Abstract
Madhavi, a blessed body with eternal virginity, is the central character of Bhisham Sahni's play Madhavi. This paper attempts to explore her boon of eternal virginity as a patriarchal scar inscribed by the society on her womb. How do her ultimate rejection of that scar and the final journey to actual eternity become the insightful performances to respond to the societal body politics? This is the major concern of the study. In this interpretation, mainly the concepts of Michel Foucault and Judith Butler regarding the body politics and the notions of Jennifer Parker-Starbuck, Roberta Mock, and Richard Schechner concerning the body and its performance are synthesized as a theoretical framework to analyze the textual evidence and to observe the performance of the politically conditioned, condemned and trivialized body of Madhavi. Finally, the study ascertains that the perpetually subordinated body gradually comprehends the society and insightfully performs liberty against the hegemonic power bloc. In the play, the proactive proposal of Madhavi to Vishwamitra for lovemaking and her ultimate disappearance into nature in search of actual eternity can be a leading evidence of the insightful performances towards liberty.
Highlights
When an engagement of a woman with saggy breasts and a wrinkled face is about to be performed, what would the virtuous woman do if she deserves the boon of 'eternal virginity’1?To respond to it, Bhisham Sahni rewrites the ancient myth from the Mahabharata in the form of the play Madhavi
It examines her ultimate rejection of that scar and the final journey to actual eternity as insightful performances to resist the dominant body politics of the culture and society
The eternal virginity of Madhavi becomes a male chauvinistic scar inscribed by a power bloc on her womb
Summary
When an engagement of a woman with saggy breasts and a wrinkled face is about to be performed, what would the virtuous woman do if she deserves the boon of 'eternal virginity’1?To respond to it, Bhisham Sahni rewrites the ancient myth from the Mahabharata in the form of the play Madhavi. Central character Madhavi performs freedom against religion, culture, and politics, and internalizes the meaninglessness of the eternal virginity and significance of the virgin eternity. She vanishes from the stage in a crucial time of her engagement discarding her own blessed body. In this regard, the study aims to establish eternal virginity as a patriarchal scar inscribed by society on her womb. The study aims to establish eternal virginity as a patriarchal scar inscribed by society on her womb It examines her ultimate rejection of that scar and the final journey to actual eternity as insightful performances to resist the dominant body politics of the culture and society. Galav fulfills his promise, but no one cares about Madhavi and her desire
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