Literature has always been the mirror of me human psyche. It can be interpreted in various ways to understand perspectives and social trends. In today’s changing world, where citizens are fast awakening and realizing the importance of fighting for equal rights, it has become essential to understand the role of women in literature and how written perspectives can reflect the general perceptions of women across the world. Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, James Joyce’s short story Eveline and Tiphanie Yanique‘s short story How to Escape a Leper Colony all feature a female protagonist on the brink of change, living in the middle of a great external and internal upheaval. However, at a deeper level, all three stories explore the destructive aspect of this upheaval and change, and more importantly, the role of a woman as a destroyer instead of a nurturer and the chaos that follows therein. In this context, ‘destructive’ does not possess the negative connotations it usually does.
It signifies any action of a woman that defies the role assigned to her and how her actions affect the world and people around herr. The three works chosen for dais analysis contain similar themes throughout the story concerning religion, colonialism and abandonment, and the stories usually begin with a sense of alienation, which creates a foundation for the protagonists’ actions. In Persepolis, Satrapi feels a sense of alienation and confusion in the middle of changing regimes and traditions. She feels separated from her avant-garde family because of her commitment to God, and vice versa. Her need to protest contrasts sharply with her belief in God, which in some way alienates her from herself. James Joyce’s Eveline starts with Eveline’s alienation in her own home, in her conflict between staying or leaving, because she feels neither her— nor there.
She is caught in a religious conflict, in the midst of 1reland‘s colonization. She feels alienated from her family, especially her father, yet she feels alienated from Frank. In Tiphanie Yanique’s story, alienation plays a great role, as a catalyst for many of the later events. Deepa feels alienated by the nuns, who are dominantly white. She feels religiously alienated as well, as she had expected to be buried like Christ, but instead the nuns cremated the dead lepers. An important factor in the lives of these female protagonists is the role of men in their lives. A common theme in all the stories is the presence of unstable relationships with unpredictable men. Satrapi often idolizes and reveres men like her father and uncle, as well as Marx and Descartes. God also appears to her as a male. However, Satrapi’s life has also been filled with fanatical, violent and orthodox men, who limit her freedom and dictate what her life should be like. She has witnessed her mother‘s oppression and witnesses firsthand the consequences of being an assertive woman in Iran, her mother was assaulted by ‘fundamental bastards and told that “Women like me should be pushed up against a wall and fucked and then thrown in the garbage.”
She has lived under the threat of rape, torture and execution. Even though she has seen many heroes and martyrs such as Pardisse’s father her life, along with many other women in Iran, is overshadowed by an ironfisted patriarchy that demands the veil and the orthodox treatment of women. There is also a divide between the women, the women in Tehran view the refugee women from the south as whores and undignified. Satrapi often finds solace in unfamiliar, almost exotic men, such as Michael Jackson and the members of Iron Maiden. Eveline, too, faces this conflict which is embodied in the form of her father, brothers and Frank. Her father is a drunk tyrant, who threatens to beat her, yet she still looks after him. She is fearful of him, to the point where she feels anxiety. “Even now, though she was over nineteen, she sometimes felt herselfin danger of her father ’5 Violence. She knew it was that that had given her the palpitations. ”
Ernest, her older brother, is dead. He represents the better times Eveline had seen in the past, when her mother was still alive, her father was less abusive and Ireland itself, was not under the threat of men like the man from Belfast who bought all the land where she used to play with the neighborhood children. Her other brother, Harry. used to try his best to be helpful, and used to send her money whenever he could, but he too was a drunk. Frank, however, is portrayed as the white knight, or the man who will save her from her hard life. “First ofall it had been an excitement for her to have a fellow and then she had begun to like him. In the beginning Eveline’s relationship with Frank was a matter of surprise and excitement for her, as he was a man who showed her kindness and told her stories and took her places. However, as she begins to genuinely like him, he takes on the role of a rescuer- someone without whom she would be forced to live a dreary life.
