International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

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The Nation and the Woman: Reading Maitreyi Devi’s It Does Not Die in Post Globalized India

Author(s) Debopriya Banerjee
Country India
Abstract The discursive territory of the idea of a nationalism that was taking shape in the early decades of the previous century employed the notion of womanhood as a critical component. The construct of the Indian woman, as noted social scientist Partha Chatterjee observes became instrumental in shaping the idea of the nation at a time when the idiom of nationalism was negotiating its invariable dialogue/exchange with Western modernity. Even as the new Indian woman partakes of the accomplishments of Western modernity, she remains the principal custodian of the pristine, unadulterated space of the home and bearer of the normative familial conjugal values. The icon of the modern accomplished women enshrined within sanctified normative space of the home becomes emblematic of the idea nation and its troubled dialogue with modernity. Maitreyi Devi’s novel Na Hanyate (translated in English as It does Not Die) which is the primary focus of this paper offers a valuable opportunity to study the ramification of nationalistic ideology and Indian womanhood at the time it was taking shape. This paper intends to explore how her reminiscence of an interracial romance is also an attempt to articulate an autonomous voice and reclaim a shared private space that runs against the normative coda of Indian woman. The multiple adaptations of this tale – both credited and uncredited – are studied alongside to explore perception and evolution of modern womanhood in contemporary times.
Keywords Nation, Nationalism, Narration, Race, Comparison
Field Arts
Published In Volume 5, Issue 5, September-October 2023
Published On 2023-10-09
Cite This The Nation and the Woman: Reading Maitreyi Devi’s It Does Not Die in Post Globalized India - Debopriya Banerjee - IJFMR Volume 5, Issue 5, September-October 2023. DOI 10.36948/ijfmr.2023.v05i05.7311
DOI https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2023.v05i05.7311
Short DOI https://doi.org/gst3rg

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