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Declaration

This is to certify that Sananda Acharjee, a student of Master in English has carried out this

Dissertation Project titled,” A feminist approach towards Kamala Das’s Poems “A Losing

Battle” and “The Freaks””. under the guidance of Associate Prof. Ila Biswas Guha Ray

Department of English, Rishi Bankim Chandra College, Naihati. The work submitted is

original to the best of our knowledge and has not been carried out elsewhere in any other

University or Institute.

--------------------------------

(Signature of the student)

Department of English PG,

2 Rishi Bankim Chandra College, Naihati-743165, WB, India.

1 Supervisor’s Certificate

This is to certify that Sananda Acharjee, a student of Master in English has carried out this

Dissertation Project titled, “A feminist approach towards Kamala Das’s Poems “A Losing

Battle” and “The Freaks””. under the guidance of Associate Prof. Ila Biswas Guha Ray,

Department of English, 2 Rishi Bankim Chandra College, Naihati. The work submitted is

original to the best of our knowledge and has not been carried out elsewhere in any other

University or Institute.

--------------------------------

(Signature of the supervisor)

Department of English PG,

Rishi Bankim Chandra College, Naihati-743165, WB, India.

Acknowledgment

1 I would like to express my utmost gratitude towards everyone concerned with my paper

for their valuable insights and contributions. I would like to thank my paper supervisor

Professor Ila Biswas Guha Roy, 2 Rishi Bankim Chandra College, affiliated to WBSU for

accepting my project work.

I would also like to thank our Principal and other faculty members for

assisting me and encouraging me for such project work.

Last but not the least, I would also like to show my utmost gratitude

towards my fellow class mates who has been a constant support for me to complete this

dissertation paper.

INDEX

Sl No.

Chapters

Contents

Page No.

Introduction

Literature review

Research Methodology
7

Chapter 1

Voice Against Patriarchy

8-11

Chapter 2

Portrayal of Traumas and Struggles of Women

12-17

Conclusion

18-19

7 Works Cited 20

Introduction

Kamala Das was born in Punnayurkulam in Malabar District on 31st March 1934. She

commenced writing in both English and Malayalam. Kamala Das was a confessional poet

and her poems were often considered to be equal 4 to the poems of Anne Sexton, Robert

Lowell, and Sylvia Plath. In her most critical book of refrain, 'Summer In Calcutta' she
made basically out of reverence, traitorousness, and the subsequent distress. This famous

Indian essayist's style examined the subjects of need, womanliness, and social necessities

in "A Losing Battle" and "The Freaks". The chief poem was about the internal conflict

between social suppositions and a woman's yearning for opportunity. These two poems

served as poignant reflections of Das’s own lived experiences, infused with a sense of

defiance and vulnerability. In these poems, she navigated the turbulent waters of love,

loss, and longing. She invited the readers to journey alongside her as she grapples with

the complexities of existence.

This proposition plans to disentangle the topical complexities of Das' verse in "A

Losing Battle" and "The Freaks" revealing insight into the hidden socio-social settings that

illuminate her work. By looking at the graceful methods utilized by Das and the common

themes that saturate her section, this study tries to enlighten the persevering through the

pertinence of her verse in contemporary talk. Through a nearby examination of chosen

sonnets, this proposition will investigate how Das challenges laid out standards and

recovers organization through the force of language and self-articulation.

Literature Review: Feminism in Kamala Das’s poems

Kamala Das’s poetry occupied a special place in Indian feminist literature. Her works

challenged societal norms and celebrated the female struggles. In this review, I will discuss

some of the key research points on this topic.

Das’s sonnets frequently highlight ladies who surprised everyone and stated their

autonomy. Dr. Rachna Prasad's research paper “IJERT-A Quest for Female Identity in

Kamala Das’s Poetry” tried to explore numerous dimensions of women’s position in a

patriarchal society.

Das’s work investigated man-centric design that limited women. Dr. Shah Sufiuz

Zaman's research paper “Kamala Das and Her Feminist Voice in English Poetry” analyzed

how she uncovered the power of awkward nature in the public arena and backers for
orientation uniformity.

