Postcolonial Feminist Theory: An Overview - Igcollege.org

Proceedings of National Seminar on Postmodern Literary Theory and Literature , Jan. 27-28, 2012, Nandedmother—Radha to be opinated and dominatingAnanya’s father. She is proud of the fact that shehas a son as progeny, and so demands respectfrom the girls’ side, forgetting that she herself isa woman. Patriarchal thinking is so much a partof her that she is scared of her husband, even tomeet with her siblings. Kavita puts up withphysical abuse from her husband, even for herson’s misdemeanor. She thinks the boy’s side issuperior and their demands have to be fulfilled.She is even ready to part with her jewelry forMinti, when the groom’s side is creating a scene.Radha--- Ananya’s mother representsthe second generation women in the novel.Coming from the Southern part of India where,one can see better educational opportunities’ forwomen, she is educated. Her position inmarriage is better off in comparison to Kavita.She has a hobby of singing Carnatic music. Sheis conservative in her thinking. When Harishcomes as a suitor for Ananya, she is willing toaccept him as her son-in-law just because he isearning a good salary, despite his unhandsomelooks.Ananya—female lead, Minti, Tikki andNikki are women representing the thirdgeneration in the novel. Educated, smart,modern and suave in their outlook they are allgirls of the 21 century. They have goals andambitions. They are achievers, who want to berecognized for their own worth, merit andintegrity rather than their fathers’ or theirhusbands’. Reaching the Numero uno position intheir chosen field and maintaining it is theirgoal. This phenomenon can be seen in everyfield—Aviation, Industry, MultinationalCompanies, Software Engineers, Politics, FilmActing, Fashion etc., For these women, marriageis a part of life and not the be all and end all as itwas to their mothers, aunts and grandmothers.They are not only involved in serious pursuit ofwhat they want; they also like to have fun alongthe way.Ananya—is intelligent, academicallyhighly motivated, smart and passionate. She istruly a girl of the contemporary times. She isselected for her brilliant performance in IITAllahabad. Despite being born a Tamil Brahmin,brought up by conservative parents, she is notconservative. She eats non-vegetarian food andlikes a drink or two. She is determined,confident and charming. Every batch mate whomeets her is charmed by her. She does notdevelop a guilty conscience after havingpremarital sex with Krish. Further illustrationsof her grit and focus are seen in Minti’smarriage. Minti is Krish’s cousin. At the lastminute the groom’s side is not happy with thedowry. Ananya, the resourceful girl that she is,convenes a meeting of the young people, in thewedding hall, including the groom. Sheconvinces the groom, to accept the situation—status quo, get married to Minti and not create ascene. Her body language, choice of words andrebellious attitude against patriarchy is bold.This incident portrays the determined outlook ofthe young in India today. It also depicts thesensitive and soft side of Ananya’s character.Mindful of the repercussions of her actions, andthe highly delicate situation of Minti, shedisplays great sense of justice against all odds.Ananya does for Minti, a girl just like her, whatshe would do for herself. This action brings tomind the Biblical thought, “Do unto others asyou would have done unto you”.When there are ego problems betweenKrish and herself, she prefers to let go of therelationship with Krish and call the marriage offrather than cause trauma and loss of face to herparents. This again displays a lot of courage anda sacrifice of the self for the better of others.Krish is not willing to let go of Ananya, andpursues her only to get a damp rebuff.Surprisingly it is Krish’s father—the greatpatriarch in the family who considers the309 PLTL-2012: ISBN 978-81-920120-0-1