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 IJELLH Volume V, Issue IX September 2017 165

Ankur Hazarika
Ex Student,Department of English
Dibrugarh University
Assam,India
Contact No:7002357882

Transformation of Rani and her emerging identity: Deconstructive reading of

Karnad's Nagamandala

Abstract

Girish Karnad is the foremost playwright of the contemporary stage. The issue of the gender-bias
in society and the oppression of women by the patriarchal order happen to form an important part
of Karnad's plays. At the same time, Karnad depicts women enthused with feminism, fighting the
unjust norms of the patriarchal order. The prime concern of this paper is to show how in
Nagamandala, the female protagonist Rani who has initially seen to be subjugated, revolts
against the confinement of societal norms and ultimately rises from her subservient position to a
goddess. This paper studies the power of sexuality and the rise of feminine self in the cast of
Rani. This study is to explore how Karnad deconstructs the stereotypical images of women that
have always been imposed on them by patriarchy.

Keywords: Subaltern, Patriarchy, Gender, chastity, Self, Identity

Nagamandala is a play by Girish Karnad where the female protagonist, Rani who has initially
seen to be subjugated, revolting against the confinement of Societal norms and ultimately rises
from her subservient position to a goddess. The female sexuality has been used by Karnad as a
device to portray Rani as an unconventional figure and the extra martial affair between Rani and
Cobra can be taken as a tool to look into the play from feminist perspective.According to Simon
de Beauvoir,"one is not born a woman, but rather becomes one."In this play too we see that
women are supposed to live in confinements and supposed to internalize the orders of Patriarchal
figure. According to Toril Moi,'Feminine' and 'masculine' are basically both are social and
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cultural construct. The patterns of sexuality and behaviour of women are basically constructed
and imposed upon by patriarchy.But in Nagamandala,it would be not far wrong to say that
Karnad has tried to deconstruct the stereotypical images of women that have always been
imposed on them by the dominant male figures.In Nagamandala, female Sexuality has been
treated as an instrument to subvert patriarchy where Rani goes against the parameters and taboos
of patriarchy. Karnad not only underscores the subservient and sub human plight of Rani but also
fuses in her energy to protest against the life denying system and to shift her position to the level
of her counterparts.

In the beginning of the play Rani has been portrayed as 'subaltern' who is 'voiceless' lacking the
agency to voicing out her problems. She is considered as 'second sex' and seems to be the
'puppet' in the hands of Appanna. As a result she just follows the commands of her husband or
the 'Master'.Appanna never seen her as anything other than an object,a secondary figure to the
primacy of the male and never treats her as a free subject with her own identity.Therefore,the
relationship between Appanna and Rani can be regarded as the Subject-other relationship where
the Man, Appanna is the Subject and the Woman,Rani becomes the other.Appanna says,"well,
then, I'll be back tomorrow at noon.Keep my lunch ready.I shall eat and go"(Karnad,27).The
dominant voice of Appanna is very much prominent at the very beginning of the play as
Appanna says, "Do as you are told, you understand?"(Karnad,28).The Male chauvinism grows in
Appanna to such an extent that he does not pay any attention towards her; just after his marriage
Appanna locks her inside the house and goes away. It is the manifestation of patriarchy which
induces a physical and emotional violence as well as isolation in Rani. Appanna tries his best to
not let Rani associate with anyone. He does not want anyone to talk to his wife. He even brings a
dog and a mongoose to guard Rani. This type of guarding implying the fact that he tries to guard
her chastity. But still Rani manages to mingle with Kurudavva and later on with Naga. From that
point, onwards we can say that she endeavours to break each confinement that is imposed upon
her.

Rani's act of pouring the curry with 'magical roots' in the ant hill can be taken as her step against
patriarchy. In Indian society women are supposed to remain busy in household duties and not to
step in outside. But in the play, Rani by making an extra martial affair with the Naga breaking
the restrictions of the patriarchal society and crosses the boundaries surrounding her.In fact she
does not want to be a typical Indian Woman rather she wants to be a woman who has the courage
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to go beyond the societal norms. She establishes an extra martial affair with Naga and eagerly
waits for him - "I am sick of being alone. And then tonight, I was terrified you might not come-
that what i remembered from last night may be just a dream. I was desperate that you should
come again tonight" (Karnda, 57).

