Conflicts in Relationships with Respect to English Literature and Female Perspective

Abstract

Though the principle of gender equality is enshrined in the constitution of India, though the women are provided equal rights that of men, though the women are allowed to get education, though the women are considered one of the most important asset for the nation but still the questions that remain unanswered are how far does it matches the reality? How far women and their interests are kept in mind? Are their emotions even considered emotions or just considered and ignored as mood swings. In this paper we will study about conflicts in relationships in respect with english literature and female perspective. We will study about how feminism is included or excluded in the works of literature. Feminism is about women getting equal rights and opportunities as men without spoiling or dominating the rights of men. But though there are so many measures taken to promote feminism in a positive way still we come across novels, poems, dramas and so that somehow creates false image of women and portrays women as an inferior character therefore we will study in detail the role of women in famous works of english literature mainly in the play Hayavadana by Girish Karnad and the play Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Hayavadana is a typical Indian play that hold various themes wherein we will be focusing on women as an object and Twelfth Night on the other hand is a western play, also having various themes but the key theme will be patriarchal dominance over female emotions leading to relationship conflicts. We are aiming to study that how sometimes literature set gender roles and promotes gender inequality and women inferiority. Ultimately this portrayal leads to certain other issues that women find offensive. It leads to self doubts and under confidence in women. As women are shown sensitive and powerless in the books of literature the society starts to accept her as inferior and dependent and this leads to conflicts and problems between women and society, women and family, the downfall and abuse in the relationship and so on

Introduction

I. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

1. Women have always been an important as well a serious topic of concern.
2. Since early age we see that how women struggle for their identity and equal status in society.
3. Most of the times we see them fighting in their relationships (romantic or otherwise).
4. This issue can be seen from past till now date in society and also can be seen in literature that how women are being suppressed in relationships and otherwise.

II. FRAMEWORK OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of this research paper is to highlight how Women are always shown and been the victim in relationships in literature and in real lives also.

III. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This is a definition paper and purpose is to make readers  aware about the condition of women and provide them with real knowledge. It comprises of data and view points of various other researchers.

IV. RELEVANCE OF THE STUDY

Important to interpret the dominance and inequality of decision making which is shown in the books of literature.It will help in comparing the relationship conflicts and male dominance over women from english literature to real life.

V. INTRODUCTION

We will be studying about the play hayavadana and the relationship conflicts that arouse in the play.We will also read about the characteristics of the female protagonist that is shown in the books of literature. On the other hand we will also read about the play Twelfth Night and the relationship problems that are faced by the female protagonist(s).

VI. HAYAVADANA

Hayavadana(:horse face) is a kannada language two act play written by Girish Karnad in 1971.The plot is based on Kathasaritsagara and Thomas Mann's retelling of Transposed Heads. The central characters of the play are Devdutta,Kapila and Padmini.The main theme of play is incompletion.

VII. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS CHARCATERISTICS OF PADMINI

1. Dependent
2. Sensitive
3. Powerless
4. Beautiful and attractive
5. Desire of Men

Now if we talk about the relationship issues that arouse among Padmini,devdutta and kapila we find that how padmini was attracted towards Kapila due to his strength and physical appearance.Though she wanted to live a life with Kapila still she got marrired to devdutta as Kapila himself convinced her to do so. Here we see how Padmini got influenced by Kapila and married other man according to Kapila’s will without expressing her own feelings to Kapila and later the conflicts among them grew stronger.After sometime things got so serious that both the men started to question themselves for not being good enough for her.We saw that after her marriage with Devdutta she was inclined towards Kapila and wanted to keep physical relation with him and this again lead to misunderstanding and serious conflicts among the three of them and both the men died fighting for being superior for Padmini and later in guilt Padmini also performed Sati.With this we conclude that if women have got her freedom of making her own decision and have right to choose her partner things can workout better. Today also we see how girls are not given choice of getting settled with the partner of her choice and forcefully been dragged to arrange marriages which leads in further downfall of so many people and families as a whole.The women should have power to make her own decisions without thinking about the society who have the role of passing negative remarks and making false judgements.If women are forcefully put in any relation it will surely turn into a problematic issue and conflicts will surely arise

VIII. TWELFTH NIGHT

Twelfth Night was written in 1601 during the end of the Renaissance period. It was first performed on February 1602. The play was first appeared in publication in Shakespeare's First Folio in 1623.The central characters of the play are Olivia Orcino Viola and sebestian.Being the female protagonist both Olivia and Viola went through alot of ups and downs.In this play also we saw alot of relationship issues and also there was a love triangle found.

IX. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS CHARACTERISTICS OF OLIVIA AND VIOLA

A. Olivia                   

1. Sensitive                 
2. Overthinker              
3. Dependent               
4. Dumb                   
5. Beautiful and attractive     

B. Viola

1. Dependent
2. Lacks her identity
3. Introvert
4. Sacrifice Feelings
5. Adjustable    

Now if we talk about the relationship issues faced by the female protagonists of the play we will see that both Olivia and Viola were facing serious relationship issues in their lives.Both Olivia and Viola had a strong bond with their brothers and both were separated from their brothers and were in real pain due to the separation.

The relation both of them had with their brothers was really pure and admirable but both of them suffered due to the strong relation. On the other hand if we see both Olivia and Viola had difficulties in their romantic relationships also.Orcino loved Olivia due to this he always used to pressurize her to marry him.Though Orcino knew that Olivia have no feelings for him still he never respected her decision and never thought of her emotional health. Also we see that Viola had feelings for Orcino but as she was living in a male identity she could never open up about her feelings to Orcino.By the time Viola got to know about Orcino’s feelings towards Olivia she decided to sacrifice her own feelings for Orcino.

With this we come across a situation where the character of women is depicted as a sacrificing,adjustable and weak characters in books of literature.This leads to alot of relationship and societal issues.In todays time also we see that how women are asked to be adjusting,submissive and reliable in their relationships. They are supposed to blindly follow the commands of their partner plus keep in mind the societal norms without taking stand for their own emotions and identity.

Conclusion

From this research paper we can conclude that literature plays an important role in showcasing image of women.It sometimes sets false gender roles and practices that must be followed by women.We saw that in both the plays that we have discussed above the female protagonists were suffering in their various relationships.They were throughout facing serious issues and come up with false solutions that effect the society as a wholeThe female protagonists were displayed as a beauty object that says women need to be beautiful only and are only beautiful women can attract men and can have good relationships.They were shown as sensitive,submissive and powerless in their relationships which makes an false image of women to readers.The themes we came across during this research paper were mainly conflicts in relationships,women and society,myths and practices,power and control,women and power and so on.There were numerous problems faced by women which were clearly seen in literature.There was lack of power and no decision making making in relationships and otherwise which is seen in current society as well.Alot of relationship complications and conflicts were seen.But sometimes we also see positive characteristics of female characters in books of literature that helps in providing identity and equality to the women in society and strengthened their relationships. Therefore books of literature plays a crucial role in showcasing the image of women both in positive and negative way therefore the focus should be on the positive aspects shown by the books of literature and lead towards women empowerment and gender equality.

References

[1] https://www.allresearchjournal.com/archives/2015/vol1issue12/PartK/1-11-134.pdf [2] http://ijrar.com/upload_issue/ijrar_issue_20544017.pdf [3] https://englishsummary.com/hayavadana-karnad/ [4] https://www.muthayammal.in/mcas-journal/files/3%20Female%20Consciousness%20in%20GirishKarnad%E2%80%99s%20Hayavadana.pdf

Copyright

Copyright © 2023 Ms. Deepali Kamal. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.