xi ABSTRACT
PUTRI, HELENA HANINDYA KARTIKA. Redefining Motherhood through the Character of Gauri in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.
This study is about the effort of redefining motherhood issue by analyzing Gauri in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland, this thesis will try to reveal that a woman should not be pushed to believe in the centrality of motherhood concept, woman has to find their own self-fulfillment and respected as an autonomous individual. I choose to analyze this novel because it has the potential to evoke the concept of Indian traditional motherhood, to challenge and expand the common definition of motherhood in Indian society.
There are three problems that are analyzed in this study. The first problem questions the description on Gauri’s characteristics. The second problem questions the identification of the concept of motherhood as constructed in Indian society and finally, the third problem questions the changing perspectives in Gauri and the effort to redefine the concept of motherhood. The theory holds that the character of Gauri inThe Lowland embodies the effort to redefine the concept of motherhood.
The method employed in this study is library research. The data gathered is classified as primary and secondary sources. The primary source of the study is The Lowland(2013) by Jhumpa Lahiri. Secondary sources are taken from books, journals, research reports, and other available printed materials gathered from libraries as well as from other electronic sources.
xii ABSTRAK
PUTRI, HELENA HANINDYA KARTIKA. Redefining Motherhood through the Character of Gauri in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Studi ini adalah tentang upaya mendefinisikan kembali konsep keibuan wanita berwarna (perempuan India) dengan menganalisis tokoh Gauri di novel The Lowlandkarya Jhumpa Lahiri, tesis ini akan mencoba untuk mengungkapkan bahwa seorang wanita tidak harus didorong untuk percaya pada sentralitas konsep keibuan, wanita memiliki hak untuk menemukan pemenuhan diri mereka sendiri dan dihormati sebagai individu yang otonom. Saya memilih untuk menganalisis novel ini karena memiliki potensi untuk membangkitkan konsep keibuan pada masyarakat tradisional India, untuk menantang dan memperluas definisi umum dari keibuan dalam masyarakat India.
Ada tiga masalah yang dianalisis dalam penelitian ini. Masalah pertama mempertanyakan deskripsi karakteristik Gauri. Yang kedua mempertanyakan identifikasi konsep keibuan yang dibangun dalam masyarakat India. Yang ketiga mempertayakan perubahan perspektif tentang dirinya oleh Gauri dan upaya untuk mendefinisikan kembali konsep keibuan. Teori ini menyatakan bahwa karakter Gauri di The Lowland mewujudkan upaya untuk mendefinisikan kembali konsep keibuan.
Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian pustaka. Data yang dikumpulkan diklasifikasikan menjadi sumber primer dan sekunder. Sumber utama dari penelitian ini adalah novel The Lowland (2013) oleh Jhumpa Lahiri. Sumber sekunder yang diambil dari buku-buku, jurnal, laporan penelitian, dan materi cetak lain yang tersedia yang dikumpulkan dari perpustakaan maupun dari sumber-sumber elektronik lainnya.
REDEFINING MOTHERHOOD THROUGH
THE CHARACTER OF GAURI IN JHUMPA LAHIRI’S
THE LOWLAND
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
Helena Hanindya Kartika Putri
Student Number: 114214013
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
ii
REDEFINING MOTHERHOOD THROUGH
THE CHARACTER OF GAURI IN JHUMPA LAHIRI’S
THE LOWLAND
AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree ofSarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
Helena Hanindya Kartika Putri
Student Number: 114214013
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
vii
“Do not allow
people to dim your
shine because they
are blinded.
Tell them to put on
some sunglasses”
-viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I would like to thank Jesus Christ for everything that has been done
on me, especially during the whole process of this undergraduate thesis writing.
His blessings are very important in the writing of this undergraduate thesis.
I also want to thank my advisor, Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum, who
never gives up on me during all this undergraduate thesis writing time. My thanks
are also expressed to my co-advisor, Dr. F.X. Siswadi, M.A, who give me useful
advises to help me finish this undergraduate thesis.
My deepest gratitude goes to my parents, sister and all my family for the
unconditional love and for giving me the most comfortable home to come to
whenever I feel down and weary. They always support me. I want to dedicate this
work to my parents, Papa and Mama, to my sister, Vera, who studies in the
Netherlands and to my cousin who passed away in 2014, Patricia Prima Puspa
Sari. I keep my promise to all of them that I will finish what I have started. I will
not finish this undergraduate thesis without all their prayers for me.
Last but not least, I also would like to thank my dearest friends, Noi and
Engkik. They are always being my best cheerleaders. I want to thank my friends
from Sweeney Todd’s casts and crews for giving me fun distractions, also my
friends from class of 2011 for all the tears, memories and laughters. I will see
them again on Top!
ix
LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH...vi
x
CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS ...30
A. Gauri’s Characteristics ...30
1. Single ...32
2. Married (first marriage with Udayan Mitra) ...34
3. Widowed ...35
4. Remarried (second marriage with Subhash Mitra) ...37
5. Separated ...38
B. The Concept of Motherhood in the Indian Traditional Feminine Roles ...41
1. The Enormous Expectations of Mothers...42
2. Widespread Feeling of Guilt and Inadequacy from Social Pressures ...44
3. Labeling Mother as a Deviant...47
C. Gauri’s Changing Perspective to Redefine the Concept of Motherhood ...48
1. Opposition to the Concept of Motherhood...49
2. Redefinition and Reshaping the Accepted Motherhood ...55
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION...62
BIBLIOGRAPHY...66
xi ABSTRACT
PUTRI, HELENA HANINDYA KARTIKA. Redefining Motherhood through the Character of Gauri in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Sanata Dharma University, 2016.
This study is about the effort of redefining motherhood issue by analyzing Gauri in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland, this thesis will try to reveal that a woman should not be pushed to believe in the centrality of motherhood concept, woman has to find their own self-fulfillment and respected as an autonomous individual. I choose to analyze this novel because it has the potential to evoke the concept of Indian traditional motherhood, to challenge and expand the common definition of motherhood in Indian society.
There are three problems that are analyzed in this study. The first problem questions the description on Gauri’s characteristics. The second problem questions the identification of the concept of motherhood as constructed in Indian society and finally, the third problem questions the changing perspectives in Gauri and the effort to redefine the concept of motherhood. The theory holds that the character of Gauri inThe Lowland embodies the effort to redefine the concept of motherhood.
