Page 227 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Unit 27: Girish Karnad: Nagmandla—Themes

He renders himself loving and soothing at night. Paradoxically, he sets a watch-dog against his Notes
own self at night. This symbolically represents the guard he sets against his own instinct, that
proves to be futile. Therefore the tussle with himself, he gets defeated without accepting defeat,
and…"the scars remain". The husband who inflicts injury at day turns out to be the pharmakon at
night. The spouse, who is the master at day, becomes submissive to his wife at night against his
own will. B. T. Seetha states that instinct as a creative force reigns supreme in the plays of Karnad.
"In spite of the reasoning it is the instinct that seems to win."
No, let's say that the husband decides on the day visits. And the wife on the night visits. I won't
come at night if you don't want me to.
However, in the sub-conscious mind—the knowledge remains; the knowledge of the duality, the
dissociative disorder.
Naga (seriously): I am afraid that is how it is going to be. Like that during the day. Like this at
night. Don't ask me why.
He does not want to face questions as to the existence of his duality as it is something that he
would prefer to deny than accept. A mirror to his split is too much for him to digest. The shielding
of himself from the mirror connotes this fact. For Rani, this is a decisive point-the mirror stands for
crucial point of self-realization that Appanna's exclusive interest in her is purely sexual. This is
why she retreats and refrains from making love to him when she sees his reflection in the mirror.
She comprehends that there is no element of love in his attraction for her. As for Naga, even while
being Naga, we can find behavioural patterns of Appanna manifesting itself; like while asking
Rani to adhere to unquestioning obedience
Naga:[..] When I come and go at night, don't go out of the room, don't look out of the window-
whatever. And don't ask me why.
Rani likens herself to the whale but does not know why. She thinks herself to be a creature
without any rational power only with basic instincts. She is not even attributed with the power to
think and is caged like an animal. In short she does not possess any persona, any identity. Her
singularity is defined in terms of her husband's whims and fancies. There are various references
to animals to exemplify the pre-dominance of the instincts or impulses.
The death of the dog implies the death of his will-power and therefore infuriates Appanna. The
dog that was initially brought for human-intruders proves to be futile. On the death of the dog, he
buys a mongoose as a guard. Is a 'mongoose', a guard for human intruders? Certainly not! Therefore,
it is for the snake or Appanna's sexual self that he sets a watchdog at the beginning itself. The
mongoose is evidence enough. It says that the mongoose had given a tougher fight and because
the mongoose had given a tougher fight, there was no sign of him for the next several days and
when he does arrive, [..] his body was covered with wounds that had only partly healed.
Consciously, Naga is not aware of Appanna and Appanna refuses to acknowledge Naga. Perhaps
self-awareness does not creep in at the climax when it most obvious to us.
Climax (She turns away. Naga takes a step to go. They both freeze. The lights change sharply from
nigh to mid-day. In a flash, Naga becomes Appanna. Pushes her to the floor and kicks her.
Here the patriarchal hierarchy is explicit in expressionistic terms. For Appanna, the fact that his
wife has committed adultery is more acceptable to his conscious mind than the fact that he himself
is Naga. For outsiders, the snake ordeal is a test to prove the chastity of Rani. However, in reality,
the test is for Appanna himself to ascertain whether he himself is Naga. When the test ultimately
does prove positive, the truth dawns…Appanna = Naga. Therefore he had submitted to Rani.
Therefore, she has triumphed over him and therefore is elevated to the status of a goddess. Hence,
a more domesticated, humble Naga.

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