The climax of Tendulkar's play comes with the final judgement that Miss Benare is 'public enemy number one' and that the child in her womb must be destroyed. Benare is thunderstruck at the traumatic consequences of the game which turns into a planned hunt. Patriarchy has finally silenced her. "Silence! the Court is in Session!" is a play about silencing the woman's voice and this is successfully attained through the court which itself is one of the strongest of patriarchal institutions. The apparently innocent nursery rhyme that ends the play has been much misinterpreted by critics as a ploy to lighten the burden of the extremely gruesome atmosphere of the play. But on close reading it can easily be seen as an allegorical commentary on the gruesome nature of patriarchal society. The 'sparrow', the most diminutive of birds, is too weak to resist the onslaughts of the big brother, 'crow' who actually has stolen her nest, and who presents a careless non-chalance about the theft. The nest is of course the symbol of the much-sought-after home of the woman, her safe and secure haven, and the crow steals it. The 'crow' thus symbolises the masters of patriarchal society. The parrots are the typical average self-centred middle class, who pose innocence and only guard their own selfish private interests in life. They have no individual voice and can only clamour in unison the patriarchalised notions. They are selfishly blunt to the sufferings of the 'sparrow'/woman. The climax of Tendulkar's play highlights the casual brutality of the androcentric society that can mercilessly crush and pulverise deviant voices, particularly the voice of the woman.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What is the main function of the fool in "King Lear"? What is the secondly function?
The fool as a character is confusing, but part of this is the difference between the 1600s and today, as well as the difference in place. If...
-
"Anthem (1938) is a science fiction novelette of a future primitive society in which the word "I" is forbidden. Rand's po...
-
It is significant that Ray Bradbury's exposition juxtaposes the character of Montag with Clarisse because the marked contrast alerts the...
-
He is in the middle of the marketplace where he and his aunt are walking "through the flaring streets, jostled by drunken men and barga...
No comments:
Post a Comment