Feminist Writers As Change Makers
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International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124 FEMINIST WRITERS AS CHANGE MAKERS Puspita Sukla Lecturer in Odia Ph.D. Scholar Sambalpur University [email protected] Abstract Freud says that women suffer from a ‘complex’ and are affected by jealousy not having the physical figure of male persons. However, the feminist critics do not agree with his statement and argue that the feminine language or discourse is distinctly different from that of men and their experiences are totally different from those of men. Precisely for these reasons, feminists argue not only for a separate literature for them but also want to bring about fundamental changes in the social, cultural, political, and economic status of women across the globe to achieve total social justice both in politics as well as in literature. They are trying to bring about radical changes in the position of women in family, society, and also in all institutions. Feminism, which was linked to political movement in the initial stages, got incorporated subsequently into the realm of literature as well. Today, we find feminist literary criticism as totally inter-related with the political movement by feminists for social, legal, and cultural freedom and equality. It may be mentioned here that Feminist Theories started appearing in eighteenth century and continued till date and trying to bring about a revolution (i) in the relationship between women and men and also (ii) in the relationship between texts and readers. An attempt is made in this Concept Paper to discuss about four significant theorist of feminism from the West and also some of the burning feminine issues discussed by poets, writers, novelists, and other feminist critics in their literary works viz., books, novels, articles, and poems in Indian literature in general and Odiya literature in particular. Key Words: Women, Feminism, Gender Biases; Novelists, and Odiya Literature. Introduction In the Initial phase feminism was linked with political movement, but later it was incorporated into the realm of literature. So, much of the feminist literary criticism in our time is inter related with the movement by political feminist for social, legal & cultural freedom and equality for example “The votes for women” in Britain in 1920’s or the campaign for parliamentary seats in India in 1990’s were the political movements of women. Feminist theories began with eighteen century and continues till the present time. The feminist try to bring about a revolution in the relationship between women & men & in the relationship between readers & texts. According to the feminist theory patriarchy is a system of organization (social, political, economical and religious) that accrues authority and positions of Leadership. Patriarchy is a Universal phenomenon and women live as an endangered species. There is a fundamental difference between sex & gender. Sex is determined by biological factors, but Volume VIII, Issue I, January/2019 Page No:1176 International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124 gender is a social & cultural construct. Gender biases are created and sustained by education, history, literature, law and academy, which are controlled by patriarchal forces. According to the feminist there are differences between male and female on the basis of gender. It is believed that male persons represent ‘the self’ and women represent the ‘other’. Male person are considered to be strong, intelligent and powerful, but women are considered to be weak, fragile and foolish, on this ground the mail persons think themselves to be superior to women and they torture and exploit women. So feminist demand for social justice and equality. The male persons are thought to be active, dominating-adventurous, rational, creative, civilized and refined, on the other hand women are thought to be passive, timid emotional, conventional and barbarous. Women are seen as a re-productive unit rather than an individual identity. They are as the sex symbol in media and advertisement and an object of entertainment by the male dominated society. So women are regarded a play toy or an object of entertainment in most of the societies in the world, either eastern and western. On the basic premise of feminism it can be divided into many types such as moderate feminism, socialist, feminism, radical feminism, Marxist feminism etc. In the western countries these were four significant theorist of feminism. They were 01. Mary Wollst one craft (1759 to 1797) she wrote a book ‘A vindication of the Rights of the women’ (1792) she demanded that the values of region and revolution should be applied to the cause of women education. She argues that education is essential to train the minds of women’s. In her opinion defective education of women is the cause of social and personal ills. Equality of women should be treated as a means to achieve an end. The ideals of liberty, and equality should be applied both to men and women. 