Comparative Literature: Women’s role in society/ something about the female characters in the listed books

The role of women has gradually changed over the course of time. From caregivers and homemakers, women have risen above the challenge to become leading figures in the corporate industry. Novels such as The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri, Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Oedipus Rex by Sophocles depict the struggles that women go through on a daily basis and what they have had to do to overcome such challenges. The following essay will highlight the role of women in society and depict the myriad of issues facing women in the three aforementioned novels.
One of the most visible roles assigned to women in The Namesake is that of caregivers. Jhumpa Lahiri’s book presents women as people who are assigned the duty of taking care of not only their children but those around them as well, including family and even friends. The best example is the mother figure character who is Ashima Ganguli. She is the mother of Gogol and Sonia and does everything that is humanly possible to care for the two when they are young and even when they have grown older. When the novel first begins, Gogol, her first-born son has not yet been born. When she gives birth to him, both she and her husband affectionately name him Gogol after the Russian writer, Nikolai Gogol before his grandmother can officially call him. Again, that duty of caregiving is illustrated in the way children are named. According to Bengali tradition, only a respected elder could name a child. In this particular instance, the grandmother was chosen to fulfill that role.

It is a role that was so important that no one else could do it and the child would have remained without an official name had the grandmother failed to provide a proper suggestion. “Letters arrive from her parents, from her husband’s parents, from aunts and uncles…from everyone it seems, but from Ashima’s grandmother”CITATION Lah03 p 17 l 1033 (Lahiri 17).
Women in the novel also perform one of the most traditional jobs that are associated with the ladies. According to Bengali culture, when a child’s feeding begins, it is a time to celebrate. Gogol was no exception. Women came and surrounded him with all kinds of foods. This formal meal is meant to introduce him to a “lifetime of consumption.” During this time, however, no one expects a baby to eat anything much, perhaps just a grain of rice. After all, it is just a formal ceremony. In a typical display of affection, the women scream and laugh when the events begin. They ululate as the proceedings go on. This is an instance that epitomizes the role that the author has given women. What better way is there to illustrate that women are caregivers other than being involved in a child’s first feeding ceremony.
Mrs. Lapidus, who is Gogol’s kindergarten principal, is also portrayed as a caregiver. The fact that Lahiri chose to make such an important figure, a female speaks volumes of what the author thinks about women. Kindergarten is one of the earliest levels of education that children go through. Some also consider this formative stage as one of the most important as it lays a base for the child. It is, therefore, pivotal that the child has a proper and robust foundation so that he or she may do well in future. Again, Lahira chooses a woman to be the character who lays the basis for the child. Although there are no questions as to whether or not a man can adequately take care of a child during his or her formative years, the general feeling that is evident from the book is that it is a woman who is best placed to do so.
The representation of women in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold demonstrates the way in which patriarchy is understood and reconstructed in Latin America. In the book, women are caregivers but in a much less elegant manner when compared to The Namesake. Caregiving in The Namesake seems to be something the women want to do and something that truly stems from the heart. An event such as the start of feeding for a child is an event that brings joy to not only the parents but to those who attend the ceremony as well. It is not a forced role. In the Chronicle of a Death Foretold, however, women not only take care of children but are also expected to cater to their husbands. The pressure of society seems to play a bigger role here than it does in Lahiri’s novel. The responsibility of a woman is narrowed down to homely duties that include cooking, cleaning and doing almost all of the chores. It is an ability to do all these that makes a woman eligible for marriage. If she can carry out all these functions, then she is considered a right caregiver. A person who can not only take care of her home but also her husband. Caregiving is also advanced through Victoria Guzman. Although just a cook, she epitomizes all the things that a woman should be able to do; cook and clean. The woman’s sole responsibility is in the house and more so in the kitchen. It is the only way that she can take care of her loved ones. Other ways of fending for the family are considered the forte of the man. Only he can be the breadwinner who goes out to look for meals. Once he brings them home, it is the duty of the wife to make meals and wash dishes.
