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Indian Writings in Literature

Notes she fails to gather courage and confidence to question the exploitative and oppressive system. In
a patriarchal social order, "masculinity' is associated with superiority; whereas 'feminity' is linked
with inferiority," and while "masculinity implies strength, action, self-assertion and domination,
feminity implies weakness, passivity, docility, obedience and self-negation.
Appanna's bestial instincts come to the fore the very first day of the marriage when he goes out
to meet his mistress locking up Rani in the house with the words: be back tomorrow at noon. Keep
my lunch ready. I shall eat and go. Neither does he tell her why and where he goes to nor does she
gather courage to question his nocturnal visits. In patriarchal order, women are not supposed to
question man's indiscretions; rather they are subjected to harsh interrogation and severe
chastisement if they try to deviate even slightly from the prescribed rules and roles. The lock
signifies the entire patriarchal discourse of chastity which is used to contain and confine woman's
urges. This solitary confinement of Rani by Appanna in the house symbolizes the chastity belt of
the Middle Ages, the reduction of women's talents to housework and the exclusion of women
from enlightenment and enjoyment.
In a patriarchal social system, husband is supposed to provide security and safety to wife, but in
the play, it is the husband who engenders sense of insecurity and fear in his wife. Rani feels
frightened being alone in the house haunted by the feelings of fear and insecurity, but Appanna,
instead of providing her any emotional succor and support, threateningly interrogates her: what
is there to be scared of? Just keep to yourself. No one will bother you. Locked up in the empty and
isolated house, Rani finds no one to share her pains and privations. Rani tells Kurudavva: you are
the first person I have seen since coming here. I am bored to death. There is no one to talk to. Rani
is impatient to vent her anxiety and agony, but Appanna hushes her up with the harsh words:
Look, I don't like idle chatter. Do as you are told, you understand? In the conventional marriage,
husband enjoys all privileges to give orders, not to be dictated; whereas wife is forced to go by his
all and sundry wishes and whims, desires and dictates. Rani, alike other Indian wives, suffers
from an acute sense of loss and lassitude within wedlock. Being helpless, she suppresses her
urges---sexual, social and psychological.
In Indian society, a woman is not supposed to claim freedom and individuality. In such a situation,
repression of individuality is inevitable. In tradition-bound societies like India, the women happen
to be the worst sufferers as the social norms and moral codes have been so framed as to be
particularly disadvantageous to them. In the twentieth century, psychological theories make the
point that repression of the natural urges puts tremendous impact on the psyche of an individual.
One has to represses his or her natural instincts, under the duress of socio-cultural codes and
mores, to conform to the socially sanctioned roles, but the repressed desires get fulfillment through
dreams, hallucinations and myths. Peter Barry holds the view:
The underlying assumption is that when some wish, fear, memory, or desire is difficult to face we
may try to cope with it by repressing it, that is, eliminating it from the conscious mind. But this
doesn't make it go away: it remains alive in the unconscious, like radioactive matter buried beneath
the ocean, and constantly seeks a way back into the conscious mind, always succeeding eventually.
Rani, as a victim of severe repression and alienation, seeks refuge in the world of dreams and
hallucinations. She fantasizes that she is being carried away by an eagle far from the world of
Appanna. She asks the eagle: Where are you taking me?. The eagle answers . Beyond the seven
seas and the seven isles. On the seventh island is magic garden. And in that garden stands the tree
of emeralds. Under that tree, your parents wait for you. Then Rani asks him again: Do they? Then
please, please take me to them. While dreaming she falls asleep and moans: But the make-believe
world does not last long; very soon she confronts the harsh realities of life, on waking up, to find
her in the locked house of the monstrous Appanna. Rani's dreams reveal the inner working of her
psyche; they are articulation of the innermost desires suppressed in her consciousness. The eagle

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