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Lubna Rehman M.Phil English Second Semester Open House presentation 15th April 2013

Representation of Women in Shashi Deshpandes short stories Why a Robin? and My Beloved Charioteer

Shashi Deshpande said What we want to reach at finally is the telling, the breaking of silence.1 This is precisely what her short stories explore. Deshpande makes gender central to her writing. Her works deal not only with women in urban, ordinary situations but stem from a firm belief that our lives are greatly governed by gender. Moreover, women have been conditioned by myth to a great extent: to be as pure as Sita, as loyal as Draupadi, as beautiful as Laxmi or as strong as Durga. Deshpande feels that a woman does not start to form her image on a clean slate at all. The image is already formed through myths, movies or current day soap operas. Why a Robin and My Beloved Charioteer discard this set notion and root a new way of representing women altogether. The former is a story of a mother daughter relationship as well as a womans role as a wife. Both these stories examine the problematics of domestic relationships. Where Why a Robin? depicts a mother as human and not an emblem of idealization in every which way, My Beloved Charioteer also depicts a mothers nature and behavior not as a
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Said so in an interview with Romita Chaudhury, World Literature Written in English, 1995.

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goddess but as a normal human being full of negatives as well as positives, full of emotions as well as frustrations and not a perfect being. Why a Robin? is a story of a little girl who needs to present a school assignment on the bird Robin. Unaware of the creature she decides to take her mothers help. The mother has no knowledge of the bird because of which she is of no use to the child and the child bitterly ridicules her and instead takes help from her father. Through this moment the mother not only realizes her lack of knowledge but also her lack as a mother. She asks her child Why a Robin? Why not a peacock? The mother is extremely disappointed at herself and furthermore melancholic as the child has no attachment with her. The last scene shows the little girl crying due to stomach ache. It is then that a certain bond is formed between the woman and the womanto-be. The mother then gives her hot milk and narrates her her own first time experience of this stomach pain. It is from here that the child realizes that she needs her mother as much as she needs her father. In her sleep she says I will ask my teacher tomorrow, why not a peacock? Why Only Robin? and dozes off. One representation of the story and so the mother figure can be in the stereotypical form where the woman is secluded not only as a wife but also as a mother. She has a forever craving for love from her husband and child and to receive that she tries to bridge the gaps between the two bonds. She tries to please her daughter by willing to narrate to her her experience with a peacock, and also take care of her husbands needs and comforts; but all to no avail. The story ends on a positive note where her daughter finds peace with the mother and that is the only and forever happiness for her mother. Needless to say, just like it is supposed to be for a mother figure. Why a Robin? treats of the dilemma of a woman who feels that her existence in her house is a pain as there was no point of contact between her world and those of her husband and her little

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daughter. Even after laboring persistently for them and whittling down all her hopes, her presence remains unacknowledged. But one day the gulf between her and her daughter is bridged when the daughter serendipitously encounters puberty and the neglected mother provides the necessary comfort and assurance. The protagonist says Theytalk of many things, ignoring meAn outsider in my own home. Have they locked me out or have I locked myself in? They look at me, without seeing me. Looking at the story from a different perspective one can say that even though the mother is not seen as she wants to be seen, is represented as passive and withdrawn, she is not wholly a sorry figure and neither is she fulfilling the demands of the stereotypical notion of a mother or a wife or a woman. The story depicts a mother being human and not as a mother is supposed to be as per the society. She has desires, is lacking in capabilities, is passive but has authority too. A blend of good and bad, she is represented as an ordinary person. She is authoritative with the servant, passive with the husband and helpless with the daughter. On the one hand where one can say that she is unable to cope up with her daughters generation, feels isolated, and is unwilling to change the set rules and duties of a wife towards her husband; one can complicate the issue by saying that by simply being incapable as a woman, by not being goddess- like and just a mother and by not satisfying the husbands needs as a wife, she is unknowingly liberating herself from the set norms for a woman. She is an alienated figure in the family just because she is unable to live up to the familys expectations. But problematizing the issue one can analyze this situation as the mother carving a niche for herself, and trying to frame her own identity. Deshpande represents her protagonist not as an epitome of fulfilling every role but a person who has flaws. Not letting a mother figure be flawless, she is deliberately represented as a normal person and is much appreciated. The daughter in the end clasps the mothers hand and sleeps.

