Thus, feminism sought to liberate women from androcentrism, which was prevalent in multiple aspects of life, including religion. Women’s views were not expressed in religion and theology, therefore, feminist theologians attempted to reinterpret religion based on the female experience. Feminist theologies can be divided into three categories, revolutionary, reformist and reconstructionist. The first, revolutionary feminist theology, views the bible and Christianity as patriarchal and antiwoman. Thus, women abandoned Christianity and looked to worshipping ancient female deities.
Arranged marriage is a controversial practice in many cultures around the world. However, studies have found that roughly 85 percent of Indians prefer to engage in this tradition, and have a higher rate of marrital success than a marriage based on personal choice. (Dholakia, 4) Yet, even considering these statistics, it remains a concept that is met with dissapproval, thought to be archaic and demeaning to those involved. Chittra Banerjee Divakaruni’s short story Clothes depicts a young woman transition, from being obliged to follow this cultural norm, and the shifts in her mentality throughout this process. It is not unreasonable for the reader to view the protagonist, Sumita, to be a victim of this presumably inhumane practice.
Feminism can be defined as a collection of movements and ideologies which have the aim of defining, establishing and defending a state of equal political, economic, culture and social rights for women. Equal opportunities for women in education and employment were one of the other needs of this movement. A feminist can be addressed as the one who advocates or supports the right and equality of women. Feminist movements lead to the emergence of a new theory named as ‘Feminist theory’, which was having the ultimate aim of understand the nature of gender inequality by examining women’s social roles and living experience. It has developed a number of theories in a variety of disciplines in such a way that it respond to issues such as the social construction of sex and gender effectively.
At the beginning of the novel, Takahashi describes Mari as someone who “can never take the initiative to talk to anybody” (14). He thinks her as a strange girl because Mari speaks more often in Chinese though she is a Japanese. Here, Mari also represents “a man without a hometown.” She alienates from not only her own family but also her compatriots through abandoning their public language. Without any social connection, she can only sit alone at Denny’s Restaurant every night. Her interaction with the Chinese prostitute Dongli is a transforming point, which provides her with a chance to regain her sense of belonging.
Feminist Theory involves looking at how women in novels are portrayed, how female characters are reinforcing stereotypes or undermining them, and the challenges that female characters face (Davidson). Feminist Theory can be applied to In the Time of
II. Postfeminism Feminism is “a troublesome term” (Beasley, ix). It is a complex notion which deals with social, political, cultural and individual concerns. Consequently it does not possess a universally agreed, clearly defined ideology. Hollows defines feminism as “a form of politics which aims to intervene in, and transform, the unequal power relations between men and women” (2000, 3).
Amir has moved from trying to forget about this betrayal to realizing that he messed up. This part of the book helps develop dynamic
Inspired from Claudine Ward’s Fugue Divakaruni wrote this story about an immigrant arranged married Indian couple who had a small child. The story revolves around the disappearance of an exasperated wife and an orthodox husband searching frantically for her, but in vain. Devastated at last he recalled his married life with her, and evaluated his and his child’s future. He decided to get remarried and discovered at last that his wife had actually eloped taking all her jewellery. Divakaruni through her characters impresses bilaterally the orthodox mindset of an Indian immigrant male which ascends towards the wife’s exasperation and how her alienation destroyed their relationship and the family.
In Africa, as I will discuss, capitalism has used but also modified patriarchal institutions, just as patriarchy has sought to preserve or extend those institutions under the political, economic, and cultural changes introduced by capitalism. (April A.Gordon, 57). I have tried to accommodate in my analysis that feminists do need to avoid the often ethnocentric assumption that all women’s experiences of patriarchy-or capitalism- are the same, or that all women experience oppression in the same way. (April A.Gordon, 26) As Duniya and the other female characters in the book present. Race, class, ethnicity, and subjection to imperialism are other forms of oppression that the protagonist of this novel often experiences.
Sudha Shree in his article “Difficult Daughters: Travails in Self Identity” aptly describes Virmati’s struggle in her life in the following words: Virmati, The protagonist rebels against tradition, yet she is filled with self-doubt she pleads for studying further and postponement of her marriage. She attempts suicide, when forced with protests of marrying the canal engineer. The family brands her to be restless, sick and selfish and locks her up. (Shree 165) Shree’s observation focuses Virmati’s struggle in the male dominated society. For her search of own space in the society, she rebels against tradition, cancels her marriage and gets isolated in the process.