Keywords
Patriarchy, Feminism, Emancipation, New Woman
Abstract
The early twentieth century in India had the stage set for the changes to take place in the condition of women. Social reforms, education, individual freedom and feminist ideals led to emergence of the New Woman. Patriarchal traditional society considered women as sub-ordinate and not independent enough to lead a dignified life. The rights of woman were completely neglected. The society denied rights, oppressed and exploited women and much has not changed, this continues even in the 21st century. Though women have been given certain rights, they are left behind in decision making, remain marginalized, suffer inequality, injustice and are denied their rightful voice and space. The Renaissance Literature in India found writers and social reformers with ideals of emancipation for women to herald the advent of the new woman. Among them, Rabindranath Tagore through his transformative writings championed the cause for women’s freedom from patriarchy. Tagore’s portrayal of women characters in his fiction presents the image of the liberated woman. This paper endeavours to trace the advent of the ‘New Woman’ in Tagore’s short fiction which is presented in his women characters who chose to transcend from the traditionally exploited stage to that of an emancipated one. The women protagonists of his fictional writings from 1913 to 1941 are all self-assertive, liberated and emancipated. Tagore envisioned the new ideal womanhood in the creation of women characters and this is scrutinized through the short stories “Giribala” (1895), “Woman Unknown” (1914), “Letter from a Wife” (1914) and “The Laboratory” (1940).
