Gender And Patriarchy In Easterine Kire’s A Terrible Matriarchy

Abstract

The socially constructed traits that are to be possessed by women, men, girls and boys living in a society are what we understood as the key elements of the term gender. But deleterious effect of gender norms to the human society left many people in trauma. As we all are aware that gendered language is something that creates biasness towards a specific sex. This biasness continues for generations and generations and becomes as irrefutable evidence to the traditional customs and beliefs. The medium of communication and instructions given by grandmother to the five years old Dielieno in A Terrible Matriarchy was that of patriarchy. Again, the command over the other members of the family by the grandmother was also in the tone of patriarchy. The social constructions of gender regulate the roles of genders present in the society. We all know that, socialization also helps to foster gender inequality. Again, patriarchy is a sex-based practice that aggravates mental, social and spiritual well-being of the second gender. As Friedrich Engels, the critic, referred to it as the earliest system of domination establishing that patriarchy is “the world historical defeat of the female sex” (Engels 2). It is again the social system that contradicts the power to an individual through cultural and traditional norms. The present paper analyzes the traditions of patriarchy and their limitations in Naga society, India. It will also analyze the ignorance of the society and the members present in it to attenuate the atrocities done to the affected group with reference to the novel ATerrible Matriarchy.