02. Virginia Woolf- she wrote a very powerful essay ‘A room of one’s own’ she illustrates that the history of women’s literary writing had no room of their own in a patriarchal society. In developing her argument. She says that in order to be a writer a women should have financial independence and a room of her own. In other words she demanded. Economic security and privacy for women. She also points out that women have been traditionally disadvantaged in comparison to men. 03. Simone de Beakvoir’s in her book ‘The second sex’ she argues that there is an opposition between men & women because men represent the self’ and women represent the ‘other’. So women belong to the second sex and they are treated as inferior beings. She criticizes the existence of the myth that ‘women is men’s other’ in European thought. Women are oppressed and subordinated without any reasons. Women is seen only as a sexual entity and this is quite unfortunate. The women is never thought to be an individual but as an object of pleasure and sexual enjoyment. 4. Elaine Showalter- She wrote a very influential essay ‘famine criticism’ in the wilder base in 1981. She has proposed a model of feminist literary theory and she has rejected the male models. She provided the female model into two ways (A) feminist critique exposing women as reader (B) Gynocritics presenting women as writer. In her view Volume VIII, Issue I, January/2019 Page No:1177 International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124 gynocritics refers to the facts that women become the writer or producer of textual meaning. This also refers to the history, themes, genres and structures of literature by women. So in her view the female model of writing is independent of male values and norms. She says that women are different in terms of nature, race, culture and ration. So they cannot be universally studied. Another feminist critics Maggie hum discusses some important problems like following – 01. It address the problem of gender his by examining male texts. 02. It confronts the problem of creating a gendered reader by offering new methods and critical practice. 03. It has to make us as women readers and women writer, bringing one common community. Another important feminist was Kate Millett’s who wrote a powerful book ‘Sexual politics’. She writes of a ‘Male assertion of dominance over a weak, compliant and rather on intelligent female. It is a case of sexual politics at fundamental level of sexual copulation’ (Page - 6). Although feminism was basically a western movement. It spread all over the world and was reflected in literature written in several languages. Among the Indian women writer and poets who made significant contribution to feminist literature is Kamala Das, Monika Berma, Ira De, Gouri Despande, Lila Ray, Chitra Prashad, Bimla Rao, Darothi Sinha, and many others. They are mostly confetional. In Indian literature the feminist attitude of writers are traceable very easily. For example: Ilavenil Meena Kandasamy’s novel- ‘When I hit you or a portrait of the writer as a, young wife’, poem- ‘touch’ and ‘Ms Militancy’, Kamala Das, Anita Nair (novel- ‘The ladies couple’, The Better man’, Arundhati Roy, Manju Kapur (difficult daughters), Kamla Bhasin- (Poem- Kyunki main ladki hoon, mukhe padhna hai), Anita Desai, Chitra Banerjee Divakurni, Kamala Markandaya, Urvahi Butalia (called Kali for women) “The other side of silence: voices from the partition of India, Amrita Pritam (Poem- ‘Ajj Rakhaan Waris Shah an U and Peinjar), Bengali writer Ashaparna Devi’s- ‘Bakul Katha and Prathama Pratisruti’, Mahesweta Devi etc. This can also be nicely observed in oriya literature where the feminist poets, novelist and story writers explain how the women are oppressed, tortured, and exploited in family, in the society and in institution. They have revealed the causes of such oppression according to their view. In the novel of Prativa Ray, namely “Barsa, Basanti Baisakha & Mahamoha, Gayatri basu Mallick of such oppression and exploitation are depicted. In Mahamoha, Violence in domestic life, the husband beats the wife; put her to fortune & dowry torture, bride burning. The ancient sage Manu says Volume VIII, Issue I, January/2019 Page No:1178 International Journal of Research ISSN NO:2236-6124 “Pita rakhshyati koumare varta rakshyati yobane, Rakshyanti stabire putra na stree swatantraya maharta” The meaning of this line says that women need shelters and support during all the phases of their life for example: when she is a girl and not married, she is taken care by her father, after her marriage she is protected and sustained by her husband. When she becomes an old lady, she needs the help and support of her son. This indicates that the women has no individual identity and this has been highlighted by the women’s writer of Odisha inducing the novelist the poets and the story writers like Prativa Roy, Prativa Satpathy, Binapani Mohanty, Giribala Mohanty, Sujata Mishra, Gayatribala Panda, Aparnna Mohanty, Gayatri Saraf and Runu Mohanty.