Courtesan and Wife - Destroyer and Bestower an Analysis of the Duality of the Concept of Femaleness in the Daśakumāracarita
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Courtesan and wife - destroyer and bestower An analysis of the duality of the concept of femaleness in The Daśakumāracarita Master‘s thesis: Sanskrit Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages University of Oslo Grethe Lindgren Semester: Autumn 2008 Summary The concept of femaleness in ancient India can be inferred from a variety of literary sources. The patriarchal-structured society has created normative texts, law books and treatises to explain female nature and to regulate female behavior. The duality in the perception of femaleness is often present within one single text, however, it becomes even clearer when different texts are compared and analysed. The dichotomy in the concept of femaleness is most obvious in the depiction of the two archetypes in Sanskrit literature: the wife and courtesan. In the thesis, the Da÷akumàracarita, which is a novel dated to the late 6th century AD, is read as a text that mirrors the society of the author. The text has been analysed and compared to other texts for the purpose of throwing light on how femaleness is perceived. The method used in this thesis is thus mainly hermeneutic. Because the aim is to reveal information about woman, and also because the male text studied in the analysis may ascribe to a viewpoint of women that primarily serves male goals, the approach is feminist. The analysis is structured around three topics; female nature, the wife, and the courtesan. It reveals the basis for various beliefs and attitudes regarding femaleness, as well as ways patriarchy has employed these attitudes to advance male needs. Although the social spheres of the wife and the courtesan were mutually exclusive, their common objectives were to serve men. The analysis shows to what extent the women portrayed in the novel conform to the role models provided for them, and their options for power over their lives. Female nature is presented as predominantly negative in the normative texts explored in this thesis. It was therefore important for patriarchy to control women, and in particular female sexuality, in order to protect itself from the possible malevolent effects of female behaviour. Marriage was a way to transform the negative traits in women into positive qualities. The wife became a benevolent force due to male control. The courtesan, on the other hand, was beyond male control, and is thus potentially dangerous. The patriarchal dilemma lies in the fact that it needed both types of women. ___________________________ The front illustration is a photo of one side of a double-faced relief depicting a courtesan. Kushan Period. 2nd century AD. Maholi Village, Mathura. National Museum, New Delhi. American Institute of Indian Studies photograph. Acknowledgements The choice of topic for my thesis has been strongly influenced by two factors: my interest in narratives, and my interest in how women are portrayed in tales, legends and myths. While studying Sanskrit with Professor Georg von Simson, I became increasingly fascinated by the kàvya literature. His ability to interpret the literature and to make it come alive has been extremely meaningful to me. This has also been decisive for my choice in making the novel Da÷akumàracarita the subject for my analysis of the concept of femaleness in ancient India. Therefore, I would like to give sincere thanks to Georg von Simson for introducing me to the entrancing world of Sanskrit creative literature, and for his inspiring and generous sharing of some of his extensive knowledge in this field. I would also like to give a heartfelt thanks to my supervisor, Lars Martin Fosse; I could not have had a better mentor. He is an eminent sanskritist, and has freely given his knowledge, both of the language and of the source materials relevant to my work. His support, encouragement and patient guidance have been invaluable in the process of writing this thesis, which for various reasons has taken me a long time to complete. I would also like to thank the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, especially May Maria Tollerud, because they have been very understanding during a time of serious illness in my family. I am very grateful for being given the extra time to write my thesis. I would really like to thank my friend Janet Iversen for proofreading my English and correcting numerous mistakes. On short notice, she set aside time to go through the thesis and has been encouraging and supportive when things have been at their busiest. Anything that is unclear or incorrect in this document is entirely my responsibility. Not least, I would like to thank my family for their comfort and encouraging words when writer‘s block arose. Many times, they have put things into perspective for me, and reminded me that life would continue regardless of my writing progress. And lastly, I want to give a huge thank you to Line and Trond. Without your love and support, it would have not been possible to complete this task. Oslo, November 2008 Grethe Lindgren Contents 1 Background ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 The twofold concept of femaleness .................................................................................. 1 1.2 Patriarchy the overarching social system ...................................................................... 4 1.4 Method ............................................................................................................................. 8 1.4.1 Understanding the text .............................................................................................. 8 1.4.2 Problems in interpretation ......................................................................................... 9 1.4.3 Analysing the text .................................................................................................... 10 2 The Da÷akumàracarita ....................................................................................................... 12 2.1 Daõóin the Court Poet ................................................................................................. 12 2.2 The kāvya genre ............................................................................................................. 13 2.3 The tale ........................................................................................................................... 13 2.4 Former studies of the text ............................................................................................... 14 2.4.1 Da÷akumàracarita – a cultural study ....................................................................... 14 2.4.2 The Da÷akumàracarita as informant on courtly culture .......................................... 15 2.4.3 The Da÷akumàracarita‘s implications for the Vàtàñaka and Pallava Courts ........... 16 2.5 Intertextuality ................................................................................................................. 16 3 Female nature ...................................................................................................................... 18 3.1 Patriarchy – the defining authority ................................................................................. 18 3.2 Women linked to nature ................................................................................................. 19 3.3 Women‘s character ......................................................................................................... 21 3.4 The giving of a woman ................................................................................................... 28 4 The Wife – praised and restrained .................................................................................... 36 4.1 The good wife ................................................................................................................. 38 4.2 The dissatisfied wife ....................................................................................................... 44 4.3 The deserted wife ........................................................................................................... 47 4.4 Strãdhana – women‘s wealth .......................................................................................... 50 5 The Courtesan – feared and desired .................................................................................. 50 5.1 The svadharma of the courtesan .................................................................................... 53 5.2 The status of the courtesan ............................................................................................. 60 5.3 Dangerous and powerful women .................................................................................... 66 5.4 Gaõikàmàtç - the great matriarch ................................................................................... 69 6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 72 References ............................................................................................................................... 81 Appendix I Appendix II 1 Background 1.1 The twofold concept of femaleness What is femaleness? Or rather, how is femaleness conceptualised in classical Sanskrit literature? On the one hand, women are depicted as fertile, faithful, gracious and virtuous bestowers of happiness and comfort, often compared to the benevolent goddess Lakùmī; on the other, women are