The method employed in this study is library research. The data gathered is classified as primary and secondary sources. The primary source of the study is The Lowland(2013) by Jhumpa Lahiri. Secondary sources are taken from books, journals, research reports, and other available printed materials gathered from libraries as well as from other electronic sources.
xii ABSTRAK
PUTRI, HELENA HANINDYA KARTIKA. Redefining Motherhood through the Character of Gauri in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma, 2016.
Studi ini adalah tentang upaya mendefinisikan kembali konsep keibuan wanita berwarna (perempuan India) dengan menganalisis tokoh Gauri di novel The Lowlandkarya Jhumpa Lahiri, tesis ini akan mencoba untuk mengungkapkan bahwa seorang wanita tidak harus didorong untuk percaya pada sentralitas konsep keibuan, wanita memiliki hak untuk menemukan pemenuhan diri mereka sendiri dan dihormati sebagai individu yang otonom. Saya memilih untuk menganalisis novel ini karena memiliki potensi untuk membangkitkan konsep keibuan pada masyarakat tradisional India, untuk menantang dan memperluas definisi umum dari keibuan dalam masyarakat India.
Ada tiga masalah yang dianalisis dalam penelitian ini. Masalah pertama mempertanyakan deskripsi karakteristik Gauri. Yang kedua mempertanyakan identifikasi konsep keibuan yang dibangun dalam masyarakat India. Yang ketiga mempertayakan perubahan perspektif tentang dirinya oleh Gauri dan upaya untuk mendefinisikan kembali konsep keibuan. Teori ini menyatakan bahwa karakter Gauri di The Lowland mewujudkan upaya untuk mendefinisikan kembali konsep keibuan.
Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian pustaka. Data yang dikumpulkan diklasifikasikan menjadi sumber primer dan sekunder. Sumber utama dari penelitian ini adalah novel The Lowland (2013) oleh Jhumpa Lahiri. Sumber sekunder yang diambil dari buku-buku, jurnal, laporan penelitian, dan materi cetak lain yang tersedia yang dikumpulkan dari perpustakaan maupun dari sumber-sumber elektronik lainnya.
1
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
A. Background of the Study
In 1963 in the U.S., Betty Friedan, a psychologist, talked to hundreds of
women and realized that the source of these women’s depression was an identity
crisis. Women from girlhood were being told that they would find fulfilment and
happiness as a wife and a mother in traditional feminine roles. Another woman told
her that she had everything – a husband who was moving up in his career, a lovely
new home, enough money. Yet, when she woke up in the morning there was nothing
to look forward to. Quoted inThe Feminine Mystiqueby Betty Friedan, as one young mother told Friedan:
I’ve tried everything women are supposed to do – hobbies, gardening, pickling, canning… but. I’m desperate. I begin to feel that I have no personality. I’m a server of food and a putter – on of pants and a bed maker, somebody to call on when you want something. But who am I? (Friedan, 2001: 16-17)
The reality was that as women spend more and more of their energy being just
that, they felt more and more unhappy. Women had just one question that summed
up their feelings: “Is this all there is in life?”
Coming to contemporary times, in India, mothers are not the self-sacrificing
angels but are made of flesh and blood. Caught between rejecting the life-giving
motherhood, the modern woman finds no viable alternative. According to Maithreyi
Krishnaraj in his bookMotherhood in India:
Yet seduced by ideology, many women accept motherhood as an essential part of their fulfilment in life. The reality may not be precisely what was hoped. The privileges of motherhood are determined by the conditions under which women give birth (whether it is within sanctioned marriage), the social location of the mother in the family, and the desired sex of the child. The centrality of motherhood in defining women’s identities and their social roles does not imply that all women want to be mothers (Krishnaraj, 2010: viii)
The ideology that a woman should be a mother should not be generalized
because not every woman wants to be a mother. A woman should find their own
self-actualization, a chance to define herself. Feminists tend to see the reproductive
burden as limiting women’s ability to participate in wider society and pursuing their
own self-actualization. Their basic approach is that motherhood should be by choice.
Today among urban westernized couples intend on pursuing their chosen careers,
many are indeed opting out of motherhood.
This fact can be linked to a character named Gauri based on a novel by an
Indian writer named Jhumpa Lahiri,The Lowlandin 2013. Jhumpa Lahiri's novelThe Lowlandreceived reactions after being published in 2013. A few critics hailed,
"Ms. Lahiri’s most shining gifts as a writer come to the fore: her ability to conjure the daily texture of people’s lives, her understanding of how their personal and cultural expectations have shaped their choices, her talent for mapping moods and inchoate emotions with pointillist precision." (nytimes.com)
Numerous critics praised Lahiri's Gauri, "She pushes away readers, as well as
fellow characters, with unfamiliar fierceness. She repels, but not in the
have. "(theatlantic.com). Lahiri's novel has also been analyzed by researchers from
several hypothetical points: feminism, postcolonialism, and Marxism and so on.
For feminists in America, the feminist movement has embarked since the
1840s, which was later identified as the first wave of feminist movement. The first
feminist movement focused on getting the right of women for women’s misery. The
rise of Women’s Right movement and the movement for Women’s Liberation
Movement in the 1960s, marked as the second wave feminist movement. The main
concern of the second wave feminist movement was to improve women’s rights in
politics and independence. Both movements, first wave and second wave feminist
movement, primarily focused on the discrimination experienced by White women,
they did not include the existence and experience of colored women who had been
regarded as the second class members of both their own society and the dominant
society. The third wave of feminism was then born in the early 1990s, focusing on
challenging and expanding common definitions of gender and sexuality. Unlike white
women who experienced discrimination based on gender and class because of the
dominance of male power over women, colored women are discriminated not only
because the dominance of male power over women, but also from their own gender
who glorifies the idea of an ideal woman and gives no room to personal interests .
Quoting from Maithreyi Krishnaraj in his bookMotherhood in India:
point of this narration was to highlight the pervasive respect that motherhood has in Indian culture as opposed to a woman as an individual. The centrality of the mother in popular speech and practice reverberates throughout this country. A mother feels fulfilled nurturing her child. Feminists would consider this approach as essentializing the woman as a mother. This denies her the potential as a human being with multiple abilities, and her need to be a citizen as much as anyone else. (Krishnaraj, 2010: 2)
Focusing on the motherhood issue of colored women (Indian women), this
thesis tries to reveal that a woman should not be pushed to believe in the centrality of
motherhood concept, woman has to find their own self-fulfillment and respected as an
autonomous individual. The reason for investigating this novel with the feminist
perspective is because it has the potential to evoke the concept of Indian traditional
motherhood, to challenge and expand the common definition of motherhood in Indian
society. This novel is examined by mulling over and contrasting the concept of
motherhood which is seen through the thoughts and attitudes of people of both gender
(male and female) focusing on their judgment to Gauri's position in Indian
conventional society as a daughter in law, autonomous individual and a mother. The
characters for the analysis are picked on the grounds that all the characters are
grown-ups, which makes it simpler to talk about their activities regarding organization and
obligation.