Das’s confessional style allowed women’s voices to be heard. Research by scholar

Ratan Chandra Das in his article ‘An Analysis of Poetry of Kamala Das’ investigated how

this approach gave voice to the harsh encounters and feelings of females.

Not all reactions to Das’s work have been positive. A few scholars have tracked down her

emphasis on sexuality dramatist.

In my dissertation, I am going to analyze two particular poems “A Losing Battle” and

“The Freaks” written by Kamala Das for a deeper understanding of the traumas of her life.

Moreover, this paper will provide a better analysis of the husband-wife relationship in a

male-dominated society and will give us an understanding of how she voiced against it.

Research Methodology

The research methodology for looking at Kamala Das' sonnets "The Freaks" and "A Losing

Battle" from a feminist point of view. This segment frames the techniques and methods that

will be utilized to lead the exploration, including the examination plan, information

assortment, information investigation, and moral contemplations. A nearby perusing of the

poems will lead to distinguishing subjects connected with male-female relationships,

sexuality, character, and power dynamics. These subjects will be examined to comprehend

how they reflect women's activist [Link] narrative voice and point of view will be

broken down to understand how Das strengthens the female's points of view through her

verses.

To finish up, The exploration strategy gives a fastidious and complete structure for

examining Kamala Das' sonnets "The Freaks" and "A Losing Battle" according to a

women's activist perspective. Through graphic printed examination, upheld by women's

activist hypothetical systems and context-oriented research, the review will look to reveal

the unpredictable manners by which Das' verse censures man-centric designs, offering a

significant critique of female battles and personality.

Chapter 1: Voice Against Patriarchy

“A Losing Battle" by Kamala Das is a short poem that reflects the complexities of

endearment and the struggles the speaker faces to live with the man she loves and values.

Kamala Das, a famous essayist, uses particular imagery and verses to convey her

sentiments and thoughts about her relationship with her husband. The sonnet begins with

the speaker thinking about how her veneration can equal another woman who shows a

"vainglorious craving". It shows confidence like a "lioness" in front of her "beast", his man.

This shows her efforts in keeping her veneration secure when defied with a contention that

has all the earmarks of being more certain and spellbinding. The artist recommends that

men can be handily drawn in by shallow things, addressed by the least expensive trap,

demonstrating that a few men might be attracted to conspicuous and flashy characteristics.

The expression in the mentioned poem embodies the internal conflict and profound battle

the speaker encounters because of her affection. It shows a feeling of defencelessness

and calm experiencing that she perseveres in her warm sentiments, potentially because of

cultural standards and assumptions regarding how ladies ought to communicate love.

Through the poem “A Losing Battle”, Kamala Das raises significant topics about affection,

orientation jobs, and cultural assumptions. The poem presents conventional thoughts of

affection, where ladies are frequently expected to assume uninvolved parts and not

transparently express their feelings. It reveals the truth of the husband-wife relationships

faced by women in connection with a male, where they might feel inferior or in competition

with others for a man's love. 5 This poem is a strong portrayal of Kamala Das' graceful

ability and her investigation of affection, orientation elements, and cultural assumptions.
The poem's brief yet effective stanzas welcome readers to think about the intricacies of

affection and the battles faced by people in communicating their feelings. Kamala Das'

capacity to transmit significant feelings through basic language and symbolism makes this

poem a hangout in her group of work.

Das gives women a voice to verbalize their longings and necessities. In a man-centric

culture, ladies are habitually expected to stay quiet about their sexual necessities and to

focus on the cravings of men. By explaining female craving, Das enables women to

recognize and embrace their sexuality. The poem frequently compares female longing with

male assumptions, featuring the uniqueness between what women need and what society

anticipates that they should need. This difference effectively studies the manners by which

male-centric standards confine ladies' sexual articulation. Das depicts ladies as dynamic

searchers of adoration and satisfaction, as opposed to uninvolved beneficiaries of male

craving. Das' straightforward depiction of female craving likewise incorporates the

intricacies and disappointments related to it. Das challenges the inflexible orientation jobs

