Reproductive Identity In Dattani's Seven Circles Around The Fire

The queer is rather a difficult or problematic entity to categories as our society exists in binaries. For instance the term “Trans- sex” is in itself a trap. Serena Nanada in, Neither Man nor Woman: The Hijras of India states that they are “an intermediate sex or gender category as nothing other than transitional; it cannot be, in our culture, a permanent possibility” (Nanada,123). Thus they are always subjected to rerductive identity.

Dattani’s plays explore this temporal uncertain existence of the trans-gender. They stress on the marginality of the third sex and the difficulty of representing the same. For instance in the play Seven Circles Around the Fire, opens with the rebuke. “Uma: Will she talk to me. Munswamy (chuckling): She! Of

Gender is classed hence Patriarchy ranks masculine over the feminine. It is works on a reward and pusnishment system. Thus gender is also a social system of power and privilegages. Dttanai projects the repression that confines the trans or queer idenity. The play explores pushinment from death to confinement. Here again Mr. Sharma and his hosuehold provides the backdrop of the heterosexual life style that enahce the conflict of the play. steroptypical instituations like marriages, family contrsat the quuer idenity throught the play. Subbu being characterised as ill or sick is yet another inastance of reductive idenity. Mr. Sharam depicts the typical pratorach who povbserves any type of sexual deviacy as an illness that ca be treated. The sterotypical understanding of the queer as unnatural is projected with much subtility by Dattani. Subbu being forced to marry is yet another instance of repressive confinement. However Dattani rightly projects that homes as confinements of the queer. “Mr. Shrama: …my son is getting a wife from a fine family. I am happy to see that he is entering the pahse of the householder. Uma: and you feel the truth lies in that ? Mr. Sharma: For him, yes. My turth is in enusirng he is on the right path.” (Dattani, 37). This rather a forceful dialogue that encapsulate the confilct of the play. Here the rule of binaries that structure the society is evident. As discussed earlier the patriarchy functions within the safe space of binary, that is easy to absolute definition. The indeterminate sites of representation threatens the structure hence it is repressed. Here Mr. Sharma’s stress on redirecting his son Subbu to the right path is symbolic of this repression. He does not consider his sons sexuality as a natural one but rather a sign of deviance which has to be corrected by him as a patriarch. Moreover the ideas of family and marriage as socially integral institution is ingrained in the