B. Problem Formulation
1. What are the characteristics of Gauri?
2. How is the concept of motherhood in the Indian traditional feminine roles revealed
3. What does Gauri do in order to change her perspective and redefine the concept of
motherhood?
C. Objectives of the Study
The aim of this undergraduate thesis is to prove that the character of Gauri
embodies the spirit of redefining the concept of motherhood. This study attempts to
achieve several main objectives. In order to find the evidence of redefinition of
motherhood in the novel, problem formulation has to be formulated.
My investigation concentrates on three components: (1) the description on
Gauri’s characteristics; (2) the identification of the concept of motherhood as
constructed in Indian society (3) the changing perspectives of herself (Gauri) and the
effort to redefine the concept of motherhood. The theory holds that the character of
Gauri inThe Lowlandembodies the effort to redefine the concept of motherhood. First, this undergraduate thesis aims to observe Gauri’s characteristics that
reflect reaction towards Indian traditional feminine roles that mainly shaped by Indian
patriarchal system. It is very important to understand the main character, because this
undergraduate thesis focuses on the characteristics, and studies how the character
thought and did to influence the concept of motherhood.
After a map of Gauri’s characteristics are drawn, a question on the concept of
motherhood in Indian traditional feminine roles arises. Here, the concept of
and attitudes of people of both gender (male and female). The concept of motherhood
is elaborated in this section.
Third, it presents an examination of the changing perspective, how Gauri
change the perspective of herself and the redefinition of the concept of motherhood.
D. Definition of Terms
To avoid any misinterpretation in understanding the title of this undergraduate
thesis, there are some explanations on several important terms mainly used and
closely related to the topic. First of all is the term redefinition. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, redefinition means to define (as a concept) again or to restate or reevaluate precisely the meaning of words or with a
view to change (1987: 226). What will be discussed mainly in this thesis is
concerning the reexamination of the concept of motherhood as presented by Gauri’s
character.
The second term is motherhood. Motherhood is a central concern not just of
women, but of the societies in which they live, which depend for their survival on
women’s willingness to bear children. Ann Taylor Allen stated in her bookFeminism and Motherhood in West, “Motherhood, many imply, was a “traditional” role, and feminists who emphasized it are often identified as conservatives whose contribution
was minor, if not actually harmful.”(Allen, 2005: 2). Feminist discourses on
motherhood were fixed neither on “timeless” and essentialist stereotypes, nor on
motherhood as the highest of human achievements. Indeed, claimed the influential
Swedish author Ellen Key, it was “the most perfect realization of human potential
that the species has reached.” (Allen, 2005: 5). In the political realm, this view was
expressed through an ideology that historians call “materialism,” which asserted the
public importance of motherhood and child-rearing. Some even included life-giving
motherhood with death-dealing military service among the rights and obligations of
citizenship.
In this thesis, the concept of Indian motherhood is mainly discussed. The theories
discussed are about the concept of motherhood, mainly taken form Suzan Lewis
theories of motherhood. The first is that society has enormous expectations of
mothers, labelling a mother as deviant. Second, widespread feeling of guilt and
inadequacy as well as ambivalence among most mothers as a consequence of social
pressures. It will show the gap between mothers’ self-perceptions and their
internalized ideals of the perfect mother. Third, beyond the stereotypes and
romanticizing of motherhood it is clear that it is a highly demanding role. It is in the
children’s as well as the mothers’ interests to recognize that mothers need support –
physical, material, and also emotional – to help them manage the work of mothering
and come to terms with the complex mixture of emotions that motherhood involves.
The third term is character. According to Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs
in Fiction: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, a character can be disclosed by considering these factors: what the character say (and think), what the character do,
(1989: 147-148). From that discussion, I conclude that character includes the idea of
the human personality, the presence of moral uprightness and the simpler notion of
the presence of creatures in art that seem to be human beings of one sort of another.
Character describes the personality of the individual and gives the idea about their
9 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A. Review of Related Studies
The Lowland is Jhumpa Lahiri’s fourth book. It was shortlisted for the
National Book Award in Fiction in 2013, the Man Booker Prize 2013 and the
Bailey’s Women’s Prize for Fiction 2014. This novel sketched in a town named
Tollygunge, Calcutta, India during the 1950s and 60s. The story begins with the story
of two brothers named Udayan Mitra and Subhash Mitra. These two brothers were
close in age but they were very different. Udayan was restless and impulsive. He
protested the corruption and joined the Naxalbari movement in India. Meanwhile,
Subhash Mitra was static, detached and settled in his own loneliness. Although both
were very close, they remained different.
The character of Udayan who joined the Naxalbari movement has inspired
other reasercher like Yahya Chaudry to write a journal “Reading Mao In India:
Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland and Naxalism”with the ideas on mapping the border
between the personal and political views. Chaudry was interested in revealing the
characteristics of Udayan and it became the base of an examination about the role of
personality and impulsivity in joining the Naxalbari movement in India, he used
Marxist theory to analyze the concept of Maoism and Nalxalism in India.
theory. To Udayan, the Left Front and CPI (M) are nothing more than the puppets of wealthy landowners, and parliamentary politics has proven futile. Mao and Che’s exhortations to bring about a revolution through violent struggle are all that remain for him, and fit his Newtonian sense of history (newleftproject.org)
Moreover, the main difference between this undergraduate thesis and
Chaudry’s is the approach of the study. This undergraduate thesis considers this novel
as a Postcolonial Feminism novel, different form Chaudry who considers this novel
as a Postcolonial novel. Based on the Postcolonial Feminism perspective, this
undergraduate thesis focuses on the character named Gauri as the base of an
examination about her effort to redefine the concept of motherhood. Quoting from
Cahudry’s journal about Gauri’s characteristics:
In Gauri, Lahiri has written the most captivating and controversial character in all of her fictional works. She is a thoughtful and impulsive feminist; the perfect match for Udayan and the worst for Subhash and Bela (newleftproject.org)
Gauri was a character which came across as the most complex, unpredictable
character whose thoughts and feelings were opaque from all - even from her own
daughter, Bela (Udayan and Gauri’s daughter). According to TK Pius in his journal
Jhumpa Lahiri's the Lowland: A Critical Analysis, Gauri had several dominant
characteristics as a character in the novel. She was intelligent, open-minded, and has
strong determination. Gauri was described as a smart, complicated, and selfish
woman. The qualities of her character help him to survive several crises in her
Udayan’s death, her 2nd marriage with Subhash and being alone after her separation
with Subhash.
