Friday, December 4, 2009
Purdah in Sunlight on a Broken Column
I've been thinking about Dr. Shingavi's response to one of my earlier posts in which he says that, for the upper-class, religion is one of last bastions of moral superiority over their rulers, the British; if they let religion fall away, they must ultimately accept their social inferiority. I think we can all agree that most of the characters in Sunlight are social machines, but what are the implications for observing purdah for the aristocracy? We see Laila and Zahra observing purdah to an extreme that would be impossible for less well-off women, what with curtained automobiles and entire living quarters constructed for the sole use of women. This presents Laila and her female peers the advantage of being able to go places and do things, but with the burden of strict purdah being ever-present. But what about the social gatherings where women are in Western dress, there is mixed company between men and women? Aren't these women giving up their status by conforming to Western influence?
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Zahra, in the beginning, did practice purdah as her upbringing was orthodox. However, do you remember when she was married off to someone in his thirties, whose social station and aspirations contribute to Zahra's interaction with other people in a more "liberal" manner. THey toured Europe at one point, I think. Remember, also, that her husband is ambitious and is a social climber, which she more or less follows in his footstep in stepping out of purdah (not completely though). Also, laila's uncle married an orthodox wife, who later turned into a social lady associating with waheeds and begums.
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