Although Naga was disguised as Appanna Rani encountered certain events where in she could
have figured out that Appanna at day time and Appanna at Night both are different persons.
Moreover, Rani has sufficient reasons to believe that the Naga is not Appanna. For instance, on
the night, when the cobra enters the darkened front yard of Rani’s house, she hears the sound of
the dog’s growling and fighting, mixed with the hiss of snake, which ends shortly after the dogs
gives a long painful howl. On the night, when she moves into his arms she notices blood on
Naga’s cheeks and shoulders. She screams in fight as she looks at Naga in the mirror. At the
place, where the Naga is sitting, she sees a cobra. The next morning when Appanna comes,
Rani’s confusion is worst confounded. She says: But last night…. he had blood on his cheeks…
and shoulders. Now…(Karnad,48).By joining such incidents she could have figured out the
reality that Naga was visiting during night time. The fact is that even though perhaps she knows
about the reality of Naga, her repressing sexual desires, her feminine self as well as her
conscience do not allow her to stop Naga's visit as she enjoys and happy with that kind of
relationship. Traditionally a woman is supposed to be passive in the sexual sphere.But here Rani
is being projected as a indifferent self. She is not passive; rather she is revolting against the
norms of the society and fights back for her feminine self. Further she becomes pregnant with the
child of Naga. Here her pregnancy can be considered as her another point of transformation as
well as growth.

It was Simon De Beauvoir who proposed that women must take charge of their own choice.
Instead of being the negative, inferior other, they must become subjects in their own right. They
need not be restricted by or to the roles imposed on them by Patriarchy. She believed that when
women choose for themselves they choose for the entire society. Thus the woman's choice is
about transformation. In Nagamandala, Rani is depicted in such a light in which she is taking
charge of herself. Feminists argue that the woman is reduced to the womb, treated as a sex object
or a procreating machine. In the play Rani too goes through the process of procreation. But it is
exceptional in the sense that women are thought to be weak because of their biological
differences from Men. 'Motherhood' too is associated with that. But in Rani's case it is
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'motherhood' which giving her the courage to fight, to revolt against the patriarchy. Naga too is a
Male figure in a way orders rani to keep her pregnancy secret. Naga tells rani to keep her
pregnancy a secret," I am glad you hid the news from me all this time. Even now, try to keep
from speaking about it as long as possible. Keep it a secret."(Karnad,51). As a reply Rani Says:

I was a stupid, ignorant girl when you brought me here. But now I am a woman,
a wife, and I am going to be a mother. I am not a patriot. Not a cat or a Sparrow.
Why don't you take it on trust that I have a mind and explain this charade to
me?(Karnad,51).

From this point onwards the self of Rani has grown up. She is demanding from the patriarchy to
be considered as a human being who is rational and capable of thinking. Generally in a
patriarchal society a woman is supposed to be guilty of everything, of having desires to the other.
But Rani is unconventional here in the sense that she is not guilty of making love to the Cobra.
On the contrary in the ending of the play she hides the cobra in her eyes and says, "this hair is the
symbol of my wedded bliss. Live in there happily, forever"Karnad,64). This particular dialogue
of Rani depicts the tendency of taking charge of her own choices. Further it also shows the
transformation of Rani from an innocent voiceless girl to a woman and not a traditional
subjugated woman but a woman who fights for her rights.

Critics show Rani's body as a site of "confinement, violence, regulation and communication to
the victimized gender self". And they also point out how later she uses the same body to rebel,to
subvert and to negotiate her space in society. In traditional Indian society it is seen that questions
are meant only for women but not for men. Appanna poses her as an adulterous woman whereas
he himself has an illicit relationship with a concubine. Even though Appanna himself is an
adulterer he is not going to take an ordeal to prove his innocence. Women are made to follow
only to serve the purpose of the male. In this regard M. Sarat Babu writes,

Naga-Mandala is a feminist play. It questions the patriarchal moral code which

demands the faithfulness of a woman to her husband but not the faithfulness of
a man to his wife. This is accepted not only by men but also by women.
Appanna openly and unashamedly commits adultery but nobody objects to it;
the Village Elders who sit in judgment do not find fault with him. Nobody
believes the innocence of Rani. She sleeps with Naga without knowing it. She
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does not discover the identity of Naga who assumes Appanna’s form by using
his magical power. (Babu, 76)

This is just a miniscule cross section and paradox of the patriarchal society that we live in.Rani
does not want to be victimised as a woman rather decides her own fate by taking the snake
ordeal. Here Karnad's effort to emphasize on man woman equality is noticeable. After the snake
ordeal, Rani not only becomes just equal to man but also becoming beyond human being, as a
goddess. This proves the fact that men may have physical strength than women, but women too
have spiritual strength than men. Rani's transformation from an innocent young marginalized
woman to a goddess is very noteworthy because Rani's relationship with Naga gave her the
strength to fight against the dominant patriarchy.

Towards the last part of the play it is seen that Rani is in commanding position with the full
authority of decision making power. She rises to a position of dominant authority. She tells
Appanna-

Rani: when we cremate this snake, the fire should be lit by our son. Every year
on this day.

Appanna: As you Say

Rani: And every year on this day, our son should perform the rituals to
commemorate his death(Karnad,63).