According to Pius in his journal Jhumpa Lahiri's the Lowland: A Critical
Analysis:
Though initially the reader perceives Bijoli's prophecy that Gauri would never love Subhash, as being delivered by a woman embittered by the death of her favorite son, it will turn out to be all too true: Gauri will abandon her daughter, Bela — conceived with Udayan and brought up by Subhash as his own beloved child — to pursue her own dreams of studying philosophy and building an academic career. Lahiri never manages to make this terrible act — handled by Gauri with cruelty and arbitrary high handedness — plausible, understandable or viscerally felt. Why would Gauri regard motherhood and career as an either/or choice? Why make no effort to stay in touch with Bela or explain her decision to move to California? Why not discuss her need to leave her marriage and her child with her husband? (2014: 12)
From the quotation above, it can be concluded that Pius was questioning
Gauri’s decision as a woman and a mother, “Why would Gauri regard motherhood
and career as an either/or choice?” Pius stated that Gauri showed no effort to show a
“good mother” quality. In my opinion, those statement is an interpretation that Gauri
is expected to be a good mother and expected to have a sense of motherhood, that she
had to put her husband, her daughter and her family first rather than her own dream to
pursue a higher education. Unlike Pius statement, this undergraduate thesis believes
that Gauri’s decision should be seen as the act of changing perspective of herself in
attempt to retrieve subaltern position of a mother. Gauri’s strong belief that the social
values and motherhood did not suit her, should be seen as the act of redefining the
In the first chapter, I stated that both first and second wave of feminism
focused on the experience of White women, they did not include the existence and
experience of colored women who had been regarded as the second class members of
both their own society and the dominant society. In 1984, Barbara Smith, a black
American feminist, spoke warmly of being part of a Third World feminist movement:
And not only am I talking about my sisters here in the United States-American Indian, Latina, Asian American, Arab American-am I also talking about women all over the globe. . . Third World feminism has enriched not just the women it applies to, but also political practice in general (1984: 27).
The struggle of Third World women-both in the West and in the developing
world-for recognition by Western feminism has been long and hard. More often the
silenced objects of Western analysis, Third World women are making their voices
heard and are beginning to change the face of feminism in the West. One of the
studies about Postcolonial Feminism is the study of Subalternity.
In an interview from 1993, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak clarifies that her use
of the term subaltern was and is very specific; the pure subaltern cannot, by
definition, move upwards in the social hierarchy or make his or her voice heard. In
The Spivak Reader, to speak, in Spivak’s sense, is when there has been a “transaction
between the speaker and the listener” and to her there is “something not spoken in the
very notion of subalternity” (Landry, 1996: 289). Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is one
of the most influential figures in contemporary critical theory. However, her hugely
important theoretical work is often hard to approach for the first time. Her highly
denies the very possibility of cursing or voicing their anger/wrath. The composition
drawn from Gayatri Spivak, argues that to reclaim women’s ways for the field
requires a “strategic essentialism”, the ways in which subordinate or marginalized
social groups may temporarily put aside local differences in order to forge a sense of
collective identity through which they band together in political movements (Dourish,
2008). The strategic essentialism is designed to subvert the patriarchal, hierarchical
principles of current-traditional system (Spivak, 1988: 41).
In this undergraduate thesis, I will support the view of Gayatri Spivak which
argues that the Indian subaltern woman has a voice consciousness. Spivak’s
conclusion that ‘the subaltern cannot speak’ will be the base for me to identify
Gauri’s characteristics in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland. The undergraduate thesis
argues that Gauri has contributed with diverse representations of subaltern women in
the ‘Third World’ who—despite their oppressed and marginalized status—display the
struggle to redefine the concept of motherhood.
B. Review of Related Theories
This undergraduate thesis has three things as my problem formulations: the
main character’s characteristics, the concept of motherhood, and the attitude of
rebellion and resistance that typifies a Subaltern position. Therefore, the
undergraduate thesis needs theories on the three fields in order to answer the problem
1. Theory on Characters and Characterization
The Postcolonial Feminism attitudes in the novel can be seen by analyzing the
major character. According to Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs in Fiction: An
Introduction to Reading and Writing, a character can be disclosed by considering
these factors: what the character say (and think), what the character do, what other
characters say about him/her, and what the author says about him/her (1989:
147-148).
From Holman and Harmon’s book, A Handbook to Literature, on page 95
stated that characterization has three fundamental methods,
The first one is the explicit presentation by the author of the character through direct exposition. Either in an introductory block or more often piecemeal throughout the work, illustrated by action. The second one is that the presentation of the character in action, with little or no explicit comment by the author, in the expectation that the reader can deduce the attributes of the actor from the actions; and the third one is the representation from within a character, without comment by the author, of the impact of actions and emotions on the character’s inner self (2003: 95).
From the quotation above, there are three fundamental elements for a writer to
deliver the character. The first one is the author will explicitly describe the character
through the direct exposition. It can also be explained by the action that the author
illustrates through the story. The second one will be from the actions of the character
by explaining the comment from the author, so the reader can easily guess the
character. The third one means that the character is clearly stated from the impact of
From that discussion, I conclude that character includes the idea of the human
personality, the presence of moral uprightness and the simpler notion of the presence
of creatures in art that seem to be human beings of one sort of another. Characters
describes the personality of the individual and gives the idea about their life.
Characterization gives the way how a character can be described through direct or
indirect explanation. Therefore, I may reveal Gauri’s characteristics and, of course,
her attitudes and her concept of motherhood, using these factors.
2. Theory on Indian Motherhood
In order to understand the motherhood mentioned in the novel, theories on
motherhood from several views have to be collected. There are two important points
in this section. First, the theories discussed are about the concept of motherhood,
mainly taken form Suzan Lewis theories of motherhood. Second, the concept of
motherhood in Indian society, mainly taken from Maithreyi Krishnaraj from his book
“Motherhood in India”.
a. The concept of Motherhood
R. Coward said in his journal, The heaven and hell of mothering: mothering
and ambivalence in the mass media, in: W. Hollway and B. Featherstone (eds)
Mothering and Ambivalence,explained that images of motherhood are all around us;
in the media, psychological and medical texts, childcare manuals, feminist texts,
These portrayals of motherhood communicate ideals and stereotypes. They tell us how mothers are expected to feel, think and act. But these images and the concepts of motherhood that underpin them are full of contradictions. Mothers are simultaneously idealized and blamed for not living up to society’s ideals. Discourses of motherhood as natural and instinctive coexist with a discourse of professional expertise, and ‘experts’ clamor to advice on how to be a good mother (1997: 111–118).