His role as a romantic lover is less important to his role of someone who can rescue her from her father and perhaps herself It is possible to doubt Frank’s character and credibility, her father himself says “I know these sailor chaps, ” and forbids her from seeing him Sailors have been notorious for their sexual appetites and roving eyes, as well as the tendency to exaggerate about their adventures, and it is possible that Frank too, just views Eveline as a pretty face that he must possess and protect, James Joyce presents certain female stereotypes in “Eveline” Eveline is a deprived female, She is deprived of a joyous childhood which a lot of children enjoy. When she used to play in the field as a little girl, her dad wottld come and hunt her ottt of the field with a “blackthorn stick” In this situation the male- female relationship is seen very clearly. The father who is a dominant male Chases the little girl and deprives her of the simplest right she has, which is the right to play. Joyce’s use of the “blackthorn stick” is definitely a phallic image according to psychoanalysis and it is used to hunt a female who does not possess it.
Yet another aspect of the deprivation theme is the death of Eveline‘s mother. Thus, she is deprived of her mother and it is common sense that there can be no substitute for a mother’s compassion and love. In addition to that, Joyce shows his reader the unfolding result of any kind of imbalance that occurs in the male-female relationship. At the end of the story she does not get on the boat with Frank and sail to Buenos Aires, Argentina which is geographically opposite of Dublin, It is in the southern half of the globe, whereas Dublin is in the northern half of it. “This can be perceived as Joyce’s refusal of the anti-feminist society that Dublin had at that time and he wanted the total opposite of that. ” (Literary Paritantra, Joyce and Feminism by Mohammad H. Al- Hamdani) in Tiphanie Yanique’s story, Deepa possibly resents her father.
He perhaps passed down his leprosy to her, and she expresses no grief about his death or cremation. The conflict in Deepa’s relationship with men begins and ends with Lazaroi He is said to be like her brother, yet it can he obviously interpreted that there was something more romantic under the surface. ” Every young couple needs some privacy when they wed, ” Tantie B mused. And I imagine she thought Lazaro and I were in love. [do not blame her. I thought the some Deepa and Lazaro’s love seems illicit, and unhealthy even, as they were together to create rebellion. Lazaro’s name itself signifies a sort of ‘undying’ love Deepa has for him, even though he allegedly murders a nun (possibly to avenge Deepa) and disappears. The building of the altar to Goddess Kali may be interpreted as the consummation of their relationship, as Kali is the goddess of destruction. The destruction that is essential to each story is also a pivotal point in the lives of the women portrayed in the stories.
It is not merely a destruction of social order, or regime— it is the destruction of innocence, and a time of great spiritual, emotional, and existential upheaval. In Persepolis, destruction is all around Marji. The social and political order around Marji is constantly in a state of flux, and she has watched as her life has slowly transitioned from liberal to conservative. She has literally witnessed destruction when the bombing of Iran begins and her neighbors across the street are killed. However, Marji has always been a destructive woman- she refuses the role that is forced upon her, she talks back to her teachers instead of being submissive, she is strong willed and independent and is unafraid of speaking her mind, even though consequences may not be pretty. At one point, she even doubts the maternal instinct, when her terrified and screaming aunt thrusts her newborn baby into Marji‘s arms and abandons her. Marji’s first act of serious rebellion is smoking a cigarette behind her mother’s back, as a form of protest.
It is the death of her innocent curiosity about the war, and a transition into cynical angst about her life and the regime. She says it herself, “Mth this first cigarette, I kissed my childhood goodbye. Now I was a grown up. “ From that point in the book, the chaos and destruction around Marji escalate, both outside and within her. Her uncle dies due to lack of medical attention in Iran, her house is nearly bombed and her neighbors are killedi She firsthand witnesses the carnage of war when she sees her friend’s bracelet still attached to her mangled arm. She gets in trouble with the women of the Committee because she is improperly dressed and she is expelled from her school. These events, combined with her outspoken nature lead her parents to send her away to Austria, to protect her from the regime, and herself. All three stories contain some aspect of ‘going away’, Marji is sent to Austria, Eveline is leaving for Buenos Ayres and Deepa is sent to the leper colony.
It is as if these women are too destructive for the places they currently are in. They seem to disturb the social orderi In James Joyce’s story, Eveline has been shown as a submissive woman who keeps her home well. “She had hard work to keep the house together and to see that the two young children who had been left to her charge went to school regularly and got their meals regularly It was hard work 7 a hard life 7 but now that she was about to leave it she did not find it a wholly undesirable life”. However, Eveline is already living in a state of death and destruction. Though not as drastic as Marji’s story, Ireland has been in a state of slow decay and inevitable death, as indicated by the language of the story ‘yellowing photograph‘, ‘cinder path. ‘Eveline has witnessed her family fall apart around her, yet she has been an exemplary example of a woman playing her assigned role. Yet we find her in the midst of her rebellious thoughts of eloping with Frank, and beginning a life in a foreign land.