that characterize ladies exclusively as guardians and nurturers. Her verse demands that

ladies are finished people with their own internal lives and wants, meriting acknowledgment

and regard. The sonnet also censures the establishment of marriage, which frequently

limits and confines ladies. Das depicts marriage as a space where ladies' cravings and

requirements are dismissed, driving them to adjust to their spouses' assumptions and

cultural norms. This evaluation features the profound and mental cost that such a

prohibitive organization takes on ladies. The sonnet likewise addresses the profound and

mental cost that marriage can take on ladies. The steady strain to adjust to cultural and

conjugal assumptions can prompt sensations of ensnarement and hopelessness. Das'

portrayal of this cost uncovered the hazier side of marriage that is in many cases taken

cover behind the cultural glorification of the establishment. Her sincere reflections on her

own marriage loan realness to her dissent and make it appealing to different ladies who

might be confronting comparable battles. By sharing her own fights, she enhances the

voices of numerous ladies who feel caught in unfulfilling relationships.

 Kamala Das' poem "The Freaks" is a strong investigation of male-controlled society.

The speaker, a lady in a cold marriage, communicates her dissatisfaction and

disillusionment with her better half's powerlessness to meet her profound and actual

requirements. The poem's title itself proposes a feeling of distance from cultural standards.

The speaker and her better half are depicted as "Freaks" because their relationship

neglects to adjust to customary assumptions for conjugal euphoria. Das' utilization of

symbolism supports the topic of male-centric persecution. The speaker's better half is

depicted as a "Gautama" - a reference to the Buddha, an image of separation and lack of

interest. This correlation features the profound distance between the couple. The sonnet

investigates the battles faced by ladies who set out to challenge conventional orientation

jobs and affirm their independence. Das gives voice to their encounters, revealing insight

into the disloyalties and limitations forced by male-centric society. Through her wonderful

story, she urges readers to oppose these severe models, upholding uniformity and

strengthening for all sexes. The sonnets wherein Kamala Das depicts how her better half is

dealt with and acts are the ones wherein her female awareness is most unequivocally and

energetically communicated. One of her sonnets, The Old Playhouse, is injected with a

ladylike reasonableness. Her better half's way of dealing with having intercourse with her

suppressed her female sensibilities. He had intercourse out of unadulterated craving, not

out of any adoration whatsoever. Just a bold lady would voice her outrage at a mate who

just needs to fulfill his need and who neither shows her warmth nor anticipates it from her.

The one who permitted his spit to enter her lips and who had previously gotten into each

hole of her body didn't hold onto the smallest sensations of adoration or warmth for her.

In 5 this poem, Kamala Das utilizes clear symbolism and suggestive language to

convey the feeling of resistance and rebellion against male-centric standards. She

illustrates ladies who are marked as "freaks" since they won't adjust to cultural

assumptions of womanliness and acquiescence. Through her depiction of these ladies,

Das challenges the idea that ladies ought to be inactive and respectful, rather than
speaking for their prerogative to attest to their independence. Das dives into their deepest

considerations and feelings, catching the embodiment of their rebellion and versatility even

with difficulty. Besides, Das reveals insight into the cultural shame and segregation looked

upon by these ladies, who are frequently excluded and underestimated for thinking for

even a moment to resist orientation standards. By giving voice to their encounters, Das

moves readers to go up against their own susceptibility and biases, provoking reflection on

the manners by which man-centric society shapes and restricts how women might interpret

orientation and character. By and large, "The Freaks" fills in as an impactful and

provocative investigation of orientation, power, and opposition, welcoming perusers to

reconsider an existence where people are allowed to put themselves out there legitimately,

paying little mind to cultural assumptions.

Chapter 2: Portrayal of Traumas and Struggles of Women

The first poem “A Losing Battle” mirrors women's struggle and how society forces

requirements upon her. Through clear symbolism and strong language, Das catches the

sensations of dissatisfaction, gloom, and renunciation that go with the battle for

independence and self-articulation in a world that tries to quiet and oppress women. The

title, "A Losing Battle" recommends a feeling of rout and certainty, featuring the difficult

task that ladies face as they continue looking for freedom and strengthening.