Balancing the view of motherhood as instinctive, natural, joyful and women’s
ultimate fulfillment, a less idealistic view has emerged from studies which focus on
mothers’ experiences, treating women as individuals in their own right, and not only
in relation to children. Motherhood is portrayed as hard work, often isolating and
stressful, changing women’s lives and involving great responsibilities.
A number of themes run through all the concepts of motherhood discussed by
Suzan Lewis. The first is that society has enormous expectations of mothers. She has
examined some of the powerful stereotypes of the ‘good mother’ and the processes
by which these become social directives to attain impossible standards (Lewis, 2002:
42). There are huge variations among mothers, not least in their social circumstances,
and evidence that adequate mothering can take place in a range of social contexts
(New and David, 1985).
A second theme is the widespread feeling of guilt and inadequacy as well as
ambivalence among most mothers as a consequence of social pressures (Lewis, 2002:
42). All mothers must find ways of coping with these feelings. Substance abuse may
be one way of coping, but it also perpetuates the gap between mothers’
crucial importance of non-judgmental support in helping them to manage these
conflicts and do their best for their children.
Finally, when I look beyond the stereotypes and romanticization of
motherhood, it is clear that being a mother is a highly demanding role (Lewis, 2002:
42). Labeling a mother as deviant because she does not fit the stereotype, due to
substance abuse or other factors can undermine her efforts to be a good mother, and
obscure the support she needs. It is in the children’s as well as the mothers’ interests
to recognize that mothers need support – physical and material, and also emotional –
to help them manage the work of mothering and come to terms with the complex
mixture of emotions that motherhood involves. Substance abuse is not in itself a
barrier to good mothering, but the myth of motherhood perfection and subsequent
feeling of guilt and inadequacy, which this produces among mothers, can reduce
self-confidence.
b. Motherhood in India
An article,Arranging a Marriage in India,by Serena Nanda, stated that:
In India, all the household rules held by the wife, or a mother, including the
arranged marriage. Women within patriarchies who accept contextually relevant
patriarchal norms of female behavior – sexual behavior, dress, appearance, marital
status, motherhood – are rewarded as long as they conform to these norms.
The mother holds the supremacy. The abundance of mother goddesses in the
Indian subcontinent, in the great as well as the little traditions, speaks of the worship
of the mother principally as a procreative power and nurturer.
The mother goddess is not a mother with child, like the Madonna, but an independent entity standing by herself. She has both benign as well as fearsome aspects. From the exaltedDurgato the ubiquitous gramdevata, she is present to this day all over the country. She is amatrika(Krishnaraj, 2010: 03).
Kamala Ganesh, in her article, traces the tradition of the mother goddess to the
Indus Valley civilization. These predate the ‘spousified’ goddesses of later ages.
According to her, in prepatriarchy, gender relations followed ‘linking’ rather than
‘ranking’.
In literature and in mythology, the mother is deified. There is sentimental
devotion and mythification of her power to protect. Feminist reappraisal of the
matriarchate is a political strategy to reclaim female power.
Indian epics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata expound, in a multifaceted way, the significance and experience of motherhood within patriarchy. The television serials which Prabha Krishnan has monitored indicate how at the heart of the epics lie problems of identity, hierarchy and patrilineal (Krishnaraj, 2010: 03).
Both the epics portray a woman’s honor as located in her sexuality. The epics
Motherhood is seen as an emotion-based state. How Yashodha — the foster-mother of Krishna, the cowherd god — is rapturously absorbed in her child, is told and retold through dance, songs and stories. This is the idealized mother– child relationship. There are some women mentioned in the epics who did resist motherhood. There were others like Madhavi who was lent by Galav to beget sons for kings in order to get Ashwameda horses for his guru Vishwamitra. Once his mission was accomplished, she was discarded without being allowed any claim over her children (Krishnaraj, 2010: 04).
Indian mothers are revered only as mothers of sons. Sukumari Bhattacharji points
out that in ancient India, the main concern of women was to avoid the slur of
‘sonlessness’. The many rituals during pregnancy among Hindus are for the health of
the husband and child; nowhere is there any concern expressed for the health of the
mother. The care of the mother is the responsibility of the clan — a social
commitment.
After studying the concept of motherhood, we can see that among that there are
three important points in this section. The first is that society has enormous
expectations of mothers. Second, widespread feeling of guilt and inadequacy as well
as ambivalence among most mothers as a consequence of social pressures. Third,
beyond the stereotypes and romanticizing of motherhood it is clear that it is a highly
demanding role. Those points can also be found in Indian society, where Indian
woman has much insecurity because the idealization of motherhood. Considering the
facts above, it can be concluded that Gauri’s position in the society will be revealed
by using this theory. Then, it will show about the concept of “ideal Indian mother”
3. Theory on Postcolonial Feminism
According to McLeod in his book, Beginning Post colonialism, the
Postcolonial Feminism literary discipline there has been an ongoing discussion about
First World feminism in relation to Third World women (McLeod, 2000: 174).
However well-meant, universal claims of a global womanhood always run the risk of
marginalizing someone and of leaving culturally specific patterns of power and
oppression unseen. Chandra Talpade Mohanty criticizes western feminists in her
essay “Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses” and
accuses many of them for unconsciously reproducing the unequal power relations that
already is at work politically and financially, within their analysis (Mohanty, 2003:
17-42). Mohanty shows how Third World women are often described in sweeping
terms as religious, family-oriented, illiterate and domestic, placing them in a position
as ‘the other’ in contrast to the allegedly more progressive and modern women in the
First World.
Furthermore, Mohanty reacts against how western feminists tend to refer to a
monolithic, global patriarchy that “apparently oppresses most if not all the women”
(Mohanty, 2003: 19) in Third World countries and they tend to describe women as
powerless exploited objects and victims as opposed to the assumed powerful male
exploiters. Hopefully it is by now clear to the reader how far-fetched it is to assume
that all women share the same cultural or political interests only because of their
like class, ethnicity, and nationality. There are two main points in this section. The
theories discussed are about the Third World Women and Subalternity.
a. Third World Women
The term Third World is somewhat outdated, originally meaning countries
that did not belong to the ‘First World’ (the Western, capitalist countries) or the
‘Second World’ (Soviet Union with communist allies). As stressed by Robert Young
in his book, Postcolonialism: A Very Short Introduction, the term Third World was
intended as a positive, empowering label for a different perspective on “political,
economic, and cultural global priorities” than the predominant polarized world order
with capitalism on the one side and Soviet communism on the other (Young, 2003:
17). However, that positive label was never properly defined, and over time the term
instead became associated with the problems of the Third World rather than unique
solutions, and it gradually became a vague definition.
