The Subtle Art of Feminism Essay -- Film Analysis India

Bapsi Sidhwas novel, Water, realistically presents the circumstances of women and, in particular, widows in 1938 Colonial India. It exposes the sexual practice dissimilarity and doubly standards that govern that partnership for no other reason than that is what tradition dictates. Sidhwa presents complexities in her characters, which make them very human and very real, and the widows reactions to each other and to the human beings outside of the ashram create a feminist message. Water poses the problem of gender inequality in India by presenting a realistic and typical situation, and it allows the readers to soak up their own conclusions while experiencing the intricacies of the Indian culture.The most obvious example of inequality or mistreatment of women is Chuyias situation of becoming a bride and presently afterwards a widow at age eight. By becoming a widow she is forced into the ashram and into isolation from the rest of society. This is a situation that is third estate in India due to the item that tradition dictates a woman is accepted as a person only when she is one with her husband (Sidhwa 14). It shows that society views women as worthless unless they are under the control and service of a man. Furthermore, this tradition means that women are married off as soon as possible as to secure their future and purpose in life, while men are able to wait longer to marry. In Indian culture, men are worth more than women, and the novel shows this fact by contrasting Chuyias marriage situation with Narayans situation. Chuyia has no say in who she must marry because she is female, and her marriage is entirely mutualist on her father, who marries off six-year-old Chuyia to a forty year old man. rase though Chuyias mother tries to stop the marriage a... ...t By afloat(p) almost unnoticeably from the commonplace to the horrific, Water implicates the reader (Jaiarjun). It does more than verbalise about a feminist agenda it calls the read ers to action by deep involving them first-hand in the atrocities that are taking place against women.Works CitedArora, Kamal, Saydia Kamal, and Usamah Ahmad. Water drench in colonial benevolence. Seven Oaks. 05 Oct 2005. Web. 13 Apr 2010. .Seton, Nora. Honoring the abandoned. Houston Chronicle (2006). Web. 5 Apr 2010. .Sidhwa, Bapsi. Water. Toronto, Canada Key Porter Books Limited, 2006. Print. Singh, Jaiarjun. Whirlpools on the Ghats. Indian Express (2006). Web. 5 Apr 2010. .