6 The poem begins with the speaker mulling over how her affection can rival another

lady who shows up more self-assured and charming. The comparison is vividly drawn with

the other woman characterized as flaunting a “gaudy lust” and being a “lioness” to the

man’s “beast”. The sonnet might investigate subjects, for example, the strain of adjusting to

customary orientation jobs, the concealment of female cravings and desires, and the

profound cost of living in a male-centric culture. By depicting the injury and battles of ladies
in her verse, Kamala Das gives voice to their encounters and provokes the severe designs

that try to quiet them. Through her strong and reminiscent stanza, she welcomes perusers

to go up against the unforgiving real factors faced by ladies and to understand their

situation. The expression “A silence in the blood” exemplifies the speaker’s feeling of

powerlessness and calm experience in communicating her inner feelings, conceivably

because of societal norms, which are set for women about how they ought to explore love.

Nonetheless, the speaker is reluctant to involve into genuine love as a procedure, as it

seen to welcome tears and a significant effect on the blood, demonstrating internal conflict

and profound battle. She says,

“Love, which in a woman must mean tears”

Das might bring out sensations of gloom and sadness as ladies defy the

unconquerable hindrances holding up traffic of their freedom. The sonnet could catch the

feeling of renunciation that comes from understanding that the fight for uniformity and

strengthening is laden with difficulties and mishaps. Women battling against man-centric

standards frequently experience sensations of disengagement and depression, as they

might end up alienated from society or misjudged by people around them. The poem could

investigate the depression that goes with the expedition of self-disclosure and opposition

against severe societal rules. Assimilated sexism and cultural tension can prompt identity

uncertainty and frailty among ladies. "A Losing Battle" may dive into the unseen conflicts

women face as they wrangle with questions about their value, capacities, and position on

the planet. Notwithstanding the difficulties they face, the sonnet may likewise convey a

significant longing for opportunity and freedom among ladies. Das could catch the savage

assurance and flexibility of ladies who will not be bound by cultural assumptions and who

make progress toward an additional impartial and simple world.

Criticising Marriage Life:

Das depicts marriage as a foundation of man-centric culture, intended to maintain and

propagate male predominance. Inside the limits of marriage, ladies are supposed to adjust

to the conventional jobs of spouse and mother, which frequently implies forfeiting their own
aspirations and wants. The sonnet proposes that marriage, as opposed to being an

organization of equivalents, frequently upholds a progressive construction where the man's

position is paramount. One of the focal subjects in Das' evaluation is the deficiency of

personality that ladies experience through marriage. Ladies are frequently expected to

subsume their characters to become acceptable to their spouses. Their jobs and worth are

characterized by their capacity to satisfy obligations as spouses and moms, as opposed to

as people with their own desires and dreams. The sonnet ponders how this assumption

prompts a significant feeling of distance and loss of self. The assumption to keep up with

the exterior of an ideal marriage and family can overpower. The poem considers how

ladies' commitments and penances are frequently underestimated, and their voices and

beliefs are minimized. This absence of fairness propagates a dynamic where ladies'

necessities and wants are optional to those of their husbands. Thus Das says,

“Men are worthless, to trap them

Use the cheapest bait of all, but never

Love”

In the second poem, "The Freaks" Kamala Das piercingly investigates the injury and

battles of ladies inside a male-centric culture through subjects of distance, unfulfilled

cravings, and cultural persecution. The speaker encounters separation from her family,

representing the more extensive disengagement ladies face. Das utilizes distinctive

symbolism, for example, the "dark cavern" of the mouth and "coiling snakes of silence" to

portray the stifling idea of neglected wants and profound infertility. Through this open

depiction, Das highlights the requirement for sexual freedom, offering a strong investigation

of the cultural designs that sustain women’s misery.

