Dialogues of Resistance in the Poems of Anna Akhmatova and Wislawa Symborshka

Abstract

James C. Scott in ‘Weapons of the weak: everyday forms of resistance’ (1985) introduced the concept of ‘everyday resistance’ to cite the reaction of the oppressed against the dominators. This theory further supported the concept of ‘public and hidden resistance’, from the perspective, ‘power is everywhere’ and ‘comes from everywhere’. Since ‘power is exercised from innumerable points’, resistance is ‘integrated into social life’ on daily basis. Upon reviewing the paradigms of power and resistance from a gender perspective, it is apparent that, while there is a vast academia critically examining themes of women’s freedom, power and empowerment, little focus has been given to demystify the core subject ‘Woman’. Cultural rigidities of the society still encourage the ‘docile body’ paradigm, where forms of power over women are exercised in a more subtle and insidious manner. This appropriation into producing ‘feminine subject’ possibly is the reason for increasing physical and sexual violence against women and a minimal participation of women in the public domain. This paper is an earnest attempt to understand the underpinnings of the narrative of resistance in the poems of Anna Akhmatova and Wislawa Syzmborshka. These two women poets wrote in extremely dangerous political landscapes but dared to awaken a political consciousness among their countrymen. Through this paper I intend to analyse and interpret dialogues of resistance as seen in the poems of these authors, who challenged the socio-political mandate in order to entail dialogues of gender equality.