Feminism In Bapsi Sidhwa's Ice-Candy Man

Feminism is a highly innovational concept representing an important deviation from the traditional way of critical evaluation. Feminism is generally known as a struggle against all sexist and patriarchal oppression, a struggle for the purpose of women`s equality, an effort to make women equal to men. Alice Jardine defines feminism as “a movement from the point of view of, by, and for women” (Jardine.20). Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex (1949) plays a significant role in understanding the idea of feminism. It has helped the feminists to understand the clear significance of women`s Otherness. Though fundamental, Marxist and psychoanalytical feminists have important things to bring about the causes of women’s suffering. Beauvoir sees that none of them truly determines why woman is always ‘the other. She gives a common clarification of

Sidhwa in the novel the Ice-Candy Man tries to present her personal view about history from the perspective of feminine entity. Marie Luise reflects this concern in the following words. “The novel also re-writes history from women`s point of view because Sidhwa gives due importance to the real-life lived experiences of women during Partition” (Marie, Gattens.149). The prominent theme of the novel is the miserable condition of women in a male dominated patriarchal Indian society. As Mishra comments on Sidhwa`s portrait of feminism from both perspectives, women as oppressed object and women as empowered element that. “Woman as victim and women as savior of women and the weak condemning male chauvinism and violence mongering callous selfishness of the politicians and barbaric nature of communal frenzy in targeting hapless minorities and women, Sidhwa artistically juxtaposes the incidents on both sides of the border to go beyond narrow national commitments”