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The ending shows a sort of development of a new bond between the mother and daughter. This is symbolic of the daughter accepting her mother as she is. The daughter, who is a representation of the generations to come, is accepting her mother devoid of the goddess qualities, simply as a mother and not a mythic figure. Also, it is not just the mother offering resistance unknowingly; it is also the husband figure who is doing the same. The husband is also represented in an image which is a total opposite of a stereotypical husband figure. He is a man who remains to the self like a woman is supposed to be, stays in his own isolated world like a woman is supposed to stay and speaks very little like a woman is supposed to do. As much as the mother wants to mingle with the people and bridge the gaps, the husband is passive and in his own. Hence, the husband is also going against the set notions of a husband figure. He has nothing manly in him. The little girls figure is also violating the set rules of the representation of women. Where a girl is supposed to be submissive and shy, Deshpande has, maybe deliberately, represented her as sharp, rude, rebellious and active. Offering submission as well as resistance, this story is a story of human relationships, of lives and homes where a womans reality is depicted through women. My Beloved Charioteer seems to be like a continuation of the above story where the girl is grown, the husband is dead, there is a frustrated mother who lives along with the daughter Priti and Pritis grandmother Ajji. This story therefore is about three women, three generations, with three different mindsets, living together. It is about the troubles and/or complications of a mother daughter relationship- between Ajji and Aarti, and Aarti and Priti. Ajji and Aarti are widows, leading a complex, gloomy life whereas Priti is full of life inspite of being fatherless. Ajji and

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Priti are close, being a life support for each other but Aarti leads a depressing life burning herself and her life away in her smoking habit. It was her father whom she loved more than the mother but he died early, after which she loved her husband more than the daughter but he died young too. She is so much entangled with the past that her present (which is Priti) is neglected. Priti is scared of her mother and detached from her. Dont bother me is what she gets to hear when she tries to tell her school time stories to her mother. Also, Aarti prefers staying indoors. The reason why she is reluctant to go out is that she hates to see happy couples. Rage and jealousy fills her up whenever she sees them. With her legs up on the table, she only smokes all day in her fathers room in the company of her fathers things which were untouched even after his death. Whenever she sees Priti happy, she asks sarcastically do you remember papa? only to see the childs smile fade away and to see a frightened sad expression on her face. Ajji finds it necessary to make her get rid of such repulsive behavior so even though she is scared to approach her initially, she finally gathers courage and tells her about her own married life, how Aartis father and her husband actually treated her and how she was a puppet in his hands, how she was afraid to move or even cough while her husband was asleep, how she desired to sleep in another room and how she was constantly reminded of her wifely duties by her mother-in-law. With every reality Aartis eyes were filled with tears and without saying a word she rushed out of the room. Just then Ajji hears Priti calling out for her and the story ends when Ajji replies Im here. Metaphorical and physical detention in the home is an obstacle faced by Ajji, the grandmother in My Beloved Charioteer. She, like many of the female protagonists in Deshpande's fiction, is an emotionally secluded woman who struggles to discard her inhibitions and her cloistered self. However, in Ajji's case, confinement is self imposed out of a sense of fear, duty, and ingrained cultural obligation to her dead husband. Such a sense of duty and obligation is manifested and

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perpetuated generationally in patriarchal cultures. Because she no longer has to subordinate herself, a manifestation of silence, to her husband's wishes or cope with her husband's physical, psychological, and emotional abuse, Ajji feels safe and is comforted by the silence that now permeates her world. She now enjoys her life: free from tension, pain and criticism and does not worry over the past or what she has lost, quite unlike the woman figure. Even though she was submissive and passive in the former part of her life, one can complicate the woman figure by looking at her latter life. Not only is she happy with her husbands absence, she is also not following any rituals a widow is supposed to follow in the Indian Hindu society. She recalls how her mother had a shaven head but she herself did not shave her head. She does not remember her mother wearing anything but white; but she herself wears colors. Like her mother had only lament in her life, we see Ajji happy with Priti and longing for Pritis presence when she is in school only to continue to laugh and be happy. Hence a total contrast of not only a typical woman image, but a contrast of a widow image is also shown in this story. Ajji is initially lacking the moral courage to confront her daughter in much the same way she was afraid to confront her husband. However, later Ajji begins to understand the impact Aarti's emotional coldness is having on her granddaughter. Eventually, Ajji's love for Priti prompts her to find the daring to confront not only Aarti but also her dead husband. In fact, one could argue that Ajji's progress occurs because of her relationship with Priti. Hence, a woman is seen giving power to a woman. Ironically, her husband's room offers her the opportunity to find her voice, rebel against her oppressor, and break the pervasive silence that threatens to destroy her home and granddaughter. Aarti, her daughter, provides her with the motivation to deal with her ghosts and take over her husband's power when Aarti, who is sitting in her father's room, accidentally knocks over her

