L.R.Glington 15MEN133 Mphil English Literature St.Joseph's College Trichy Patriarchal aspects in Kamala Das' An Introduction Patriarchy is a term, mostly used by all the feminists to blame men for all women's problems. In other words, patriarchy refers to a society or family which is dominated by men. Women undergo severe psychological disturbance because of patriarchy. In a patriarchal society, all the supreme powers are vested in the hands of men folk. An Introduction is an autobiographical poem by Kamala Das. She expresses her intense dislike for patriarchal society through this poem. This paper brings out the patriarchal aspects present in the poem, An Introduction. The Gujrati gentleman, The Father of our nation, stated that India will attain actual freedom, only when a woman comes out of her home at midnight, wearing costly ornaments around her neck and remains unaffected. But, at present, women are afraid of wearing costly ornaments even at day time. Women feel unsecured, wherever they go. Mary Daly, In her work, After the Death of God The Father, says “our culture is so diseased”. It means, patriarchy affects our culture. Men do not allow women to choose their counterpart or life partner as they wish. For instance, a girl-student is killed by a boy inside the classroom. It takes place in one of the Engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu. The boy happens to be an alumnus of the college. Police enquire him. He tells that he was proposing his love to the girl for long days. But, she does not reciprocate her love. So, he kills the girl. Patriarchal domination happens in family. A school-girl from Salem, commits suicide because her father comes home every night, having liquor. The girl advises her father not to take alcohol. But, he refuses. Finally, she loses hope and commits suicide. The liquor shops have become a great threat to women of all ages. Especially, the lower middle-class women suffer a lot. Men, after taking liquor go to their home and beat their poor wife. The patriarchal domination takes place in Temples. Women are not allowed inside Sabaramali temple to worship God. The poem, An Introduction, opens with the line, “I don’t know politics but I know the names/ of those in power,..” The poet says that she is aware of what is happening in the field of politics. But, she is not allowed to enter into the field of politics by men folk. From the first passage of the poem, the researcher comes to know that patriarchy prevents women to enter into the field of politics. The poet’s cousins, friends, and critics force her to put an end to her writing career. The poet speaks three languages. She writes in two languages. Though, she knows three languages, she is not allowed to speak in a language which she is interested in. The researcher finds that men frame rules and regulations. They thrust these rules and regulations upon women for their convenience. In this poem, the poet says, “It is as human as I am human, don’t/ you see?...” The above poetic lines state that men do not give respect to the feelings and emotions of women. The poet claims that she has feelings as men have. The poet says, “…I wore a shirt and my/ Brother’s trousars, cut my hair short and/ ignord…”It means, she wants to wear costume which really fits or suits her. She wishes to have a hair style of her own. But her wishes are denied. She is forced to wear saree. Women are forced to wear traditional costumes, though, it does not fit them. The poet’s relationship with her husband is not good. Poet’s husband does not give respect to her emotions. It is expressed in the following poetic lines as, “It is I who laugh, it is I who make love/ And then, feel shame, it is I who lie dying…” The poet says that she loves her husband. But, Her husband shows least interest to her emotions. The poet expresses her feelings as, “…I am the beloved and the/ Betrayed. I have joys that are your,…” Kishwar Naheed, In her poem, The Grass Is Really Like Me, says, “The grass is also like me/ As soon as it can raise its head / the lawnwower obsessed / with flattening it into velvet…” Kishwar Naheed compares ‘grass’ to a woman and ‘lawnmower’ to man who is obsessed with the thought of suppressing women. Though the lawnmower cuts the grass, it grows again. It grows because it roots well into the soil. Similarly, women should stand strong against patriarchy and achieve great things in future.
