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Who Would Marry a Strong Woman? A Short Story by Bhagvaticharan Varma

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 November 2008

THEO DAMSTEEGT
THEO DAMSTEEGT*
Affiliation:
Kern Institute, Leiden University, The Netherlands Email: t.damsteegt@let.leidenuniv.nl
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Abstract

In Varma's story ‘Pata-banethi’, a robust young man refuses to marry a female student when he finds out that she is trained in defensive violence, as a virangana. At first sight, the story appears to draw attention to the difficulties women trained like men in fighting will have in getting married and finding a place in society. An analysis of characterisation, however, suggests that Varma's story goes against such a stereotypic male evaluation of strong women, and actually underlines the social and political value of violence controlled by mental strength, a value that can be recognised by both men and women.

Type
Research Article
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 42 , Issue 6 , November 2008 , pp. 1173 - 1187
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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