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father's photograph. The husbands importance in controlling and directing her life is symbolically shattered. Ajji has crossed the first threshold and she tells her daughter she does not want to ever see the photograph again. Once she is able to articulate the words, "I let him go," she achieves an epiphany that she kept a room spotless for a man who didn't value her and muffled her voice. Her husbands control is now diminishing. She feels wisdom of self empowerment she has never experienced before; she is learning to emphasize herself and chose self over selflessness, despite her daughter's opposition who doesn't want to hear the truth about her father. At the end of the story, when Priti comes home from school and asks where Ajji is, Ajji's reply, Im here," is a simple assertion which not only indicates a simple physical location, but also reveals an emotional, psychological assertion of self actualization and self-affirmation. For the first time in her life she IS. Another contrast that we see is in the other widow that is Aarti. Even though she had a dejected life because of her husbands and fathers absence, she never, on the other hand, followed the rules of a widow. She worked, earned, wore what she liked and even used to smoke. Where smoking on one hand can be considered a way of expressing frustration, helplessness and sadness that a woman figure is usually associated with; this same image of her smoking can also be considered to be retaliation against the set norms for a woman/widow. Smoking which is considered to be a manly trait is carried off by a woman. Other than this she is seen to have other unwomanly characteristics too. She is working and earning hence breaking the domestic restrictions, she is rude when a woman is supposed to be welcoming, aggressive when a woman is supposed to be polite, impulsive when a woman is supposed to be patient, and authoritative when a woman is supposed to be submissive. She is an embodiment of the masculine

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personality, an opposite of the woman society wishes to see and an open critique offered by Deshpande. If we look at the question of space, these two stories discard the set notion of space too. There is no restriction for a woman. These two stories specifically deal with women inside the house but not just in the kitchen space. We see them breaking many barriers and building many bridges. Where men are granted the most space even in feminist works, we see no men in these two stories sharing any space, and even if they do, they are either portrayed through a womans voice, or have a passive presence. Ironically, it is the men who have no say in these stories. And opposite to the general norm, it is men who are represented through women. Sita, Savitri have been treated as ideals of devotion in the Indian society. The society does not accept a woman as a person. It seems that the society does not allow any woman to live without the labels of a mother, daughter, sister, wife, mother-in-law, and daughter-in law. While playing these roles, a woman has forgotten herself as a human being. Be it these two stories or a story like It Was Dark2, Shashi Deshpande portrays this very picture of women who deal with the stereotypical problems of women; and Deshpande complicates the issue further by presenting a very thin line between what society calls a moral woman and, an immoral woman.

This story by Shashi Deshpande also depicts poignantly a mother daughter relationship seen from the perspective of a mother trying to reach across a barrier to her daughter. It also deals with a womans real concern at her inability to be an ideal mother and her difficulty in communication.

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Deshpande, Shashi. Collected Storeis Volume 1. New Delhi: Penguin Books, 2003. Print. Bite, Madhuri. Domestic Relations in Shashi Deshpandes Short Stroeis. Galaxy: Multi Interdisciplinary Research Journal 1.3 (2012): 1-6. Web. 8th April 2013.

http://www.galaxyimrj.com/V1/n3/Madhuri.pdf
K, Sharon. Women Without a Voice: The Paradox of Silence in Sandra Cisneros, Shashi Deshpande and Azar Nafisi. n.p. 1st Jan 2010. n.p. Web. 7th April 2013.

http://www.readperiodicals.com/201001/2321016641.html#b
Rao, Padmarani. Women in the Literary Corpus of Shashi Deshpande. Galaxy: Multi Interdisciplinary Research Journal 1.3 (2012): 1-8. Web. 7th April 2013.

http://www.galaxyimrj.com/V1/n3/Padmarani.pdf