Another weakness with the concept is that it conceals the many social and
cultural differences that exist within the Third World; there is simply no such uniform
group of countries. An alternative term would perhaps be ‘women in developing
countries’ but since that concept is equally vague and since ‘Third World women’ is a
concept that has remained widely in use in many disciplines, it will be a conceptual
and strategic point in this undergraduate thesis, as we reach for a deeper
It is important to remember though that these concepts are, as McLeod puts it:
“provisional categories of convenience rather than factual denotations of fixed and
stable groups” (McLeod, 2000: 174). Regardless of which concept we use, the fact
remains that an average Third World woman does not exist, which is why any
common label would conceal a number of historical and cultural differences.
b. Subalternity
The definition of Subalternity can be found in the works of Gayatri
Chakravorty Spivak in French Feminism in an International Frame in In Other
Worlds, who criticizes how western feminists have attempted to apply their theories
to a Third World context under the good intention that they work on behalf of their
oppressed sisters who cannot speak for themselves (Spivak, 2009: 184-211). The fact
that all women share similar biological features does not mean that they also share the
same culture, values, beliefs and experiences—and therefore the “First World
feminist must learn to stop feeling privileged as a woman” (Spivak, 2009: 187).
Instead, she should ask herself what she can “learn from them” and “speak to them”
instead of always trying to speak for them (Spivak, 2009: 186). However, Spivak is
not ethnocentric in the sense that she would believe that “only Indian women can
speak for other Indian women” (McLeod, 2000: 186).
McLeod establish that “Spivak has consistently advocated that critics must
always look to the specifics of their own positions and recognize the political, cultural
this, it becomes of course very difficult to speak for anyone else with different
experiences from yours. In her ground-breaking essay, Can the Subaltern Speak,
Spivak addresses these issues in depth and scrutinizes the Subaltern Studies Group’s
attempts to revise the history writing of colonial India by revisiting historical colonial
archives, where reports of subaltern insurgency has been filed, in an attempt to
retrieve subaltern perspectives.
Spivak warns these scholars from falling into the trap of trying to recreate a
kind of “subaltern consciousness”, something she dooms as utterly hopeless. Spivak
(in a deconstructive manner) perceives human consciousness as something that is
being continuously constructed from the discourses surrounding us rather than
created by an autonomous agency, as if we were sovereign subjects. The same applies
to subaltern women, and “the subaltern as female is even more deeply in shadow”
than subaltern men, because of the male dominance in these archives concerning
subaltern insurgency (Spivak, 1988: 41).
In an interview from 1993, Spivak clarifies that her use of the term subaltern
was and is very specific; the pure subaltern cannot, by definition, move upwards in
the social hierarchy or make his or her voice heard. . InThe Spivak Reader in page
289, to speak, in Spivak’s sense, is when there has been a “transaction between the
speaker and the listener” and to her there is “something not spoken in the very notion
of subalternity”. However, Spivak adds, this does not mean that she has some kind of
attachment to pure subalternity as such” (Landry,1996: 289). Clearly, Spivak wishes
to delimit the term subaltern to hinder it from becoming watered down. She explains
that if, for example, a subaltern person is given the right to vote (in a free, democratic
election) she has thereby spoken, and by doing so the subaltern has been “inserted
into the long road to hegemony” and can therefore no longer be classified as subaltern
(Spivak, 1988: 65).
C. Theoretical Framework
Theories on character proposed by Roberts and Jacobs also from Harmon and
Holman are used to reveal the characterization of the main character. There are three
way to reveal it. The first one is the author explicitly describes the character through
the direct exposition. It can also be explained by the action that the author illustrates
through the story. The second one is from the actions of the character by explaining
the comment from the author, so the reader can easily guess the character. The third
one means that the character is clearly stated from the impact of the action that they
do and the inner self of the character itself. By revealing the characterization of the
main character, we will answer the question of the main character’s description and
the question on how the main character views the concept of motherhood.
Theories on motherhood map the concept of motherhood in Indian tradition
feminine roles and the concept of resistance attitude towards strong Indian patriarchal
enormous expectations of mothers. Second, widespread feeling of guilt and
inadequacy as well as ambivalence among most mothers is a consequence of social
pressures. Third, beyond the stereotypes and romanticizing of motherhood it is clear
that it is a highly demanding role. Those points also can be found in Indian society,
where Indian woman has much insecurity because the idealization of motherhood.
Theories on Indian culture are needed as the background knowledge about the
concept of motherhood in Indian society in the novel. Considering the facts above, it
can be concluded that Gauri’s position in the society will be revealed by using this
theory. Then, it will present to the readers about the concept of “ideal Indian mother”
that society has constructed.
The use of theories on Postcolonial Feminismism is based on the belief that
the main character’s position in society is constructed by the patriarchal and shown
the subalternity in main character’s position. The Postcolonial Feminism theory by
Spivak, is used to see the spirit of Postcolonial Feminism reflected by the main
character on how react and resist towards her position in society. Theory on Third
World Women and Subalternity show that Third World women are making their
voices heard and are beginning to change the face of feminism in the West. Those
theories contribute the diverse representations of subaltern women in the ‘Third
World’ who—despite their oppressed and marginalized status—display the struggle
to redefine the concept of motherhood. Therefore, we can see how this novel brings
26
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
A. Object of the Study
Lahiri first made her name with the quiet, meticulously observed stories
about Indian immigrants trying to adjust to new lives in the United States, stories that
had the hushed intimacy of chamber music. Navigating between the Indian traditions
they have inherited and the baffling new world, the characters in the first collection of
short stories entitledThe Interpreter of Maladies(1999), which won the 2000 Pulitzer
Prize for Fiction, seek love beyond the barriers of culture and generations. In her first
novel, The Namesake(2003) which was made into a popular film, Lahiri enriches the
themes that made her first collection an international bestseller: the immigrant
experience, the clash of cultures, the conflicts of assimilation, and, most poignantly,
the tangled ties between generations. Here again Lahiri displays her deft touch for the
perfect detail - the fleeting moment, the turn of phrase - that opens whole worlds of
emotion. Then the eight stories which appeared in Unaccustomed Earth (2008) take
us from Cambridge and Seattle to India and Thailand, as they explore the secrets at
the heart of family life. Here they enter the worlds of sisters and brothers, fathers and
mothers, daughters and sons, friends and lovers.