This comment signifies her acceptance and acknowledgement of her new identity and dominant
subject position."Appanna has nothing to say about the statement-"of course, there is no question
of saying 'no'. You are the goddess herself incarnate. Any wish of yours will be carried
out."(Karnad,63).The cruel husband, who used to lock his wife in the house and used to torture
her in every possible way, is forced now to treat his wife as a Goddess. As now Rani is perceived
as a goddess, her husband Appanna and his cruelty got answered by her attainment of
individuality which puts her in the centre and Appanna at the periphery. Earlier, Appanna was a
dominant subject position and Rani was a other. But now we notice that Rani has become subject
position and Appanna become an object, the other, a subaltern. Indeed, the subject object or
Subject other transformation gives Rani a new identity. Through the transformation Karnad has
deconstructed the stereotypical images of women that have been imposed on them by patriarchy.
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Postmodern theories of gender argue that gender is not a fixed or stable category across the
world. Gender, like a text is a performance, the playing out of roles, that has to be
repeated('cited') and validated within specific social and cultural contexts, but which is also
opened to contest and negotiations. In other words, gender is a continuous performance whose
meaning can never be fixed for all time or as universal. In this regard Judith Butler argues that
the category of the subject is a 'performative construct' and there are ways of doing one's identity
which might trouble the binary oppositions of male/female, masculine/feminine. Thus, gender
and its meaning is constructed through repeated performances. Butler says that:

Gender is not a noun (but it) proves to be performative, that is, constituting the
identity it is purported to be. In this sense, gender is always a doing, though not
a doing by a subject who might be said to pre-exist the deed(25).

Perhaps, Rani believes that gender is a performance and it can be negotiated and contested by not
performing the role imposed on her by the Patriarchy. In the third ending of the play Appanna
thinks about killing the cobra, but Rani manages to hide him in her hair and she tells Appanna
that the snake has escaped. It is a kind of reversal in the play. At this point of time a woman is
taking charge and commanding the male to look for the snake here and there-"It went that way-
toward the bathroom"(Karnad,64). It is one of the such instances that proves the fact that the
story of Rani is not fixed and permanent. The feminist self in Rani grows to such an extent that
she succeeds in attaining a state where patriarchy becomes her slave and the concepts like
chastity is no longer valid. Rani's transformation to a goddess can also be taken as
unconventional because traditionally the unnatural women are regarded as witches. For instance,
Bertha Masion, the mad woman in Jane Eyre, the witches in Macbeth are treated as witches
because they are not natural. But in Nagamandala, Rani has not been treated as Witch but rather
worshipping as a goddess. This also implies the change of Women's condition under the rule of
Patriarchy. So, it would not be far wrong to say that Karnad has tried to give women a position in
society by erasing the marginalized position and the transformation of Rani represents an explicit
subversion of the standards of a conservative society embedded in patriarchy. Such incident
represents the postmodern sensibility of the late twentieth century which shows the
transformation power of woman's retelling of myths. Indeed, it can be said that Karnad is in the
act of deconstructing myth.
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The play ends with the words of Rani-"This hair is the symbol of my wedded bliss. Live in there
happily, forever(Kanrad,64). This dialogue suggests that she succeeds in maintaining a bliss of
marriage. She acquired whatever she wanted. The feminist self-won in the battle between
patriarchal society and female. The unconventional female protagonist succeeds in her clash of
attaining individuality, identity, freedom and authority. An unconventional ending of the play
makes Rani an unconventional woman and also the play a feminist text.

To conclude, it can be said that Rani is placed in a world where orthodox social conventions,
cultural taboos and coercive forces work; patriarchy is established which proves greatest blow to
the existence of Rani. Apart from overt patriarchy, she is socialized to internalize the male
superiority-an invisible conspiracy to derogate and marginalize her position in the society.She
adopts new ways to transcend age-old subjection of woman. Rani is surrounded by evil social
forces where she finds herself helpless; tortured by alienation and despair but she never
surrenders and continues her struggle for identity as a woman, as a wife, as a mother.
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Work Cited

Antony, Chaithanya."The postmodern feminism and the Mythology in the Play Nagamandala
and the Film Hiss".Research Journal of English Language and Literature,Vol.3.2(Apr-
June)2015, p 294-298.

Babu, M.Sarat. "The Concept of Chastity and Naga-Mandala", The Plays of Girish Karnad:
Critical Perspectives. Ed. Jaydipsinh Dodiya. New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1999, 67. Print.

Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble. London: Psychology Press, 1992. Print.

Karnad, Girish. Three Plays, Naga-Mandala, Hayavadana, Tughlaq. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press, 2009, 186.Print.

Muduli, Swastika. "Gender Bias verses Power of Sexuality: A study of Girish Karnad's
Nagamandala." International Journal of English Language, Literature and Humanities”,
Vol:2, January (2015).p 334-338.

Nayar, Pramod, K. Contemporary Literary and Cultural Theory. New Delhi: Pearson,2010.

Sagar, Prem (Ed.) Girish Karnad: Naga-Mandala, Agra: Lakshmi Narain Agarwal, n.d.,
Srinivasan, Amrit."Foreward" Wedding Album. New Delhi: Oxford University Press,
2009.