Friday, 4 December 2020

Assignment: The American Literature



Different standards of morality for a male and for a female in society with reference to the English novel

The Scarlet Letter and Gujarati short-story  Matino Ghado

 

Abstract

Mind is not the problem but the mindset is problematic. Whenever it comes to think, what is essential in life, this question becomes hollow without the identity of a person and crucial question is what this identity is?  Is anything else than social status, self-respect or self-assurance?  Of course nothing more but we live in a society where all these are part of a person's identity but only if one is a man!  If there is a woman, her self-esteem, honor and status are tied with her husband or father.  Morals are formed out of a person's values. Values are the foundation of a person's ability to judge between right and wrong. This research is study of Gujarati Short-story માટીનો ઘડો by Jayant Khatri. This research aims to project is supposed to serve several purpose simultaneously.   It studies how double standards in evaluation of men and women are perceived into the society. 

Researcher studies this with genuine curiosity to know about female’s identity and construdted role in society

Key Words: double standards, different morality values, Jayant Khatri, Matino Ghado

 

 

What does Gender Roles and social belief

Gender roles are based on the different expectations that individuals, groups, and societies have of individuals based on their sex and based on each society's values and beliefs about gender. Gender roles are the product of the interactions between individuals and their environments, and they give individuals cues about what sort of behavior is believed to be appropriate for what sex. Appropriate gender roles are defined according to a society's beliefs about differences between the sexes.

Understanding the term "gender roles" requires an understanding of the term "gender',

'Gender" is a social term that is often confused with the term "sex:' Sex and gender are different concepts. Sex is a biological concept, determined on the basis of individuals' primary sex characteristics

The social construction of gender is demonstrated by the fact that individuals, groups, and societies ascribe particular traits, statuses, or values to individuals purely because of their sex, yet these ascriptions differ across societies and cultures, and over time within the same society.

Related to the sociological perspective, a feminist perspective on gender roles might assert that because gender roles are learned, they can also be unlearned, and that new and different roles can be created.

 

 

 

Feminist theory

Broadly speaking, feminists believe in and advocate for social and political gender equality. Feminist research approaches are diverse in their emphasis and method. However, all feminist-oriented research consists of core features that address the ontology and epistemology of feminist theoretical frameworks. This includes the focus on and objective to critically engage women’s lived social realities with a view to changing them for the better.

 

Is gender research always feminist?

The problematic of what constitutes feminist research touches at the core of a common misunderstanding of feminist theorizing.  Indeed, not all research on gender can be described as feminist in approach and orientation. Gender’s articulation in much psychological research has been critiqued by some feminist scholars who have argued that there is very little interrogation of the concept of gender itself, as well as little critical interrogation of how gender has been taken up in problematic ways. Likewise, not all feminist research is exclusively about women or focused only on women, although some scholars argue otherwise, preferring to priorities feminism’s core principle of giving credence to women and the issues and experiences that affect them. This assignment is too among them.

Researcher believes that while this latter priority is important, feminism’s potential impact in influencing social change for women must encompass a much broader analysis of gender as an organizing structure and lived materiality that affects all gendered subjects in society. In this regard, feminist research benefits from a broader vision of critical work on gender in society and its myriad enactments and sociopolitical formations. Critical work on masculinities, for example, can thus be enhanced through a feminist lens.

 

Jayant Khatri

 


Jayant Khatri is significant writer in the canon in Gujarati literature. The researcher has noticed emphatic presence of the traits of twentieth century English literature: traits like absurdity, existential anguish, dark humor in dialogues etc. He has a remarkable craft of employing symbols and metaphors in his stories for presenting the mindset of his characters.

the researcher has noticed emphatic presence of the traits of twentieth century English literature: traits like absurdity, existential anguish, dark humor in dialogues etc. He has a remarkable craft of employing symbols and metaphors in his stories for presenting the mindset of his characters,

એના પર ચીતરામણ સરસ હતું, ઘડો મને ગમતોતો!

 

માટીનો ઘડો (critical Analysis)

This story revolves round emotional and erotic bond between Saheb and Ranal and earthen pot is a metaphor for their relationship. Their relation is as soothing as cool water in an earthen pot. Just as a person strives to quench his/her thirst by that water, both Saheb and Ranal quench their thirst (emotional and physical) by this bond. However, the bond is as fragile and ephemeral as an earthen pot. In Indian spirituality, human body is metaphorically represented by an earthen pot. Made up of dust and earthly elements, it houses all desires but at last it is destined to break and merge with those same elements – just like an earthen pot. She enters Saheb’s tent with an earthen pot to ask for some water but returns with the most blissful, intimate love a woman can have from a man.

Far from being just a story of romantic relationship, Khatri makes it a tale of burning passions, vengeance and tender girlish sentiments. Through this story, Khatri proves that he is a master of depicting puzzling complexity of female psyche.

Literary theory is a prism which crystallizes the various shades and nuances of a text and presents the whole spectrum of literary studies

 

Critical interpretation of the character Bijal

Bijal is the father of the protagonist of the shorty story Matino Ghado. He does not want to listen even for a while.