The role of caregiving by women is also evident in Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex. Jocasta, who is the main feminine character, feels obliged to care for her husband primarily. In a bid to avoid the prophecy that was foretold in which Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother, Jocasta, gives up Oedipus to a servant to have him killed. Ordinarily, it is expected that a child takes precedence and a mother should show her undying love for her son regardless of whatever circumstance. However, Jocasta is an exception to this rule and chooses to endanger her child to protect her husband and to avoid fulfillment of the prophecy. Even as a mother and wife to Oedipus, she is constantly connected to him both physically and emotionally, yet unable to make decisions. Although her actions seem to demonstrate her failure as a mother, there is perhaps a deep-rooted desire in her that her child should survive and at the same time, not fulfill the prophecy. Throughout the entire play, Jocasta is depicted as vulnerable yet supportive. All this is to show women as having as having a fragile center, doting character, wives, and mothers who have nothing but love and affection for their husbands and children.
Women are also seen as a source of pain and suffering across the three novels. In The Namesake, Gogol falls in love with several women. One such woman is Moushumi Ma-zoomdar. Gogol grew up with Moushumi and has known her almost his entire life. Perhaps their closeness was based on the fact that they were almost of the same age. Whether that was the reason, the two fell in love and became married. Their marriage came about a year after they began dating. They traveled to Paris, as Gogol wanted to support Moushumi who was making a presentation at a conference. Although Moushumi was comfortable with the brief life in Paris, Gogol felt awkward and uncomfortable. Perhaps this was because he had never been to the city before. At some point during their marriage, Moushumi begins having an affair with Dimitri Desjardins, a former friend and college classmate. There was a lot of chemistry between the two. Dimitri was the first man ever to touch her, and perhaps her affair was partly because she felt like the two had unfinished business. Whatever the reason for their relationship was, one thing was clear; Gogol was deeply hurt when he learned of it. All the while, Gogol suspected something was amiss in his marriage, but he could not quite put his finger on it. Once he discovered that his wife was in love with someone else, it was one of the toughest moments of his life. The situation was compounded by the fact that she went on to leave Gogol for Dimitri. For this reason, the woman who at one time was a source of joy and happiness for Gogol turned into a source of pain and heartbreak.
In Oedipus Rex Jocasta, who is the lead female character also causes the people around her pain and suffering. One person to suffer at the hands of Jocasta is her husband and son, Oedipus. From the moment the prophecy was told, she strived to do all that she could so that it could not come to pass. Once Jocasta learned that Oedipus would kill his father Laius and marry her, she made the decision to give him up so that she could protect her husband. She had given him up with the intention of having him killed, and he survived only because the servant took pity on him. Oedipus lived a good life away from his parents but he lived as an orphan, never knowing who his parents were and this must have caused him some considerable pain. Although it was no fault of his own as it had already been predicted, he ends up marrying and even sleeping with his mother. Once he discovers what he has done, he becomes distraught and feels a profound sense of shame and humiliation.
In Marquez’s Chronicle of Death Foretold Santiago Nasar’s death is caused by a woman. This is the epitome of pain and suffering. The book as a whole focuses on the death of Santiago and the events surrounding his death. Angela Vicario who is married to Bayardo San Roman claims that Santiago took her virginity. However, this claim has no proof whatsoever, and what is more intriguing is that it is only Angela who is aware of the relationship between herself and Santiago. As far as the reader or audience can tell those claims remain unsubstantiated. It is highly possible that Angela had an affair with an entirely different man but harbored some feelings of hate or disgust towards Santiago and sought to make him her scapegoat. The whole town is aware of the impending death of Santiago but anyone who hears of the news either laughs it off as a joke or disbelieves it. Once Angela tells her two brothers, Pablo and Pedro Vicario that it is Santiago who is to blame for taking her virginity, the two set out to murder him. There can be no pain greater than physical pain, and this is the kind of pain that the two brothers inflict on Santiago. It is fairly accurate to say that Angela is responsible for Santiago’s demise. Whether the two had an affair and whether he proceeded to take her virginity is a question that remains unanswered. However, what is not in doubt is that because of Angela’s utterances, Santiago was convicted to death at the hands of her two brothers.
