It's my personal opinion that Chugthai is writing for an India struggling for a national identity and possibly independence. I don't think that she meant this only for academics who are going to delve into specific analysis of her intentions, nor do I think she meant this exclusively for a female India. We've discussed in class the importance of women to the national cause, to independence and to parity in the world's eye (the European and consequently Indian world), and Chugthai mentions this too and talks about the clumsy use of women in the matter of national liberation.
I think that clumsy is the operative word here, and that this novel operates clumsily (intentionally) on two separate issues: the woman issue and the national issue. There is no set pattern for Shaman's education just as there is no set pattern in moving towards a freer, more progressive India, just a series of gropings.
In the end, when Shaman marries Ronnie, it's a combination of both issues. Shaman finds (or as it appears) an end to the wanderings of her educated life, and the two find a way to be progressive, but nothing goes as planned, everything is wrong and feels accidental.
while what you're saying in terms of the novels scattered methods of education, women and india's move towards nationality, i think placing the blame on chugti as a writer is completely misleading. she wrote in this fashion to show how confused the nation and its people were, not accidentally making these things convaluted. a nation approaching its freedom is not a highly organized boat sailing calmed seas but a makeshift raft trying to make headway in turbulent waters. that's the beauty of this novel, we are made to feel as confused as everyone taking a part in it, no matter where our loyalties lie.
ReplyDeleteoh no, I'm not blaming Chugthai. Well, I am in the sense that I think her writing in this way is intentional, but Zach, I completely agree with you. I think the "scatteredness" of her work is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteYou know, drawing from the parallel mentioned in class between women and men as India the West, respectively, puts this novel in a new light for me. Shaman is the epitome of a woman who resists the roles laid out for her, and her life serves as an effective metaphor for an India that is struggling to reclaim its sense of identity as the world is in a state of upheaval. I agree with bigd that the almost chaotic lack of planning in Shaman's life (though Chughtai probably had some formula for structuring her novel) says a good deal about the nature of the progressive movement; rather than having to break a few eggs to make an omelet, I'd say the process of living a progressive lifestyle is more akin to carving a turkey with a chainsaw.
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