MALE DOMINANCE AND SOCIAL INJUSTICE OVER

WOMAN ROLE PORTRAYED IN JASMINE BY BHARATI

MUKHERJEE

NINDY NADITHA

1209617030

A THESIS PROPOSAL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF FINAL EXAM

ENGLISH LITERATURE STUDY PROGRAM

FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS

STATE UNIVERSITY OF JAKARTA

2020
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of Study

From centuries ago, the matter of male domination over women is in the society is
considered as one of the most repeated topic that has been mentioned inside many
plays, poems, or prose. Although, after many years had already passed, many writers
still trying to bring this matter up to the surface. One of the linguistic works that
brought up the topic about male domination in modern era is Jasmine written by
Bharati Mukherjee. This work of literature used a different kind of approach on the
matter, by not always putting it directly through words, but the Mukherjee framed it
neatly from the main character, Jasmine, on how she acted and reacted to things
around her.

Male domination itself is talking about how male role dominated the majority of
aspect in social life over women. In western, they have no thought of woman figure
as something important that contributes to the culture. Despite of this paucity of
information about female role in the society, male attitudes and also behavior
towards women provide us clues about the relationship between both sexes. The
setting of the prose Jasmine is originally located in India, as she is part of the ethnic
before she decided to move out from the city as an immigrant in the US with the
thought of pursuing a better life there.

We could find a lot of discussion regarding male domination over the female, but
through this prose, I will try to see the matter from different perspective which are
from the point of view of the male, the female, and also the influence of the culture
and environment that has been keeping certain rules that both genders should follow
under the name of culture and sometimes religion.

Jasmine, one of Bharati Mukherjee greatest work published in the 1989. The story
mainly focused on Jasmine’s life and how she grew up in her hometown Hasnapur to

1
the point when she became an immigrant alone in America. Her mindset when she
first stepped feet in America was because of his husband’s dream, pursuing it for
him because the said man died before they can even go together to American. Just
like any other Indian’s women in her time still has that mindset and believing that
every woman’s life is not as powerful as man, showed at how we know from the
novel that every girl who haven’t married until their age hit 21. Even though she also
had a lot of different mindset from any other girls in the village and more capability,
such as education and skill to speak English, she couldn’t help but to think and stick
to their cultural rules. But all of those mindset started to slightly get washed off once
she met and got married with Prakash. Prakash is a very modern man in this story,
and he is the one who changed the name Jyotti into Jasmine. He is the only figure in
Jasmine life that told her that it’s not a big deal to stop following the strict rules of
their culture. But having to live like this since forever, it’s not an easy thing for
Jasmine to fully accept this kind of mindset. On the following time after she ran
away from her place to another country, she is still trapped under such thoughts and
submit on male power over her. The examination of ancient matrimonial laws,
Dohash and Dobash (1978) explain that male role is the absolute patriarch who
owned and controlled all properties and people within the family.

This study will be focused about how male dominance influence the female role
within the society, and how the culture in the said place contributes on this matter.
This study will also point out and discuss kinds of social injustice that women
should endure because of the said matter of one-way dominance over their role.

1.2. Research Question

The following research questions are the result after we talk about the background of
the study and reasons why the topic is chosen.

1. How does the author of Jasmine portrayed woman role in the novel?
2. What kind of social struggle do women have to deal with inside the
patriarchal society?
3. How male and elders view the role of a woman inside the story?

2
1.3. Purpose of the study

The purpose of the study is to investigate and discuss the dominance of male role and
also the contribution of certain cultural rules over female role with Jasmine as the
core of the corpus.

1.4. Scope of the Study

The study focuses on discussing and investigating the power of male dominance and
cultural rules regarding the matter over female role in the society. The data are
chosen by taking some dialogues, paragraph or short phrases that are related to the
topic and will be analyzed by related theories that will be mentioned in discussion
part.
1.5 Significance of the Study

The researcher hopes that this study regarding the male dominance and female role in
society will help other researchers who want to talk about similar topic. The aim of
this study is to open a wider perspective over this matter, and for the reader to
understand better.

3
 CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Identity and Construction of Gender Roles

2.1.1 Self, Identity and Society
The study and concept about self and identity already have been discussed over
the years with variety of explanation and also different streams of social
sciences. We can say that ‘self’ here can be called as the conscious and reflective
personality of one individual. The distinct personality or identity of an individual
is regarded as a persisting entity. The use of identity often can be found in the
symbolic interactionist theories. According to it, self reflects society of an
individual is the shape of the society itself, which can turn its shape into many
social behaviors.

The structure of symbolic interactions in our society could visualized the

difference yet organized systems of interactions and relationship with a lot of
varieties including social class, age, ethnic, religion, gender and more. The term
‘self’ here is sometimes interdependent and independent, or mutually reinforcing
and conflicting. All of these aspects are formed within the external, based on the
role of expectation.

