W I g ia ^ T T flH "*n § t' ^C W l ifig a g £ R ^ I fc H S ItfS g M O T

ac© ©tg© gggng s&bg w r t g€tm? afetgg w ig ai*i gsig t " ^ ' ^-^ng cb§i gw fgagi .gl

aai si®! giaig ggareg c w « ’©wim owm, tal w ig w p f t «f®% wagw %ncg wt ^g i

s&iss 'Sti'Slg glgai gsfgag affe ?pn

ssss>g s« wnt i vswc®5i ■sjjsre eg# wig waff*© i^fi^iPi‘p gig gig gcs i

s^i» ib <?ra*nft, gwag5 awtgg Sag tori #® i w ■srfggsigw #ft% fta ^jfsra eg# i

g°oo gs^i^ f ^ j? i f ^ ^pstsmr s llw g ^ ^ 9fmg‘Sifigstm

ae¥ gra m *m i «at grag wj agg©t fggR?fgpsg am fm m gRaw “The Muslim

Women (Protection o f Rights on Divorce) Bill \ gage. srm wi?© l^egpia m aes-s

cmam (Me® arcgg i

International Events

ww^iRw

s<u»* (?# •Sbfc^wmtjg "A Vindication o f the Rights o f Women' grag* snsg agspn i g1©g

a w i ag gtgi w # s sot© agg#gstOT ara cg©OTi w gsggttg taflJI giftatfl wregiacgg

ft#g after arsrfggs w*rasrs Haw fte#© sg i

Sb«a «rre#«pm a w gma«nfgi!gT?t gifteOTiagi

Sb8b iis - go s^nt, "cgiswt w i gsr®*ig' aw an© gift grfwtg wwaigg a w ae^m wjfl©

s?g P# terc#g caeggsi w i -^i i

ib £8 b s tfr, 'S i l o t ^ B g a f5! ^ s ff^ ® n a f g g w g W w * i o g # i g ? iw © g © jfg = j f e j g ift? © g f g # g © w i

ibis's %f acsirg m [Link] (Suffragette) wewag atgwr ai© w i gfsarai asm c©i&ifgg>ig
cawa P#f%t»ro©i

iis io c © g g rc # c g n ta g E S O T iH g s f t ^ P i # <?# gift gc*ii°ug ^{ft© '5rra^ri©<p

gtggiaigg astai

iis iS b sifr, a w w©^fti©gs gtfPw aifa© w i

iis ib fg#i?f Wnrfg osiSifwg ®n©i

i&^o g%nw<i ostiftgra *imi

69
 snft (TStaa fiaJt?? a a a s t e r n a ca*3 w fi

>**& '©awa "A Room o f one's own' sta#!®! stair® at? cafaa^t ait% w ca,

Sflftm aft ftpSfS' afaaa (Treat 5TT, ®TCt«i ?J§Re W asiTCa |

is»8Si ^m€i w atfla# fBst -a ^iwiawsf ^rs'js f r o m a w i m 'Vhe second se*’ sta#f®

?a I '<$$03 Caftta*! <Sat°1H, aaTSf <£FaW ftsfa a?at5 aw*# W iSa? Rtflia Riffisfa <R*f, |%#T

ftm at ^ja*<.atf ©wa Raica i w i, ®c§1<m<i a*at ^csw iiil?i ■4(^l*i'oi a wta atfiRta^trta 55rfa<wat<P i

<at a%® caftma faart® "aRtmtR aift sea ^jrm at, w ® ®tw a # a® cmn i 1

*s>e© ©utsfaasra aai-aiStaw stmaas s m <ft cafl> &maa “The Feminine M ystique'- <aa swwi

^Wus fataia m cmsrmm aBHtfttn^ ssa assa & stai aift "mat1 ^?*r Sana?

■^Tsmssr a ^%3n?r ftf^® i ©msfaasR arftea ifiafil aw a aaiwrsate ■'srrsrgn is-ana cafa i

s&so ca® fw®-^a "Sexual P olitics' sta#t® sw i a m s r arftaftt fsm&®am "fa^sg 1 w t # 5

ataat act <$$ a$fl> stasrftr® 3?eaBs aai ca® iw®~t a a s m aift-«$sRsa w r # ? arataf®<p

w P aw fisl^s a*caa <sa? ®aa a cata®t w tftfo <s\t a®a aataa fm w aait ft# a aiaTa

attaint ft^ta a a a ^ s a*ta i

s&a* ai® <m<mi3r, sn^rm P&aa sr^a a$$ aaa aftaa at ^itcafaaia aaa aiftarwa asat aawa amoa

\gw aaa i

axt^tfoa* ariaa' sprea <$%aaafiJta* §%© aaw a tf w i aw, ®?rsa ^asal^a catena a*t% Pra

©rra#%a* atiftr4 aiftr® ©rFs^ifsas atSlwa «<pi cafeaac® >t»sja-* ©prft, attascaa

®otiw s m % a tftae w t 'st^Ss ?a i

s&Hcs caiawa cms a^ a sma taaarfawttaa ^tat ailarw atS-^ei ^jfte i

it»iro c^iwatsiaa-ta aqflpa flrfta % a# acsjmi

Stsva- aAsifat® '^ t a fa^ atft awraa i

i&s>8 TOtarc® 'srgflao «aa?ati « ^aaa faaw wrs^tfe^ w w i

itsM atar, taaa « *tffea ac^r cafes-iS &®«Tla^ atft a w a i 44

70
 NOTES AND REFERENCES

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