In Search of a Feminist Writer

By Dr. Rohidas Nitonde

In this scholarly book Dr. Rohidas Nitonde examines Manju Kapurs novels with a feminist perspective. The study offers an in depth analysis of all the five novels by Kapur. It is for the first time that all her works are illustrated with a single perspective. The focus of argument leads to conclude on Kapurs vision of Indian womanhood.

The book explains Kapurs indubitable ability to explore the psyche of the present day urban, educated middle-class Indian woman who is trapped in the midway between tradition and modernity. It is an attempt to study Kapurs women protagonists, as portrayed by her in her novels, with a view to understand and appreciate their trials and tribulations under the impact of the conflicting influence of tradition and modernity and to critically analyze their response to the emerging situation in life so as to fit themselves in the contemporary society. It also probes deeply into the novelists conviction of what would serve as the ideal panacea for the different kinds of challenges faced by her female characters. It as well explores both the daring and desires of the Indian women in the fictional works of Kapur.

The study is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter is introductory in nature. The subsequent five chapters deal with the five women protagonists Virmati, Astha, Nisha, Nina and Ishita who, finding themselves trapped in the roles assigned to them by the society, attempt to assert their individuality. Sensitive to the changing times and situations, they revolt against the traditions in their search for freedom. The last chapter concludes the study by bringing out the general statement about Kapurs female protagonists. Its Bibliography and Webliography sections are exhaustive. This has turned the authoritative work into an indispensable resource for academicians and research scholars. It is an invaluable reference on Manju Kapur.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: Jul 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781482833904

Dr. Rohidas Nitonde

Dr. Rohidas Nitonde teaches English Literature at Shri Shivaji College, Parbhani (MS) India. He has thoroughly examined the novels of Manju Kapur for his doctoral research. His interest areas include Indian Women’s Fiction in English, Literary Theory and Translation Studies. He is a practicing translator. He has edited three books. In addition to these, he has presented a number of papers at national seminars and has contributed several research articles to books and journals of high reputation.

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Copyright © 2014 by Dr. Rohidas Nitonde.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4828-3391-1

      eBook         978-1-4828-3390-4

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Chapter I Introduction

Indian English Literature

Feminist Literary Theory

Variants Of Feminism

Indian Feminism

Women’s Writings In India

Manju Kapur

Conclusion

Works Cited:

Chapter II Difficult Daughters

Introduction

Difficult Daughters In The Novel

Unacknowledged Efforts Of Virmati

Life As Fate For Kasturi

Kasturi’s Idea Of Education

Kasturi: A Traditional Woman

Three Phases Of Virmati’s Life

Education vs Marriage

Virmati’s Disobedience

Virmati: A Trapped Woman

Virmati’s Shameful Situation As Harish’s Secret Wife

Virmati’s Career As A Principal

Virmati’s Attempts To Escape From Her Destiny

Harish As An Educated Orthodox Man

Virmati Trapped As A Wife

Virmati’s Marginality

Ganga And Virmati: A Co-Existence

The Birth Of A Daughter

Ida: An Educated And Isolated Woman

Shakuntala And Swarnalata

Ganga As Family Centered Woman

Mother Daughter Relationship

Woman Vs Woman

Tradition Vs Modernity

Conclusion

Works Cited:

Chapter III A Married Woman

Introduction

The Story

Kapur’s Male Characters

Astha’s Marriage

Requirements Of A Wife

Astha’s Desire To Be An Individual

Career As An Escape From Boredom

Astha’s Depression

Hemant’s Carelessness

An Enduring Wife And Sacrificing Mother

Astha’s Career And Headaches

Astha’s Poetry

Astha’s Mother: Sita

Sita’s Spirituality

Pain And Sufferings

Women And Economic Freedom

The Price Of Being A Woman

Astha As A Self-Indulgent Woman

Aijaz

Aijaz And Pipeelika

Mrs Trivedi: Pipeelika’s Mother

Mrs Trivedi’s Search For Self-Identity

Strain In Mother-Daughter Relationship

Aijaz’s Death

Astha’s Tiredness

Astha’s Paintings

Complexity In Astha’s Life

Astha Meets Pipee

Astha Being Distanced

Two Ants Together

A Willing Body

Two Victims

Astha’s Diary

Search For Safe, Warm, And Loved Place

Break Up

Growing Up: Astha

Growing Up: Pipee

Astha And Pipee: A Comparison

Women’s Identity

Women In Patriarchy

Financial Stability And Woman’s Identity

Gender Bias In India

Tradition Vs Modernity

Conclusion

Works Cited:

Chapter IV Home

Introduction

Exploration Of Feminine Psyche

The Banwari Lal Family

Motherhood

The Two Sisters

Love Marriage Vs Arranged Marriage

Negligence Towards Daughters

Rupa’s Readiness To Accept The Life

Demanding Nature Of Men

Women’s Suppression

Own Or Borrowed Child

Sona’s Trauma

Sexual Harassment

Training In Womanhood

Tradition Vs Modernity

Education As Pass Time Till Marriage

Nisha’s Rebellion

Pratibha Though Educated But Still Tied

Nisha Meets Suresh

Nisha: A Prisoner In Her Parent’s House

Nisha’s Rejection Of Arranged Marriage

Advice To Follow The Conventions

Masculine Ideology

Role Of Fate

The Role Of Horoscope

Expectations Of A Daughter-In-Law

Pooja’s Behavior At Home

Conflict Between Sona And Pooja

Pooja As A New Woman

Nisha’s Skin Eczema

Nisha’s Alienation

Work As A Pastime

Pooja’s Divide And Rule Policy

Nisha’s Boredom: Nisha As An Outsider

Nisha’s Decision To Be A Business Woman

Sona’s Reaction To Nisha’s Decision

Nisha Defies Her Family

Nisha’s Creations

Upbringing Of A Daughter

Marriage Proposal

Nisha’s Commitment To Work

Freedom To Work As A Condition

Nisha’s Success In Business And Marriage

Marriage As An Escape From Problems

Trapped In The Cage Of Home

Nisha Loses Her Business

Nisha’s Longing For Independent Identity

Body As A Fate Of A Woman

Whose Concern?

Distance Between Nisha And Arvind

Nisha’s Completion Of Her Duty: The Birth

Conclusion

Works Cited:

Chapter V The Immigrant

Introduction

Nina: A Young Girl Waiting To Be Married

Ananda In Halifax; Alienated In Canada

Marriage And Nationality

A Marriage Proposal

Mrs Batra: A Traditional Woman

Preparations For The Marriage

Marriage And Bridal Night

Pain Of Separation

Care And Consideration

The Phenomenon Of Immigration

Nina As An Immigrant Wife

Career, Self Reliance And Motherhood

Pregnancy

Barrenness

Nina Feels Rootless

Reversal Of Gender Roles

Distance Between The Wife And Husband

A Women’s Group

Women Are Defined In Relation To Men

Nina: Caught In Dilemma

Birth And Motherhood As Woman’s Fulfillment

Nina And Anton

Ananda’s Difficulties In Dealing With Two Women

Nina And Ananda

Down With All Taboos

Sex And Fulfillment

Nina’s Visit To India

Nina’s Obsession For Children

Death Of Mrs Batra

Marriage And Security

The Price Of An Anchor

Conclusion

Works Cited:

Chapter VI Custody

Introduction

Marriage

Effects Of Failed Marriage On Children

Gendered Battle

The Distance In Marriage

Career Vs Marriage

Arranged Marriage

Motherhood In Patriarchy

Mrs Sabharwal’s Attitude Towards Raman

Shagun’s Betrayal

His Mother’s Care And Consideration For Raman

Carelessness For Children

Shagun’s Changed Appearance And Rejection In Bed

Want For Something Else In Life

Ishita

Ishita’s Marriage

Marriage As A Safeguard Against Loneliness

Motherhood

Ishita’s Longing For Motherhood

Woman Vs Woman

Visit To An Astrologer

Ishita’s Tortures

Ishita’s Boldness

Attempts To Keep Marriage Intact

Shagun Asks For Divorce

Effects Of Divorce

Ishita: Woman As A Sufferer

Ishita’s Usefulness Recognized

A Home Needs A Woman

Ishita’s Nothingness

Ishita’s Possessiveness For Roohi

Ishita As A Devoted Caretaker

Shagun’s Repentance

Mother Vs Daughter Dichotomy

Tradition Vs Modernity

The Nature Of Conflict In Custody

Conclusion

Works Cited:

Chapter VII Conclusion

Manju Kapur

Two Categories Of Women

Lives Of Widows

Social Dichotomy

Tradition Vs Modernity

Woman Vs Woman

Mother Vs Daughter

Women’s Oppression

Aspiration For Independence

Teaching As A Career

Difficulties In Women’s Lives

Conclusion

Bibliography

Webliography

Dedicated to my beloved parents

Smt. Jamunabai and Shri. Shivajirao Nitonde

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I sincerely place on record my deep sense of gratitude to Dr. B. S. Jadhav for his encouragement and guidance without which it would have been almost impossible for me to complete this work. I am also indebted to Manju Kapur for her inspiring work. I would like to thank University Grants Commission, New Delhi for the assistance provided. Thanks are also due to Prin. R. T. Deshmukh, Dr. Ajay R. Tengse, Dr. Dilip Chavan and Dr. B. U. Jadhav for their encouragement. Sushama and Sara deserve special thanks for their support during the completion of the book.

May 10, 2014.

Dr. Rohidas Nitonde

Shivneri,

Yashodhan Nagar,

Parbhani (MS) India 431 401.