The concept of self is formed as sets of identities and role designations, both
from gender and sex. Self is a set of identity as a particular gender, caste, race,
class and the role that the society expect people to behave. Identity is a self-
cognition tied to gender roles and the position that the society already organized.
Many argued that identities vary in their silence, that a given one can be invoked
in many kind of situations and defined as differential probability. Our choice
about identity reflects our role that associated within us in the society.
(SinghaRoy 2004). Our individual self and identity are already socially
constructed from many years ago, with individuals living based on everyday

4
experiences, encounters and also our observations with the others either in our
own or the external.

Our sense of community develops from social interactions and this aspect relates
closely to the idea of an individual’s social identity and self. There are strong
influences that we got from the community and in this sense the gender
acceptance of self as female and male sex, roles and expectations that attached on
one identity is closely associated with their culture and social agreements. This
process of social construction of gender identity is associated with the culture
and institutional arrangements of the society through which it operates. We can
say that gender identity is not universal but culture specific discursive
construction and cultural identity is continuously formed (Hall 1990). We can
imply that gender identity is cultural specific and socially constructed that we can
see the variations of it across time and space.

2.1.2 Sex and Gender Equality

Beside of gender, we will talk about sex and the gender equality matter that come
with it. The word term ‘sex’ is used to refer human biological markers that make
a female different from male. There is a thing called genetic difference and we
can translate this into difference of sex organs, hormonal differences and body in
overall. We can also refer this term to the psychological parameters that
differentiate our human species into male or female. Sex has a different concept
with gender. Gender refers to the manner that an individual should put up in our
society in order to meet the cultural expectations.

On the other hand, gender identity is a relative to external forces. Gender works
to define how a man and a woman should behave in the society but people do not
necessarily share a unified gender identity. Gender formation recognizes not only
difference between both genders but also between women and other women,
depending on sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, etc.

Another matter that close related to this is gender equality, which means equal
opportunities, rights, and responsibilities that both genders should have gain. It

5
doesn’t mean that women and men are the same but its talking about things that
both genders should’ve get in same level. But the matter of gender equalities
persists in most of the societies. There are a lot of differences and inequalities
happened between men and women roles and the magnitude of those differences
differs from society to society as its all depending on the nature of the role that
assigned on the gender in that particular society. Gender role system is rather
multi-faceted, it assigns particular personality traits to the two sexes and that
particular work is essential for it to be valued differently by cultures and how
society gives a subordinate position for women.

2.1.3 Gender Inequality and Construction of Gendered Roles

Those things mentioned before is the base of social construction of gendered
roles. The construction of gender determines the range of choices that both sex
has, and its linked to work and the process of production such as mobility or
seclusion, dress, behavior and so on. Part of labor division in society also
determined by sex such as role in family, stereotype, property, inheritance, power
in authority and government. The status of women and men shows us the pattern
of its gender construction, and it’s important to be aware that none of the society
considered equality for gender. The hierarchy between women and men obtain in
terms of resources, power over voices and the social evaluation of roles. This
unequal and subordinate status leads to discrimination and negative stereotype of
female sex in society.
The gender differentiation in the family construction is also visible from how the
society assigned certain roles for both genders. Female tasks are responsibilities
revolving around reproduction, mothering childcare and they have limited access
to has a bigger role in the society as it assigned mostly to men role. The society
view women task as extension of psychology rather than a real work. Women are
judged and seen as the caretakers of young and old, the sick and food producer
also homeworkers. Women role in the society is not perceived as primary but a
supplementary of men, with lower status and skill.

6
2.2 Women Role and Gender Construction in India
Family in the society is considered as something vital as it’s the first organization
that teach about socialization and organization before sending an individual into
a larger society. In India, if an average household birthed a girl child it would not
get considered as a good event. Inside a Hindu family, the case of first-born
daughter will make their parents and relatives often console themselves by
calling the little child as a goddess of wealth. But the subsequent birth of female
child will put the family in gloom, and the mother will be harassed by built from
adding more burden to the household, and this situation will lead to feeling
unwanted and disliked. The girls are often conveyed with the mindset that the
society didn’t need them. The constant reminder that they are members of family
that they are married and not born to.

At the same time, if a family birthed a boy then it will be considered as luck and
investment for the parents. This custodial property concept is the thing that will
restrict their mobility and also forced them to behave according to the patriarchal
requirements. This extend to the point that girls should watch the way they laugh,
walk, eating and so on. Mothers will train their daughter to be an ideal wife,
daughter in law and many things related to it. In the contemporary Indian society,
among certain classes girls are promoted to take up jobs outside their home but
the society will remind them constantly that their primary concern should be only
bout their family and that their role as a housewife and other responsibilities
should be considered as a secondary concern.