Battle Against Cultural Standards:

In "The Freaks" Kamala Das tends to the battle of ladies against cultural standards,

accentuating how these standards restrict and persecute them. The speaker's relationship

mirrors a more extensive cultural assumption for ladies to adjust to explicit jobs, for

example, being devoted and compliant accomplices. This assumption creates a feeling of
disappointment for the speaker, who feels compelled to fulfill these stiff guidelines despite

her despair and unfulfilled longings. Das' utilization of the expression "freaks" to depict both

the speaker and her accomplice fills in as a study of cultural standards. By marking

themselves as "freaks," they recognize their powerlessness to adjust to these assumptions

and the resulting judgment and distance they face. This study stretches out to the more

extensive experience of ladies who stray from customary jobs and are many times

considered unusual or freak by society. Through this description, the poet features the

severe idea of cultural assumptions that limit women's independence and self-elocution.

The poem highlights the inside and outside fights women face as they explore these forced

jobs and try to declare their uniqueness. This battle against cultural standards is a focal

subject in "The Freaks" mirroring the more extensive women's activist evaluation of male-

centric designs that limit women's opportunities and propagate their torment.

Unfulfilled Longings:

This yearning for an outside substance to satisfy her backlashes, as I would see it, to her

yearning for herself. A place of refuge where she is free to her actual self, which so far has

shown its impressions just through her words and sections. Having imagined for her entire

life to fulfill other's necessities and society's prerequisites, Kamala Das has some place lost

bits of herself and here, is yearning for them to return to her. She has worried about the

concern of a marriage that was constrained upon her and social, and cultural standards

that penetrated her first and afterward shredded her to bits. It's these bits of her dissipated

self that I see her sitting tight for. Where they once existed, presently exists quietness. She

closes the sonnet by referring to herself as "a freak". She says,

“I am a freak. It’s only,

To save my face, I flaunt, at

Times, a grand, flamboyant lust.”

She disguises herself to satisfy others and conceals her actual face behind the blinding,

misdirecting face of desire, which is shallow enough for her better half to fulfill his

necessities while not thinking about his partner. “The Freaks”, is a sonnet about a weak
marriage, fuelled by dissonant actual association and an outright absence of adoration.

With obvious indicators showing the writer not participating in her side of the cycle, the

sonnet in the end seeps into the greater topic of her forlornness. Das who can see directly

through both the man and herself is unafraid to get down on this disguising feeling. Here

too she is perceiving her own psyche's opening and expounding on it intentionally. She is

aware that she has flopped in affection for her entire life, never having tracked down

anything sufficiently acceptable to extinguish the thirst of her body as well as of her spirit.

She is doubting her husband’s ability to satisfy her by saying,

“…Can this man with

Nimble finger-tips unleash

Nothing more alive than the

Skin’s lazy hungers? ... ”

Alienation and Loneliness:

Kamala Das's poem "The Freaks" looks into the subjects of distance and despondency

inside the bounds of a faltering marriage. The speaker depicts her significant other with

terrible imagery, highlighting the differentiation and nonattendance of closeness between

them. This real detestation implies a significant distance, letting the speaker's sentiments

despite being seeing somebody. The sonnet mirrors Das' own encounters with cultural

assumptions and the smothering idea of conventional orientation jobs. Caught in a cold

marriage, she needs a more profound association however regards herself as disengaged

and misconstrued. The speaker's experience mirrors the profound disengagement that can

happen even in personal connections, where actual presence doesn't liken to profound

closeness. The sensation of being detached from every other person and paying little heed

to being with someone features the inside misery and alienation that the speaker feels.

This significant state is exacerbated by social suppositions that every now and again limit

ladies' voices and needs, leaving them feeling hidden and unheard. The poet expresses

her thoughts by saying,

“…Who can
Help us who have lived so long

And have failed in love? The heart,

An empty cistern, waiting

Through long hours, fills itself”

What's more, the poem's examination of distance connects past confidential associations

with reflect the social condition of women who are now and again separated in light of their

weakness to acclimate to male-driven principles. The speaker's impressions of being

misjudged and withdrawn are representative of the greater experience of women who fight

to find their place and voice in an overall population that a significant part of the time

disregards their uniqueness. Through these subjects, Das effectively includes the

significant sensation of distance and downfall that various women experience, directing out

the nearby toward home costs of social and social isolation.