 

Matino Ghado as a symbol

But when we look at Ranal’s mother is she also ‘Kacho matino ghado’? This patriarchy doesn’t allow getting strong suit even.

Thus, implication of the title Matino Ghado serves plot purpose.

 

Connection between Matino Ghado and The Scarlet Letter

The Researcher finds there some of the interesting key aspects in both stories to study the novel The Sarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Gujarati short-story Matino Ghado by Jayant Khatri.

The Scarlet Letter illustrates the consequences of Adultery and the chances for redemption through the development of the two main characters Hester. Hester is able to confront her sins and work towards redemption and is thus rewarded with coming to peace with her past.

Researcher has taken just reference from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter as how Roger Chillingworth (Husband of Hester)  and Bijal (Father of Ranal) can be seen similarly as well as the representation of constructed rule in society.

In The Scarlet Letter,  Hester is able to confront her sins and work towards redemption and is thus rewarded with coming to peace with her past. Here, In Matino Ghado Ranal also admits her wish to spend her life with Saheb but her request is not heard even.  Interesting thing Researcher has found is, In the Scarlet Letter, the name of Roger Chillingworth is clearly given instead of just naming him as priest only. Where as in the Gujarati short-story Matino Ghado does not names directly to saheb. His identity is completely unknown.

In larger discourse it doesn’t matter whatever the language is, literature is just a single canal. Looking from this perspective, The Scarlet letter symbolizes puritan society and that era where this Gujarati short story is written afterwards, it hides the identity of a man who had sexual relation with Bijal.

This also suggests that our society is speedily going but progressively but regressively.

Do Women and Men Have Different Moral Values?

If yes, then why?

 

What Bijal has already relished in his early days, he doesn’t allow her daughter! Why he didn’t think that that one is also a girl! If he can do this then what’s the problem if her daughter commits which is looked by society as over act.

Why social norms are not equal for all social animals?

Why woman has to suffer for all the time?

 

Why patriarchy do not think which is simply logical?

Very simple thing is, to get pregnant and to marry has no any kind of relation with each other. Even physical relationship is also encoded emotionally with marriage that if female is having physical relationship with any male that if a woman tries to come out of this structure, she is considered as rather a bad woman. Things don’t top here but she is punished and bitterly or say cruelly bitten from her own father or brother.

Very logical question is…

What changes overnight after marriage that one it is good to have sexual relation with husband. What difference does this create if this sexual relation takes place before that!

This same thing happens with Ranal. She was bitten by her father like anything. Even her mother is unable to help her daughter when Ranal says,

મારે અહિયા રહેવું છે.

 

 

Her mother expresses her anger through just few words is…

તું રાક્ષસ છે.

These words signify women’s powerlessness in this patriarchal society.

 

While women are achieving more educationally and participating more in the labor force than ever before, there is a widespread perception among the public that full equality between men and women remains an elusive goal. While women have made substantial gains in the workplace in recent decades, there is clear evidence that women remain underrepresented at the top level.

Researcher would like to sum up this discussion with the quote by Krizan


“People tend to overestimate the differences because they notice the extremes,” Krizan said

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Thus, Researcher has positively found that double standard exists in society for different gender as for male and female. Here, feminist critic Semen-de-Beauvoir is also proved equally right as "One is not bornbut rather becomes, a woman." How much of time passes, but social norms are encoded so deeply that it is very difficult to come out. Even if one tries, it also a trap of patriarchy!

Precisely, patriarchal society can never accept a woman as it accepts a man!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: an Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. Manchester University Press, 2017.

Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. Vintage Classic, 2015.

Dawson, Leslie. “Women and Men, Morality and Ethics.” homepages.se.edu/cvonbergen/files/2013/01/Women-and-Men-Morality-and-Ethics.pdf. Accessed 28 Nov. 2020.

De Bruin-Mole, Megen. “Space Bitches, Witches, and Kick-Ass Princesses: Star Wars and Popular Feminism.” Star Wars and the History of Transmedia Storytelling, edited by Sean Guynes and Dan Hassler-Forest, Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2018, pp. 225–240. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt207g5dd.20. Accessed 29 Nov. 2020.

Foschi, Martha. “Double Standards in the Evaluation of Men and Women.” Social Psychology Quarterly, vol. 59, no. 3, 1996, pp. 237–254. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2787021. Accessed 28 Nov. 2020.

Khatri, Jayant. Read Stories, Poems and Books. gujarati.pratilipi.com/story/%E0%AA%96%E0%AA%B0%E0%AA%BE-%E0%AA%AC%E0%AA%AA%E0%AB%8B%E0%AA%B0-%E0%AA%B5%E0%AA%BE%E0%AA%B0%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%A4%E0%AA%BE-%E0%AA%B8%E0%AA%82%E0%AA%97%E0%AB%8D%E0%AA%B0%E0%AA%B9-al7qt3h03001.

Kiguwa, Peace. “Feminist Approaches: An Exploration of Women’s Gendered Experiences.” Transforming Research Methods in the Social Sciences: Case Studies from South Africa, edited by Sumaya Laher et al., Wits University Press, Johannesburg, 2019, pp. 220–235. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.18772/22019032750.19. Accessed 29 Nov. 2020.

 


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