The Lowlandis Lahiri’s fourth book. It was shortlisted for the National Book
Award in 2013, the Man Booker Prize 2013 and the Bailey’s Women’s Prize for
2012.The Lowlandrevolves around a Bengali immigrant family in the United States
(the Mitras) and the Indian sections serve as a background to the story as it develops.
The Lowlandhas been considered as a story about two brothers, but it could easily be
the story of ideology, and how it shapes the family. The descriptions of the world the
boys were born into are vivid without catering to our thirst for the exotic. The
characters here are middle-class, living in a quiet subdivision, focused on thick
textbooks and transistor radios, on sneaking into the club for foreigners right outside
their doors. As the boys grow older and their interests take different paths, changing
the lives of everyone around them, we see India fade into the background and the
bleak solitude of New England academia takes over.
While all other characters in The Lowland follow a predictable path, it is
Gauri who comes across as the most complex, unpredictable character whose
thoughts and feelings are opaque from all - even from her own daughter, Bela
(Udayan and Gauri’s daughter). Udayan’s death has changed her, and after
remarrying Subhash, there comes a point where she wants to tell him that he is in a
way better a person than his brother ever was, a thought that decodes itself gradually
by the end. Her inner turbulence never comes to rest. In this study, Jhumpa Lahiri’s
novel entitled The Lowland (2013) is taken as an object to reveal the concept of
motherhood of Indian woman who lives under a patriarchal mode of living and tries
B. Approach of the Study
This novel is analyzed using Postcolonial Feminist approach. This approach is
perfect for analyzing the topic, because this approach will be the base to reveal the
ground situation in the society and the ideology the society believed. The
Postcolonial Feminist perspective is employed, considering that this study discussed
the Feminist issue. Mohanty reacts against how western feminists tend to refer to a
monolithic, global patriarchy that “apparently oppresses most if not all the women”
(Mohanty, 2003: 19) in Third World countries and they tend to describe women as
powerless exploited objects and victims as opposed to the assumed powerful male
exploiters. Since the study is focused on Indian woman, hopefully it is by now clear
to the reader how far-fetched it is to assume that all women share the same cultural or
political interests only because of their similar bodies. Women as a group are more
likely divided by boundaries into several categories like class, ethnicity, and
nationality. This approach is used to reveal the Indian Woman’s attitude of react and
rebel towards their position in the society.
C. Method of the Study
The method employed in this study is library research. The data gathered is
classified as being from primary and secondary sources. The primary source of the
study is The Lowland (2013) by Jhumpa Lahiri. Secondary sources are taken from
books, journals, research reports, and other available printed materials gathered from
There were steps taken in order to finish this study. Firstly, the primary source
was read. As the novel was read, worth-studying elements of the work popped up and
raised the intention to study the elements deeper. A list of worth-studying elements
were made, included in the list were the character development, the concept of
motherhood and the reaction and resistance in order to redefine the concept of
motherhood. Afterwards, secondary sources were read. Due to the reading of these
sources, list shortening in order to narrowing the study could be done. It was decided
that this undergraduate thesis would dig more about the Gauri’s character and analyze
her attitudes and her society.
Problem formulations were made as the guidance for the analysis. Firstly, the
undergraduate thesis discussed the description of the Gauri’s characteristics.
Secondly, the thesis will map the concept of motherhood in Indian tradition feminine
roles and the concept of resistance attitude towards strong Indian patriarchal culture.
Thirdly, the thesis observed the struggle of Gauri to redefine the concept of
motherhood. Finally, after getting through all of these steps, the conclusion of the
30
CHAPTER IV
ANALYSIS
In this part of the study, the answers to the problem formulation are
explained. This chapter is divided into three subchapters respectively. The first
subchapter elaborates the description of Gauri’s character. This subchapter mostly
consists of the character’s life timeline, which includes the characteristics of the
Gauri and Gauri’s perspective towards the things happened in her life. Gauri’s
perspective can be seen in the contexts she is in, which will then reveal Gauri’s
thought and reaction to mold the concept of motherhood. Understanding these
help draw Gauri and other character’s reaction towards Indian traditional feminine
roles that are mainly shaped by Indian patriarchal system. The next subchapter
deals with the concept of motherhood in the Indian traditional feminine roles that
revealed in Gauri’s life. The subchapter elaborates the concept of motherhood as
constructed in Indian society, which is seen through the thoughts and attitudes of
people of both gender (male and female). The changing of the perspective of
herself and the can be used to reveal the act of redefining the concept of
motherhood in Indian society in the last subchapter.
A. Gauri’s Characteristics
The descriptions of Gauri’s characteristics are elaborated using Roberts and
Jacobs theory. According to Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacobs in Fiction: An
the following factors: what the character says (and thinks), what the character
does, what other characters say about him/her, and what the author says about
him/her (1989: 147, 148). Also from Holman and Harmon’s book, A Handbook
to Literature, there are three fundamental elements for a writer to deliver the
character. The first one is the author will explicitly describe the character through
the direct exposition. It can also be explained by the action that the author
illustrates through the story. The second one will be from the actions of the
character by explaining the comment from the author, so the reader can easily
guess the character. The third one means that the character is clearly stated from
the impact of the action that they do and the inner self of the character itself
(1972: 95).
To know how is the perspective of society toward this character, Gauri, I
use some characters that can describe the behavior or the attitude of the society. It
can be seen from the conversation or the action from the characters as stated in the
theory of characterization. There are some characters that are extracted from the
story. Some of them are major and minor characters. The characters that are
analyzed are Gauri, Udayan, Subhash, Bijoli Mitra and also from Bela. Here the
character will be disclosed by applying the theory using the quotations from the
novel as the main source of data. The characters for the analysis are picked on the
grounds that all the characters are grown-ups, which make it simpler to talk about
their activities regarding organization and obligation.
To describe Gauri’s characteristics, the life timeline of Gauri is elaborated.
adulthood when she was still single, married (first marriage), widowed, remarried
(second marriage) and separated/ divorced.
1. Single
Gauri was born in 1948. She was a girl from North Calcutta, Cornwallis
Street, whose parents were dead and who lived with her only brother Manash.
Gauri and Manash were sent away by their families to their grandparents when
they were still kids. She felt detached for her parents because she did not have any
memory to be in a family. She felt estranged from most of her family. She told the
story about her estrangement to her own family to Udayan.