Phone: [phone]

Mobile: [phone]

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The year 1998 proved remarkable in the history of Indian Writing in English for it witnessed the publication of Difficult Daughters, the debut novel by Manju Kapur which also bagged the prestigious Commonwealth prize for the year. This was the beginning of the career of a blooming writer who has written five full length novels to this date and established herself both in India and outside India. Her books are translated in many languages and are popular all over the world. Today she has become a major voice of middle-class urban women in India. According to Sunita Sinha, Manju Kapur displays a mature understanding of the female psyche. Striking a balance between a neutral coexistence and unfettered freedom and space on the other, Kapur’s eloquent narration of women’s issues is nevertheless, both Indian and universal.

The present study examines Kapur as a feminist author covering all her five novels. It explains Kapur’s indubitable ability to explore the psyche of the present day urban, educated middle-class woman who is trapped in the midway between tradition and modernity. It is an attempt to study Kapur’s women protagonists, as portrayed by her in her novels, with a view to understand and appreciate their trials and tribulations under the impact of the conflicting influence of tradition and modernity and to critically analyze their response to the emerging situation in life so as to fit themselves in the contemporary society. It also probes deeply into the novelist’s conviction of what would serve as the ideal panacea for the different kinds of challenges faced by her female characters. It as well explores both the daring and desires of the Indian women in the fictional works of Kapur.

Indian English Literature

In the course of its development, Indian English Literature has produced a variety of genres such as prose, poetry, fiction, drama, biography, autobiography, pulp fiction etc. Early prose writing gave strong impetus to Indian renaissance. Indian poetry in English has given voice to the feelings of the Indian people. The autobiographies of Gandhi, Nehru and Chaudhary have set models of the genre. Since Bankimchandra Chatterjee’s (1838-1894) Raj Mohan’s Wife (1864) Indian novel has travelled a successful journey to the international best sellers via Raja Rao, Mulk Raj Anand and R K Narayan. In spacing with the world around, Indian English Literature has seen the rise of feminist writing also.

There are three significant phases in the history of Indian English novel. The first phase began in 1930s when Mulk Raj Anand, Raja Rao and R. K. Narayan wrote their novels. The novels in this period are marked with the influence of Gandhian thought and philosophy. Mid 1950s and 1960s is the second phase which is marked with the social and artistic novels of Kamala Markandaya and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Other novelists in this phase are Arun Joshi, Nayantara Sahgal and Anita Desai. The third phase in the history of Indian English novel began with Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children (1975) which won the Booker prize. This glorious tradition of bagging international awards for fiction still continues through the contemporary writers such as Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai and Aravind Adiga. Kapur received the Commonwealth prize for her debut novel Difficult Daughters. In brief, Indian English novel is in its fullness and is ready to explore various horizons on the international arena.

Feminist Literary Theory

Feminist Literary Theory owes much to the feminism as a social movement. Feminist version of equal-rights doctrines had their philosophical origins in Marry Wollstonecraft (1759-1797). Her seminal work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) attempted to eradicate the socio-political barriers to women’s participation in social situations.

Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) known for A Room of One’s Own (1929) came out with a more professed and detailed programme for the emancipation of woman. It may be noted that by the time she began to write, the Industrial Revolution had shown woman’s capacity for hard manual work. The leftist movements also incorporated the liberation of women. Virginia Woolf states that woman requires economic independence and privacy in the house so that she may be able to think and write what she likes. Virginia Woolf’s stature as a novelist and critic, along with her upbringing gave succor to the feminist thought of the day.

In the middle of twentieth century Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) who wrote The Second Sex (1949), gave strong impetus to the feminist literary theory. It came out with a bold manifesto for a frontal attack on the patriarchal hegemony in the society. It hit hard at the androcentric customs and conventions, art and culture, philosophy and religion which have always assigned women the secondary or rather slavish position to men. She says that man considers himself to be the subject, the absolute and woman the other.

Elaine Showalter in Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness (1981) says that if the feminist approach is to be more effective it must be more structured to compete with the anti-feminist approach. In Showalter’s view, the history of women’s writing in the west can be divided into three phases. In ‘Feminine Phase’ (1840-1880) women writers imitated the male writers in their norms and artistic standards. During ‘Feminist Phase’ (1880-1920) women writers maintained different and often a separate position. ‘Female Phase’ (1920 onwards) is marked with distinct female identity, style and content of their own.

Variants of Feminism

Feminism is not practiced as an uniform ideology all over the world. As it travels from one territory to another, it gets changed according to the locale and its social, political and economic conventions. This has resulted in different variants of feminism. There are many shades of feminist criticism. French Feminist Criticism is more influenced by French theorists like Lacan, Julia Kristeva, Helen Cixous and Lucy Irigaray. British Feminist Criticism is more influenced by socialism, cultural materialism and Marxism. American Feminist Criticism is partly inclined towards post-structuralism, psychoanalysis and deconstruction. Commenting on this situation Elaine Showalter writes, "the emphasis in each country falls somewhat differently: English feminist criticism, essentially Marxist, stresses oppression; French feminist criticism, essentially psychoanalytic, stresses repression; American feminist criticism, essentially textual, stresses expression. All, however, have become gynocentric. All are struggling to find a terminology that can rescue the feminine