The theme of destruction is made clear by her mother’s dying words ‘Deravon Seraun‘— the end of pleasure is pain. Eveline’s destructive role comes during the climax of the story. As Frank calls to her to come on to the barge, she stands still. Her act of destruction was not leaving her father, but in abandoning the typical role of the princess locked in a high tower guarded by a dragon being rescued by a prince. Her final act of rebellion was not against her father, but Frank himself. She realizes that she does not want to be rescued, because even though her life is dreary, it is still hers. There is a possibility that Eveline considered- leaving with Frank would just mean she exchanges one cage for another, even though the second cage is a gilded one. Frank would drown her, like her father had drowned her. “All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart.
He was drawing her into them: he would drown her” her final act of destruction is being passive, to Frank‘s calls, she just stands there, her eyes gave him no sign o/love or farewell or recognition, as if their love never meant a thing to her. It is possible that she broke Frank’s heart, and in the process broke her own, which cements her role as a destructive woman. In Tiphanie Yanique’s story, it is quite evident to see the destruction all around Deepa- she has a disease that is destroying her body and her relationships with people on the mainland, hence she is sent away, for her own safety and the safety of others. Leprosy itself, was equated to sin in the Bible, and it is possible that Deepa is conflicted in wanting be buried like Christ, yet believes in a religion that says that her disease itself is the product of sin. This possibly leads her to actually sin with Lazaro, by building a shrine to the Goddess Kali, who is, ironically the Hindu Goddess of death and destruction.
The destruction truly begins when the nuns discover her with Lazaro, chaos ensues. Her rebellion against the Christian nuns, against the isolation of lepers and perhaps against her own faith and body, leads to her getting badly burnt. Her face being burnt is symbolic, fire represents purification, and in being burnt she has been purified from her sin. Deepa’s small act of rebellion has a domino effect on the island, Lazaro murders Sister Theresa, the phone lines are cut, the boats have been punctured and the radios are missing. A woman’s act of rebellion and destruction was so powerful that it changed the lives of the nuns and lepers around her. The nuns leaped frantically into the sea, and so did the lepersi However, Deepa’s destruction of social order on the island had positive consequences, she bought the lepers together in the sea, and they all realize that their leprosy had made them race—less, and had blanketed their identity.
The magical waters of the Caribbean seemed to heal them and bring them together in a way that that any salve or penicillin could not. The symbolism of the Goddess Kali is relevant even here, as after she wreaks her havoc and destruction, a new era arises, one of creation and peace, and after Deepa is burned and the island cut off, all the lepers go to the sea and become one. Kali is relevant to all the three stories, she is a physical embodiment of empowerment, or Shakti, which is the female energy hat is worshipped in the Hindu religion. In fact she is often depicted with her consort, Lord Shiva who is considered one of the most important Hindu Gods, but in this depiction, he lies prostate and calm beneath her. She is symbolic of all the rebellious women in the stories Rebellious women have played an important role in literature and in history.
In these three stories, all three women stand on the brink of some great change— a change that can either renew or destroy them. Ever since the Bible, women have been viewed as force of destruction, it was Eve who persuaded Adam to eat the apple, which led to the fall of man from paradise, It is this stigma that has persisted over centuries, leading to beliefs like ‘women are insatiable’, ‘women must be kept in their place.’ However, these stories, show just how powerful a woman’s rebellion can be, and the consequences it can have on society. When Marji said, “I wanted to be Justice, Love and the Wrath ofGad all in one” she was referring to her future role as destructive woman— loving yet terrible.
Such a comparison can be seen in the Lord of the Rings as well, when Lady Galadriel says “And [shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! ” The role of destructive women in literature is very important. It provides us with an example of female power, and how important it is for women to explore both the aspects of their personalities as destroyer and nourisher. It is especially symbolic today, when women all over the world are fighting for their rights- rights to equal pay, rights to their own body, right to have access to resources and many more. Such women in literature are important, because they are symbols of strength and inspiration we can all draw from, and feel safe in the knowledge that our power is terrifying yet nurturing, and women embody the balance between rebellion and peace.
