2.2 Image of New Woman
The new Indian women are making their presence felt in a striking way by means of self-assertion with roots in modern education, exposure to development, cultural contacts and exploitations of one’s capabilities and mental resources. They are searching for new horizons and new orientations to re-position their status in the patriarchal framework. Against this background it is necessary to find out whether the women depicted in the plays of Girish Karnad are able to attain identity of their own by going against the traditional image of woman that is fabricated by men and emerge as new women.
In the play Yayati, the main focus is on how Chitralekha reacts in the last part of the play and attains the image of a New Women. …show more content…
Her glorious vision withers away as soon as she steps into the palace. The news, that the curse of decrepitude has been taken upon by the Prince makes her feel lost in the battle of life. Chitralekha suffers at the hands of her husband Pooru, who does not think of his wife even once before acceding to the supreme sacrifice of giving up his youth and vitality to his father. He acts as an irresponsible husband. Chitralekha finds it hard to live up to the expectations of a royal Aryan woman or to put it in general terms, of an Indian wife who accepts all the decisions of her husband with a smile and never dares to question his …show more content…
Chitralekha, when she is unable to bear this, raises her voice. At that time her father-in-law Yayati comes to picture to console Chitralekha and he also tells her to behave in a fashion befitting a royal Princess. Here the gap between the behaviour expected of a man and a woman in a traditional Indian society surfaces up. While Yayati flouts the rules of morality with ease, develops an illicit relationship with Sharmishtha and even has the cheek to tell his wife on her face that he would marry another woman; the newly married Chitralekha is expected to exhibit devotion and morality and remain a dutiful wife. But Chitralekha with firm conviction conveys her decision to the King, that prince Pooru will not be allowed to step into her room unless and until his youth is restored to him: “I will not let my husband step back into my bedroom unless he returns a young man.”2 Her immediate reaction shows her fright and inability to confront the reality. When the king reminds her of her duty as a wife that she must follow the foot prints of her husband at home or forest, she remains unaffected and with pungent words conveys her intention to give up the palace and the Prince. She categorically challenges the very authority of the king. She doesn’t yield to the arguments of Yayati but retorts: “…You hold forth on my wifely duties. What about your duty to your son? Did you think twice before foisting your troubles on
The new Indian women are making their presence felt in a striking way by means of self-assertion with roots in modern education, exposure to development, cultural contacts and exploitations of one’s capabilities and mental resources. They are searching for new horizons and new orientations to re-position their status in the patriarchal framework. Against this background it is necessary to find out whether the women depicted in the plays of Girish Karnad are able to attain identity of their own by going against the traditional image of woman that is fabricated by men and emerge as new women.
In the play Yayati, the main focus is on how Chitralekha reacts in the last part of the play and attains the image of a New Women. …show more content…
Her glorious vision withers away as soon as she steps into the palace. The news, that the curse of decrepitude has been taken upon by the Prince makes her feel lost in the battle of life. Chitralekha suffers at the hands of her husband Pooru, who does not think of his wife even once before acceding to the supreme sacrifice of giving up his youth and vitality to his father. He acts as an irresponsible husband. Chitralekha finds it hard to live up to the expectations of a royal Aryan woman or to put it in general terms, of an Indian wife who accepts all the decisions of her husband with a smile and never dares to question his …show more content…
Chitralekha, when she is unable to bear this, raises her voice. At that time her father-in-law Yayati comes to picture to console Chitralekha and he also tells her to behave in a fashion befitting a royal Princess. Here the gap between the behaviour expected of a man and a woman in a traditional Indian society surfaces up. While Yayati flouts the rules of morality with ease, develops an illicit relationship with Sharmishtha and even has the cheek to tell his wife on her face that he would marry another woman; the newly married Chitralekha is expected to exhibit devotion and morality and remain a dutiful wife. But Chitralekha with firm conviction conveys her decision to the King, that prince Pooru will not be allowed to step into her room unless and until his youth is restored to him: “I will not let my husband step back into my bedroom unless he returns a young man.”2 Her immediate reaction shows her fright and inability to confront the reality. When the king reminds her of her duty as a wife that she must follow the foot prints of her husband at home or forest, she remains unaffected and with pungent words conveys her intention to give up the palace and the Prince. She categorically challenges the very authority of the king. She doesn’t yield to the arguments of Yayati but retorts: “…You hold forth on my wifely duties. What about your duty to your son? Did you think twice before foisting your troubles on