There had always been the option to return to her parents’ village. But though she visited, taking train to see them for holidays, rural life held no appeal for her. She didn’t think she resented her parents for not raising her. It was the way of many large families, and considering the circumstances, it was not so strange. Really, she appreciated them for letting her go her own way (Lahiri, 2013: 57).
Udayan reacted to her story by saying that it was a gift for her, her
autonomy. Gauri’s brother, Manash, was two years older than her. Manash had
befriended Udayan at Calcutta University, where they were both graduate students
in the Physics Department (Lahiri, 2013: 51-56). Udayan met Gauri when he was
doing a degree in Philosophy at Presidency. She learnt western philosophy but she
loved her country so much and wants to teach philosophy at a college or a school
(Lahiri, 2013: 54).
Udayan was fascinated by Gauri’s personality and her interest. Gauri was
Gauri read a lot of books, especially Philosophy books. She had a pride for being
an independent woman.
She saw that the unremarkable journey of her life thus far was fascinating to him: her birth in the countryside, her willingness to live apart from her parents, her estrangement from most of her family, her independence in this regard (Lahiri, 2013: 57).
Udayan described Gauri in a letter to Subhash; she prefers books to jewels
and saris (Lahiri, 2013: 46). She read because she said that reading helps her to
concentrate (Lahiri, 2013: 54). Gauri was educated and literate. Lahiri described
her as a girl who read and studied philosophy from lots of books like books from
Descartes, Marx, Rousseau, Greene and Plato (Lahiri, 2013: 55-58). Her interest
in books and philosophy linked to her ability to contemplate and understand
things (Lahiri, 2013: 55). This shows that Gauri has individual interest in
Philosophy and have idea to master it.
Gauri also was a girl who likes to think and contemplate her life, as she
said to Udayan; she observed the world, she told him, all of life, from this balcony
(Lahiri, 2013: 53). She felt that the balcony on her grandparents’ house had
always been her place to contemplate, Udayan emphasized it by saying; so this is
your Bodhi tree, where you achieve enlightment (Lahiri, 2013; 54). Gauri was a
girl who likes to think deeply; she had not been able to define herself, wishing she
could alter herself (Lahiri, 2013: 59). Her complicated way of thinking is one of
the qualities in the next subchapter that will lead her into the act of rebellion and
Besides her interests in books and contemplating, Gauri also had a great
interest in philosophy. She said that it was the mind, not the senses, that were able
to perceive (Lahiri, 2013: 55). She also said that philosophy helped her to
understand things (Lahiri, 2013: 55). Later, she tried to pursue a higher education
and filed herself with a lot of questions and observations.
2. Married (first marriage with Udayan Mitra)
Gauri had a strong view on marriage. She did not like the idea of
arranged marriage. Gauri said that she did not want to get married “I’m not
getting married” (Lahiri, 2013: 57). In the chapter 2, Serena Nanda, stated that in
India, almost all marriages are arranged. Even among the educated middle classes
in modern, urban India, marriage is as much a concern of the families as it is of
the individuals (Nanda, 2012: 1).
Gauri had a rough relationship with the Mitras, especially her mother in
Law (Bijoli Mitra/ Mrs. Mitra). Gauri was not accustomed to the institution called
“family”, so she struggled to have a good relationship with the Mitras. She had no
memory of spending any moment with them, even in a house is such an isolated
place (Lahiri, 2013: 60).
Gauri was an unwanted daughter in law. Udayan married a woman of his
choice, not by his parent’s or his mother’s decision. As I stated in my review of
related theories, women within patriarchies who accept contextually relevant
patriarchal norms of female behavior – sexual behavior, dress, appearance, marital
status, motherhood – are rewarded as long as they conform to these norms. Gauri
law looked down upon her. Udayan stated in the letter to Subhash that his parents
were upset for bringing Gauri home and married her; they are still in shock, upset
with me and also for no reason with Gauri (Lahiri, 2013: 46).
Udayan and Gauri had the same concept of marriage. They did not like
the society’s norms. They both objected to an arranged marriage; I reject the idea
of an arranged marriage (Lahiri, 2013: 46). The attitude of rejection social’s
construct about marriage is the evidence that Gauri was a strong headed and
rebellious.
3. Widowed
Gauri and her in laws witnessed Udayan’s body shot in cold blood. The
police dragged Udayan’s body after they shot him. The soldiers dragged his body
by the legs, then tossed him into the back of the van (Lahiri, 2013: 105). That
experience haunted Gauri in the future and affected her. She did not realize that
her tongue slipped when Udayan was hiding in the water. For the mourning
period, Gauri was given a white sari to wear in place of coloured ones, so that she
resembled the other widows who were three times her age in the family.
"We think he might be hiding in the water" the soldier continued, not removing his eyes from her. "No", she said to herself. She heard the word in her head. But then she realized that her mouth was open, like an idiot's. Had she said something? Whispered it? She could not be sure. "What did you say?" "I said nothing." The tip of the gun was still steady at her throat. But suddenly it was removed, the officer tipping his head toward the lowland, stepping away. "He's there", he told the others (Lahiri, 2013: 103).
Soon Subhash came to understand that his parents received Gauri coldly
and treated her badly because the marriage was not an arranged one. His parents
had tried to dissuade him from marrying Gauri. He also learned that she was
expecting Udayan's child/ pregnant.
“She is expecting a child. An intelligent girl. This is what he told us after he married you. And yet incapable of understanding simple things. Subash's parents did not want her, they only wanted her child. They often repeated to her, "You won't be of help" (Lahiri, 2013: 110)
From her mother in law statement, I can conclude that society glorifies the
idea of perfect mother. They gave a great expectation that a woman should know
what happened when she was pregnant. Gauri’s mother in law said that Udayan’s
description of Gauri as an intelligent girl is contradictive with the fact that Gauri
did not even realize that she was pregnant at that time.
Bijoli Mitra, Subhash and Udayan’s mother, said Gauri position in the
family jeopardize the Mitras image in the society. Bijoli saw Gauri as an
imperfect in law and she thought that Gauri was not going to be a good mother
because Gauri did not een know that she was pregnant. Bijoli said Gauri could
choose to go somewhere to continue her studies. Bijoli disagree if Subhash had to
marry Gauri. Subhash pleaded for her saying, "You can't separate them. For
Udayan's sake, accept her" ((Lahiri, 2013: 114). His mother was very angry and
she spoke in an insulting tone: "Don't tell me how to honour my own son"
((Lahiri, 2013: 114). For her, Subhash comment dishonor her as a mother. She felt
that it violated her rights and her concept of nurturing and treating her sons.
Contrary to her reaction and her treatment to Gauri, she preferred to disconnect all
