Representation and Resolution of the Women’s Question in Premchand’s Karambhumi and Godaan

Abstract

This article links Munshi Premchand’s identity as the flag-bearer of realism in Hindi prose literature and his beliefs about the sociopolitical aims of literature with his literary practice, particularly the representation of women in his oeuvre. This article argues that Premchand challenges the nationalists’ discourse of the Indian woman as the protector of the purity of the “inner” domestic space by replacing women’s role of a devoted wife with that of the Indian woman engaged in the project of nation building through her presence in the “outer” public space. It positions that Premchand’s resolution of the women’s question needs to be understood through his exposition of the disparity between man and woman within the institution of marriage. Premchand challenges the nationalists’ narrative by initiating a debate about the condition of women within marital relationship and providing a setting for the questions about their respect, dignity, equality and freedom. The article analyses Premchand’s Karambhumi or The Arena (1932) and Godaan or The Gift of Cow (1936) using the analytical framework of Partha Chatterjee’s “New Patriarchy". It reveals Premchand’s methodology of upsetting the limits set by the nationalists’ discourse by problematizing conjugal space as the bearer of woman’s primary role and identity.