Introduction:
The
passage reflects a plethora of socio-political and cultural problems prevalent especially
in the patriarchal structure of societies: male dominated/domineering role in
the family affairs/ discourse; restricting due freedom of women and even
stifling their voice in discourses; man’s struggle to assert his own views even
at the cost of cultural norms; man’s effort to construct his own regime of
truth/power and secure a culturally accepted cover for his commands. Whereas on
the other hand woman (Amna) raises feminist voice in the discourse and tries to
assert her identity and challenge the man’s constructed regime of truth; the
woman tries to highlight the social problems prevalent in families which the
women are subjected to. Yet at the end of the discussion man (Amir) overpowers
her and silences her voice, she obeys her order and let the status quo
maintained.
A) Socio-political problems:
Patriarchal
structure of society is one of the problems reflected in the passage. Man is
head both of economic and social life. Women are not supposed to act without seeking
prior permission. Man’s authority is unquestioned even if it goes against the
social standards/cultural norms. Amna had gone to enquire after the health of
her classmate, which is a part of culture, ( it were my moral obligation to
discover her well-being) but yet it was not tolerated by Amir only because
the act was done by Amna without his consent.
Women
are inferior to men and they are culturally bound to obey their husbands. It
is also one of the social issues prevalent in our society. Women are treated as
inferior creatures who are unable to lead their lives without interference by
man. This view has crept into the edifice of culture and not only men but most
of the women themselves adhere to it. Women are expected to follow the commands
and dictation of their husbands/brothers/fathers even at the cost of
rationality and fair play, violation of the said conduct/norm is rarely
tolerated by the male section of society.
Woman’
voice/concern for her due rights is not tolerated and such acts amount to violation
of social setup. Whenever she rises her voice, is stifled and dealt with
severely, as Amir says, hold your tongue, your bitch! How dare you challenge
my authority and position?
Women
are barred from participating in the economic life as well. As Amir highlights
her role, “just cooking and washing the clothes and utensils”. This has been
the case in the conservatives segments of the society where women are kept
confined to the household affairs only, they are denied participation in the
economic affairs of the home.
The
misinterpretation of the heavenly injunctions regarding women is also evident
in the words of Amir.’ you must endure…God has bestowed us with genetic
lottery’. It is a gross misinterpretation of the revealed injunctions, there is
nothing of the kind of genetic superiority and inferiority in the commands of
God. All human beings are equal, whereas women are given more privileged status
over men. Man is ordained to take of her needs, which does not bestow right of
superiority on men.
Negation
of women’s voice is one of the social problems in our society. Amna when trying
to show her stance is stifled by Amir, ‘don’t reason with me’ she hold
her tongue and she is denied the chance to voice her conern.
B)
Research
questions:
Having done a critical analysis
of the passage, we can come up with the following questions.
·
Should man have control over all the aspects of woman’s
life?
·
Should woman be denied her social life and
moral/cultural obligations?
·
Is the unquestioned authority of man in social,
economic and domestic affairs justified?
·
“Women are inferior and weaker gender”, is this a
true interpretation of heavenly injunctions?
·
Is it a healthy development to confine woman only to
domestic affairs, and the burden of economic life be borne by man alone?
C) Norman Fairclough (1989) critical
discourse analysis:
1)
Description.
Vocabulary
in the dialogue used by man is more authoritative, high sounding and harsh both
in tone and tenor. Woman on the other hand uses softer tone, mild vocabulary
and polite phrases to voice her concern. Man is more direct in his words in
addressing the woman. The phrases which emphasize man dominance over women are
more frequently used. Man’s utterances which reflect his domineering role in
the domestic affairs and undermining that of the woman have been frequently
repeated. The role of man and his importance in the society have been
frequently highlighted whereas that of woman is undermined. The choice of the
vocabulary and grammar by both the participants’ i.e Amir and Amna reflect
domineering and oppressed roles in the discussion respectively.
2)
Interpretation:
The
discussion highlights two main ideas/issues i.e man’s over
dominated/domineering role in the domestic affairs and feminist voice. Man acts
as a typical head of a patriarchal type of family. He tries to control the
social and economic affarirs of the family. He commands his wife that he is in
no way allowed to move and continue her social life without his permission.
According to him women are not supposed to act in any way against the desires
of their husbands. The husband, according to the man, is fully authorized to
control the movement and actions of wife. The wife according to him should not
have any desires, likes and dislikes, and she is under moral obligation to
follow whatever commands come from her husband.
The man, being a representative of a conservative society, holds that
women should be kept confined to houses and they have to do domestic chores and
have no right to participate in the social and political affairs. He also by
misinterpretation draws justification from the divinely injunctions that men
have been empowered by Almighty, and is superior and desired gender. Women,
according to him, are inferior and weaker genders they have no other role
except following commands of their husbands and doing domestic chores.
The
wife on the other hand stands for feminist stance. She holds that women must
have their social lives as well. She
disregards all those cultural codes which restrict the due freedom of women.
She stands for the rights of women that they should be allowed to visit their
friends/relatives and have a say in the domestic and social life as well. She
also highlights the plight of domestic women who endure a huge burden. They
have not only to perform domestic chores and obey husbands, but also to attend
to other members of husband’s family as well. Despite all these odds yet the
wives obey commands of their husbands ( as she brings water at the end of the
exchange of the arguments)
3)
Explanation:
The dialogue is the manifestation
of the conservative domestic life. Where man has established his own regime of
truth, that man is superior by all aspects and woman is inferior. Man alone is
responsible for the earning and feeding the family, he is therefore within his
rights to control all the aspects of family member’s lives. Woman’s participation
in any event without her husband approval is disapproved, and similarly she is
not allowed to have any job. She is even not allowed to speak in front of her
husband, which is evident in the words of the husband who repeatedly silence
her and make his own voice dominant in the discussion. It is this disposition
of man that he throughout the discussion that he exerts power and denies
identity to the woman.
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