Vijay Tendulkar’s Silence: The court is in Session is a critique of Patriarchal values in male

dominating society like India. The play helps us to understand the condition of women during

colonial rule. This shows how the dignity of women has been made subordinate to the social

norms. The play surrounds a mock trial exploring the life of Miss Leela Benare, unmarried

pregnant women criticizing her for not conforming to the societal norms that a woman expected

to follow.

A traditional male society cannot go beyond its patriarchal norms and taboos. The society does

not like any change in its moral values and customs. Not even the society but judiciary is coming

forward to provide relief to the marginalized women thereby leading to double marginalization.

The play depicts that there exists a separate code for man and woman and women are not

expected to deviate from this code. The play shows us not only independent woman denying to

the moral values and custom is facing the trouble of subjugation by the male dominating society

but it also shows the character of Mrs. Kashikar who is a traditional woman is facing insults and

snubs in the scared institution of marriage.

The center character of play Miss Benare was accused of infanticide as she got pregnant before

marriage, thereby deviating from the norm of society. Subha Tiwari in her article “ Silence! The

court is in Session. A strong social commentary” states “The whole responsibility of morally

upright behaviour is bulldozed on women. Men are by nature considered to be willful, wild,

childish, innocent and mischievous. Their sins are no sins at all. The society has a very light

parental and pampering sort of attitude when it comes to sexual offences of men. In case of

women the iron rod gets hot and hotter. No punishment is actually enough for such a woman.

There is no respite, no 44 shade and no soothing cushion for a sinning woman. She must be

stained and abandoned. Her femininity, her needs, her very existence must be ignored or rather
destroyed. She must be cornered and brutally killed both in physical and psychological senses.

This play is about the pathetic position of women in the male dominated Indian world.”

Miss Benare had to leave her job for carrying the child in her womb but the professor Mr Dalme

who is responsible for situation escapes liability just because he is a male. He is not even present

at the trial which shows his total withdrawl from the responsibility either social or moral. Miss

Benare has been accused of diluting the norms of institution of marriage. Miss Benare is very

vocal and open in her attack to the patriarchy that an ideal woman of society do not supposed to

be. So in return to that, all the character of the play tries their best to subordinate the dignity of

the Miss Benare. They talked about the personal life of Benare in Court openly, thereby

breaching her privacy. Sukhatme, the character who is playing the role of lawyer knowing the

laws says that “Her conduct has blackened all social and moral values. The accused is public

enemy number one. If such socially destructive tendencies are encouraged to flourish, this

country and its culture will be totally destroyed. Thus the ‘fathers’ of society give verdict on the

behaviour of women and consequently curb their freedom.1”

The judge in the Play Mr kashikar even says that “What I say is, our society should revive the

old custom of child marriage. Marry off the girls before puberty. All this promiscuity will come

to a full stop.”2 This clearly shows us the mind setup of the society about marriage and

pregnancy of a woman. The male dominating society is not ready to bear up the progression in

the status of women physically and economically. They are not ready to accept that woman can

do financial work at par with man except the households. Benare is a woman who does not want

to restrict herself in well established conventions of the society. She recognizes herself as an

1
Silence para 71
2
Silence para 51
individual not merely a woman living under the shed of four walls of the society. Perhaps due

this search for her individuality, she suffers criticism from the safeguards of patriarchy.

The characters of the play repeatedly question the motherhood of Miss Benare representing the

norm that a single woman is not capable enough for maintenance of a child. Mrs Kashikar a

elderly childless woman who is supposed to understand the situation of Miss Benare due to the

male domination says that “That’s what happens these days when you get everything without

marrying. They just want comfort. They couldn’t care less about responsibility! It’s the sly new

fashion of women earning that makes everything go wrong. That’s how promiscuity has spread

throughout our society.”

Therefore, the play depicts the social condition of woman living in society dominated by social

taboos and norms conforming to the patriarchy. Not even the court stand up with the woman to

fight for their rights. The role of Benare shows that woman is never supposed to deviate from

social and moral norms of the society and they try to break the walls, they are subjugated by the

heros of maintaining values and customs. According to Candy Elizabeth in Introduction to

Feminism in our Times “Thus far women have been mere echoes of men. Our laws and

constitution, our creeds and codes and customs of social life are all of masculine origin. The

true woman is yet a dream for future.” In the drama of life, on one hand we glorify and worship

women and on other hand we as society subjugate the dignity and liberty of women and restricts

them to live a life of their choice.