The three novels also depict women as victims of circumstances rather than people who are where they are because of the choices that they made. Ashima was born and raised in Calcutta, India. She meets Ashoke Ganguli who is a professor in Boston. She moves with her husband to America in the search for a better life. This step plucks her away from her people, her culture, and her country. It is evident that she seeks to reconnect with all those things with the many trips she makes to her homeland. It is the quest for a better life combined with the fact that she was married that made her move to America. The situations that Ashima finds herself in seem not to be of her making but external forces coupled with an element of fate. For a married woman in India during those days and even up to today, it is close to impossible to say no to your husband. Whatever he asks you must do. When the chance to move to America presented itself, Ashima did not have much of an option. It was her duty to follow her husband. Even the things that would ordinarily be the confine of a parent or a mother such as naming one’s child seem to be governed by culture. Although Bengali culture has it that a respected elder should give a child’s name, it only seems fair that the parent should have some say in it. Gogol, her son, officially called Nikhil received his name from grandmother. Even Gogol, which was meant to be a temporary name, is given to him by his father. It would appear that everything which happens in Ashima’s life or the life of her children is not hers to control. An external force controls such lives, a force which m any would only call circumstance. Even the nature of Moushumi’s extra-marital affair would seem rather peculiar. After knowing Dimitri for all those years, he had never attempted anything serious. However, out of the blue, she finds his resume, and the two begin an affair. It would seem that the stars were aligned for a relationship between the two.
In Chronicle of a death foretold, women are subjected to very different standards from those that are used to measure men. For starters, Angela was expected to be a virgin when she got married and when Bayardo found out that she was not, he quickly returned her home. No such standards were set for Bayardo himself, and no one expected him to be a virgin on his wedding day as well. Further, the way in which the two got married was not something which was discussed with Angela. In fact, she did not even love the man until he returned her home at which point she began to discover that she had feelings for him. Angela could not comprehend what attracted him to her and was upset because he never really courted her or swooned her to make her fall in love with him. It was expected that if a man with a lot of money came your way you were automatically supposed to say yes. The family saw such a proposal as a way to move up the social and economic ladder without having to work too hard. As long as a girl could cook and clean then, she was eligible to become a wife. Her parents made a crucial decision over her marriage and opined that such they had no right to disdain that prize of destiny. Again, there is a constant belief that destiny or fate has everything to do with her life and who she marries. Such choices are, however, not hers to make.
Oedipus Rex has a plot that is mostly controlled by destiny. From the onset, the reader is made aware of the fact there is a prophecy and that in the prophecy, Oedipus would kill his father and marry his mother. This brings with it a certain aura of inevitability. Jocasta is intent on changing the course of things. She believes that by killing her son, the prophecy will not happen. As fate would have it, the person that is tasked with killing him takes pity on him and spares his life. He comes back and kills his father, eventually marrying his mother. Jocasta’s life appears to have been predestined by the gods. What the prophecy foretold came to happen, and no matter how much she wanted to change the outcome, things went on as they were meant to. In this regard, all the events of her life were pre-ordained, and no amount of trying would result in a change of outcomes. Her destiny was simply out of her hands.
In conclusion, women play a central figure in The Namesake, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Oedipus Rex. The authors use them to a large extent to advance various thematic issues and highlight the plight of women in society. The authors demonstrate how women are caregivers to the family and friends that surround them. They are also used to show how women can cause their loved ones pain and suffering and lastly how women in today’s society are victims of circumstances, societal and family pressure. They all make for great reads, which everyone should make a point of reading.
Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. New York: Mariner Books, 2003. Print.