Conclusion

All in all, 1 One of the most notable contemporary Indian poetesses is Kamala

Das. Kamala Das' poems stand as significant models of women's activist verse, offering

basic bits of knowledge into the intricacies of female characters and the subtleties of

orientation elements. "The Freaks" digs into the distance and mindfulness of a lady

wrestling with her place in a male-ruled society, while "A Losing Battle" piercingly catches

the unseen struggles and renunciation that go with the quest for individual and sexual

independence. She is likewise notable for her confessionalism. One of her verse's most

grounded subjects is women's liberation. Each sonnet tends to women's rights in a female-

situated way. Be that as it may, women's activist composing conveys a general

comprehension of female strength. The way of thinking underlies its significance instead of

the course reading's scholarly quality. The investigation of the female arises as a response

to man-centric society or the common bullhead philosophies. Kamala Das is a writer who
writes in the affection and sexual subgenres. It isn't really customary or obsolete; it is

appropriate to remember or show up for by far most of her affection verse. Likewise, an

outline of uncertainty, love, and orientation connect with that it is a notable position in her

verse as well as materializes as one of its mediating topics.

Thus, Kamala Das is a distinct Indian creator who is completely mindful of her

imaginative goal and reason as well as of her commitment to maintaining her vision.

Obviously, a women's activist voice is being heard here as it communicates the yearnings

and smothering circumstances, stresses, and dissatisfactions of ladies. She explicitly

expounds on adoration, sex, and marriage — all points that are recognizable to her and

completely inside her awareness. Her melodious voice, which is for the most part her own

and can't be confused with any other individual's, is implanted with a ladylike cum women's

activist reasonableness. It is essential to note that Kamala Das' verse has subjects that are

4 in the middle of the historical backdrop of ladylike faculties.

Composing on the persecuted lady in the public arena is Kamala Das. Her position against

ladies' abuse and underestimation, as well as her anxiety for the social and social

development of orientation, are practically consistently apparent in her works. She has

shown that ladies' daily routines are not generally unique in relation to men's lives. Kamala

Das is known as an enraged women's activist writer since practically every last bit of her

sonnets are fighting sonnets that convey a strong message of women's rights in an

individual tone.

Das' work not only scrutinizes the cultural assumptions forced on ladies but also enables

them to voice their internal conflicts and wants. Her open investigation of subjects like

sexual organization, profound weakness, and cultural underestimation highlights the

women's activist ethos that pervades her verse. By articulating these encounters, Das

gives a voice to the individuals who have been generally quieted, hence contributing

essentially to women's activist writing.

At last, Kamala Das' verse fills in as a strong mode for women's activist articulation,

pushing for a more profound comprehension of female encounters and the requirement for
cultural change. Her commitments to women's activist verse are important, offering both a

mirror to the battles of ladies and an encouraging sign for more noteworthy uniformity and

strengthening.

Works Cited

[Link], Amulya, “Loneliness And Self Longing For The Self In Kamala Das, Poem The

Freaks”, Bookworm Digest, March 2023, [Link]

[Link]. Trivedi, Rituraj, “Kamala Das: The Image Of Feminine Sensibility In Indian English

Poetry”, An International Multidisciplinary e-Journal, vol7, num II, pp. 1-3, 2022 Welfare

Universe, 2022

[Link], Purnima, ”Poetry 3 of Protest and Confession: A Study of Kamala Das”, The

Criterion An International Journal In English, February 2013,

[Link]

A_Study_of_Kamala_Das

[Link], Amit, “THE POETICS OF RESISTANCE: A STUDY OF MARGINAL

VOICES 7 IN THE POETRY OF KAMALA DAS”, 2007

[Link], Ahmad, Younus, “Feministic Reading of Kamala Das’ Summer in Calcutta and The

Descendants, Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science”, Volume 10, Issue

3(2022), 8th March 2022.

[Link], Kamala, “Summer in Calcutta”, Sterling Publication, New Delhi, 1965

Acharjee 2
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