1.1 the European Dramatic Tradition of Theatre with Reference to Women Characters

Introduction 1 1.1 The European dramatic tradition of theatre with reference to women characters Drama as a genre of literature has been one of the earliest and the most influ- ential forms of expressions. It has been so due to its comprehensive nature, its capacity to deal with subtleties and its inherent aspects of putting them on stage in a manner that is convincing and entertaining. As a result, it has been the chief genre of literature that has undergone many changes on structural and thematic levels and has successfully become contemporary in its appeal. In the contemporary sense of subject matter, the present day issues, the thematic and structural changes suiting to the understanding of the audience in society. Theatre has been used as an artistic endeavour and sometimes also as reactionary against social change and justice. They represented their trends through theatrical presentations. Along with this, one of the main objectives of presentation of drama is making the audience aware of the social and contemporary issues. It alerts the audience to changes in society and provides new ways of responding to them and imagining alternative possibilities. Along with the purpose of entertainment, drama conveys certain issues such as moral, social or political concerns. In general literature is primarily concerned with man’s social world, his adaptation to it and his desire to change it. In Introduction to the Study of Literature, William Henry Hudson argues that Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in life, what they have experienced of it, what they have thought and felt about those aspects of it which have the most immediate and enduring interest for all of us. It is thus fundamentally an expression of life through the medium of language (W. H. Hudson/1996:10). The issues discussed in the presentation of the pieces of drama, introduce the new ways of thinking, and acting in relation to existing, established contemporary systems in the society. As the present study deals with the selected plays by Henrik Ibsen namely, A Doll’s House, Ghosts, The Lady from the Sea, and Hedda Gabler and Vijay 1 Tendulkar’s plays namely, Silence! The Court is in Session.., Sakharam Binder, Encounter in Umbugland and Kamala; from a feminist point of view, it will confine only the plays where the treatment of women, as per the present social norms at that particular time, is revealed. Though feminism is substantially a new approach to study, right from the earlier and the medieval period we observe the presence of male domination as a backdrop in the themes and the presentation of the plays. 1.1.1 Classical Greek Tradition of Literature Along with other sources such as the Bible, the Greek mythology, English literature also borrowed themes from Greek literature. The era of classical Greek literature lasted from 5th to 4th century B.C. The age of classical Greece drew to a close with the end of the fourth century B.C. Yet through its literature, classical Greece still has an enormous effect on modern Western thought and traditions. Almost all Western literature, from histories to romance novels, from thrillers to poetry, draws from classical Greek traditions. Many of the themes present in those ancient plays and poems are in fact still popular in modern literature. The influence of Greek thoughts, its civilization and also the literary traditions is very visible even today in the realm of literature. Classical Greek literature developed out of an even older tradition of oral storytelling. The dramatists wanted to convey new ideas and educate people as to how to live life and how to face the problems in life. These new plays were generally performed for showing gratitude to Gods. With this background, the focus of the study would turn on the women’s role in Greek society and its portrayal in literature. The following paragraph supports the patriarchal view in Greek society. Greek society, like most societies all over the world throughout history, was domi- nated by men. In Ancient Athens, the exclusion of women was all more striking. An Athenian woman was always under the guardianship of some male–father, husband, or nearest male relative–no matter her age. Women married young, usually between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, while their husbands were usually over 30. The difference in age reinforced the guardian role of husbands in a marriage. Marriages were arranged; a woman normally had no choice. Her dowry was controlled by a male relative and given to her husband to control. The main function of a respectable Athenian woman was to produce a male heir. A daughter could inherit property from her father in the absence of brothers or other male heirs, but she would be forced by law to marry a relative on her father’s side. Because the pure and legitimate lineage of children was so important in continuing 1.1 The European dramatic tradition of theatre with reference to women characters 2 the family line, women were carefully segregated from men outside the family and were confined to special quarters . Men and women did not socialize within the home–the husband would entertain male guests exclusively. While men were free to seek sex outside the marriage, such behavior was severely punished in women. Respectable women stayed home to raise the children, cook, weave cloth, and oversee the management of the household. Once a year, women could participate in the public festivals in honor of Athena and attended the dramas presented on this occasion. Aside from this, women were expected to remain home, out of sight, silent, quiet, and unnoticed. (www.hist.uib.no/antikk/antres/womens/ ’women of Athens: two views’). The history of Athens cannot be overlooked besides reading the famous speech of Pericles as a tribute to the soldiers who died in the battle field. Pericles was a brilliant general, orator, patron of the arts and politician – “the first citizen" of democratic Athens, according to the historian Thucydides. Under his leadership the Athenian culture flourished and the citizens of Athens, followed his words as the guidelines of looking at life. He portrayed his feelings about a woman’s place in Athenian society. Thucydides provides the Pericles funeral oration in the Ancient History Sourcebook, The Peloponnesian War. First, he believed women to be the weaker sex. When speaking to widows at the funeral for warriors, he tells them not to fall into their character, as a woman’s character is weak and vulnerable. He also explains to them that younger women should find someone else and have children, to ease the pain and help them forget about their loss. He tells older women to be grateful that the prime of their lives was happy.’ (Pericles’ Funeral Oration : www.hyperhistory.com). It accounts the position of women in the society in the eyes of men in ancient Greek society. The reflection of these thoughts is clear in the Greek plays. Besides, there are a few women characters who try to break those shackles and have self esteem. For instance, the women characters in Sophocles’ Oedipus and Antigone. They are portrayed in typical traditional women’s roles. Each character has her own way of interacting and dealing with the men in her life. Each character is able to be compared against Pericles’ ideal of Athenian womanhood. Many of these women characters shows traits that contrast immensely with this ideal of womanhood, while others fit very well with it. The plays and therefore drama as a genre – even at the time of ancient Greece was a medium for challenging social norms and assumptions, specifically when it comes to the subordination of women. 1.1 The European dramatic tradition of theatre with reference to women characters 3 In Antigone, there are two very contrary female characters. Antigone herself contrasts immensely with Pericles’ ideal of womanhood. Antigone is furious with Creon, who has become a king after Oedipus’s two sons, Polyneices and Eteoclese, have killed each other in battle. Creon declares that because Polyneices fought against the city, he will not be allowed to have a proper burial. Antigone, feeling her first loyalty to her family and not to the country, goes against Creon’s law and buries her brother. Instead of doing this secretly, she tells her sister, Ismene, to announce it to the town so that everyone knows what she has done. It seems that she wanted to make an example that she believes the natural law takes precedence over human law. When Creon finds out and sentences Antigone to death, she argues with him to his face. Finally, when she is sealed in the cave to die, she kills herself first, before she dies naturally, showing her control over her own life. Eurydike, Creon’s wife seems to fit in with Pericles’ ideal of womanhood. She is not seen or heard till the end of the play. This coincides well with Pericles’ ideal. When she learns that her son, Haemon, has killed himself, when he saw that Antigone was dead, Eurydike’s character becomes a great contrast to the ideal. At first she mourns her son in private, but she makes her final statement publicly. She kills herself in public, in front of an alter, while cursing her husband Creon for killing their two sons, Haemon, who has just died and Megareus, who had died prior to the start of the play. She blames Creon for their deaths in public, making her final breath and her final action a last stand against him and a public statement, which goes against Pericles’ view of Athenian womanhood.

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