Chapter 3
Status of adult females in Modern Novels
Difficult Daughtersby Manju Kapur is a sentimental narrative. It follows the journey of a rebellious adult female who is determined and devoted to accomplish something great in her life. She did non desire to populate the life of an ordinary housewife. She did non desire to indulge in the regular cookery cleaning rinsing working intermixing etc. She struggles against the traditions that the household would wish her to follow. She had strong desires in fostering her instruction. This book high spots on a really critical issue that whether or non a miss has the right to do her ain picks in life. A miss has to confront many sorts of humiliation and unfavorable judgment from her ain household and the society if she wishes to follow the way harmonizing to her will. Chauvinists declare that a woman’s topographic point is inside the house. A miss does non hold authorization over her ain life.
This book talks about Virmati, who fights for the freedom to populate life on her ain footings. She wants to make up one’s mind what to analyze, whom to get married and when to get married. In her battle for freedom she is torn in two halves. She has to undergo the hate of her ain female parent and other household members.
Virmati was the eldest among her siblings. Her female parent had eleven kids, Virmati being the eldest. Since a really stamp age she had to take the duty of her house, her siblings, their nutrient, surveies etc. This narrative was setup at the background of battle for freedom. When the state was contending for their freedom, the adult females were still supposed to get married and bear childs, nil else. Virmati was influenced by her cousin who led glamourous life in metropolitan metropolis. Her cousin was good educated. She was independent. There was cipher to halt her from anything she did. Virmati was so much delighted to see her cousin that she wanted to be like her. Shakuntala ( her cousin ) planted the seeds of aspiration in her. Virmati besides wanted to savor this vino of freedom.
Kasturi, Virmati’s female parent did non take her daughter’s aspirations earnestly. For her surveies did non keep any importance. She wanted Virmati to get married and settle down. Studies were a waste of clip. Even Shakuntala’s grade, position and metropolitan life seemed nil to her as she was single. Harmonizing to her female parent the lone concern a miss had was to get married and take attention of hubby and his bequest. Kasturi herself was a victim of this stereotype. She had been used as a machine to bear childs. She had eleven kids in 17 old ages of matrimony. She had procured so many kids with huge physical and mental hurting. But she still wanted her girl to follow the same old rites. She did non understand virmati’s desire to analyze farther. Infact Virmati was hit by her female parent when she refused to get married and go on with her surveies. For her female parent a girl’s felicity and prestigiousness lied in her matrimony. Without matrimony woman’s being in the society was hard. Unmarried adult females were non looked with respectful eyes.
One of the grounds why Virmati refused to get married was because of her matter with Harish, a professor by profession. He taught in Virmati’s college and even resided in her aunt’s house as a renter. The professor got attracted to her instruction. She was in front of her clip. Professor was fond of educated intelligent and sophisticated adult female. He did non acquire these qualities in his married woman. Virmati matched absolutely to his desires which made him pull towards her. They both fell in love. But the professor did non hold the bravery to accept his love in forepart of the society. He ever convinced Virmati to love back him. However he was ne’er interested in what impact did the matter had on her life. The professor showered intense love on her within the walls of their room, but he ne’er had the backbones to salvage her from the society’s perplexed eyes. This was besides clear to her that she could non depend on the professor to screen out any domestic state of affairs. She even tried perpetrating self-destruction to salvage herself from acquiring married to anybody else except the professor. But fortuitously she was saved. Besides her matrimony was cancelled. Her immediate younger sister had to get married in her topographic point. Having cancelled a matrimony she was now considered as good for nil. To maintain her off from the eyes of household and relatives her female parent decided to direct her to Lahore, for farther surveies. Besides this would maintain her indulge in some constructive work. The female parent herself installed her in Lahore.
The professor crept in Lahore besides. Here their love grew more deep and intense. She even got pregnant. But the whole state of affairs was handled by virmati entirely. The professor was unaware of what trauma she was undergoing during this clip. He ever cherished love doing. But the inauspicious result was experienced by Virmati entirely. “Education led to independency and loose conduct.” This idea of Swarna ( Virmati’s friend ) was justified by this result. Her instruction had made her to endure this smudge of single gestation. But who was to be blamed for all this? Harish whose passion resulted in this was non cognizant of this. His Acts of the Apostless have ever resulted Virmati to come in into problems, but ne’er of all time made any attempt to acquire her out of any of such jobs. Virmati was besides found kiping with professor overnight at the one-fourth allotted to her by the college. After this incident she was fired from the occupation. All the humiliation was faced by her alone. The professor ever managed to get away any sort of oppugning. It was ever Virmati who had to reply the society, to her household to her friends. The professor was at that place merely to bask. He was ne’er willing to accept this relationship in the society. It was merely when one of his friends forced him to get married Virmati that he did so. After the professor took her to his place it was non him who had to reply anything. His female parent and first married woman did non state a individual word to him. Virmati had to endure their hatred. Both the ladies did non allow her authorization to the whole house. She was restricted to a little room. She did non hold the rights to cook for herself in the kitchen. Her presence was considered unfortunate by them. They considered her impure. Professor’s female parent had ever been polite to him. She ne’er made him gain the error he had committed by abandoning his first married woman. Besides his first married woman was non critical of him in any manner. She considered it to be the complete mistake of Virmati. His first married woman found it to be her honor in rinsing his dirty apparels, cooking for him and making such kind of fiddling occupations. Harmonizing to her these were her duties. She still wore the bindi and the mangalsootra. Even after the professor left her she did non retreat her devotedness back.
Virmati on the other manus had to endure hatred from both the households. Her ain household had cut down all sorts of dealingss from her. She was beaten up by her female parent. She had cipher to speak to. Her ain household and professor’s household both had developed strong disfavor towards her. She was left all entirely in the universe. There was no societal life left around her. Meanwhile her male parent had died, but she was non allowed to go to his funeral ceremonials. Her female parent had blamed Virmati for his father’s decease.
However his hubby who should be accused every bit for this 2nd matrimony ( likely the lone cause for fruiting of this relationship ) was entertained respectfully in the ceremonial. The household had no expostulation in his go toing the funeral. He participated in every activity with self-respect. He was given all the regard and intervention as a boy in jurisprudence. But Virmati had to conceal her face with the duppata in order to see her father’s organic structure during the last minute.
Difficult Daughtersis a perfect illustration of feminist survey. Assorted stages of life of a adult female are shown here. Virmati, the supporter, has to confront the universe from all sides. Her lover is with her but merely for the interest of doing love. Though he encourages her changeless chase of cognition and values her instruction. But he ne’er stood beside Virmati in her difficult times. She had to confront her household, her abortion, the society, professor’s household all entirely. There was a clip when there was cipher beside her except Harish. Nodoubt he showered all his love on Virmati but she had to confront all the challenges on her ain. She invariably requested Harish to give her all the rights of a married woman, but the professor kept on detaining the affair. Had the poet ( professor’s friend ) non taken the inaugural she would hold ne’er been married to the professor. He was in love with her, but he did non desire to bewray his household. He was more concerned about his ain position and image. Virmati is portrayed as an single rebelling against the old traditional tabu. She breaks the bonds of development and subjugation. Her battle is non easy but finally it ends and she awakes with a sense of individuality. Virmati is an illustration of ego dependent adult female who is able to pull off her state of affairss in minutes of crises.