Women are generally engaged in homemaking in India. Their work only revolves
around taking care of the family and give an offspring. The society mostly never
recognize their role unless they can do something for the economic growth for
their family. Their role always gets considered as the subordinate for men and
that in certain cultural rules, they can’t even voice out their concern loudly unless
it’s coming from their husband mouth or any other male role in their family.

7
2.2.1 Paradoxical Identities of Women in India
There is a strict prescription of women roles as wives that put a supernatural
expectations of mother as a reason for oppression and exploitation. In the
contemporary society, women’s representation in professions, politics and
society is way greater now around the world. But the paradoxical identity of
Indian women in the society, especially Hindu women is proven that the
religious agency construction of stereotypical roles of gender justifies this
identity of women.

In Hindu, female whether it’s a goddess or human are always regarded to be

fertile and benevolent, but aggressive and malevolent at the same time. This
power is given and give them power to either bring prosperity or to ruin. There is
a cultural logic laid on them, that the same person could have ‘Shakti’, the
energizing principle of the universe, and also ‘Prakriti’ or the undifferentiated
matter of universe. In term of opposing energies, women are identified as nature
while men as culture, this way women are viewed as secondary to them. This
kind dichotomy is applied to project women as a wanton and uncontrolled force,
and men are considered as structured beings. The cultural expectations are
required to control the nature and men are required to control the women.

This contradiction in gender roles are related close to the contradictory identities
of Hindu goddesses. They control their sexuality and transfer their power to male
god. Goddesses who transfer their control sexuality to male god is symbolizing
the domestication through marriage. This justifies the ability of patriarchal
culture to control the powerful and dangerous images.

8
2.3 Theoretical Framework

2.3.1 Hostile Sexism

Despite of knowing about the fact that women often get considered as a
secondary role in our society, the fact that gender inequality is still something
that many cultural societies hold in order to put an individual in their gender role
spot. Previous studies regarding the same matter shows that hostile and
benevolent sexist attitude is still grounded in the traditional gender stereotypes
and play a key role in our society as the reproduction of gender inequality. This
matter is still something that often be debated despite of the efforts that people
put to improve this inequality between male and female. Based on the data from
The World Bank, 2011; European Union, 2017, problem about gender equality is
still prominent in employment rate, workshare in the household and also
childcare.

Glick and Fiske (1996) described about how intimate relationship between men
and women are central to the development, content, and functions of the sexist
attitudes. Based on their recent research investigation, they point out an
illustration of how intimate relationships are pivotal to many problems and
consequence of sexist attitudes.

Hostile sexism is functioning to sustain gender inequality by trying to advocate

the aggression towards women who challenge men’s social power. This include
career women and also feminist that try to push the idea of equality between both
genders.

The concern regarding power-maintaining central to hostile sexism, where it

could arise within an intimate relationship because men are depended on women
for their fundamental needs like intimacy, reproduction and such.

This motivation to sustain power and also reduce the dependence leads men to
endorse hostile sexism to aggress their authority towards their female partners,

9
and men who are more strongly in doing this reported to did more physical and
verbal aggression toward their partners. (Forbes, Adam Curtis & White, 2004).

Another expert, Sibley and Tan (2011) found that men’s behavior of hostile
sexism predicted to be even greater when a conflict arise between couple, which
resulted in men who force such behavior to be less successful in obtaining
desired changes from their partner. Men’s hostile sexism could lead to negative
perceptual biases, like on female it would be critical and also unloving while
these negative biases will be predicted to be more aggressive and reduced the
satisfaction between couples.

10
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Method

In this research study, the writer will be using descriptive analytical interpretative
methodology to explore more about gender inequality, focusing on how men and
women role are ruled by the culture. The aim of this study is to gather more
knowledge and explaining why the topic should be discussed further without
modifying any of the objects. The data source that would be used in this study is
Bharati Mukherjee’s novel titled Jasmine, and the writer will use the theory of
hostile sexism and also gender inequality study.

3.2 Data of the Study

The data of this research study will be taken directly from the novel, including
dialogues, sentences, words, and even interpretation from the writer herself. The
concept of religion and also culture around the year mentioned inside the novel will
be the key point of the cultural discussion.

3.3 Data Source

The source of this study will mostly be dialogues, sentences and also everything
related to the culture that shaped the gender inequality of both genders, how the
culture perceive women and men should behave according to the norms.

3.4 Data Collecting Procedure

1. Reading the whole book of Jasmine by Bharati Mukerjee.

2. Marking every sentences, dialogues, even description that talk about gender and
how men and women should behave in their society and culture.

11
3. Choosing those data and make sure it can be analyzed by the theories that the
writer had choose.

4. Analyzing the data based on the theory and previous research that can help to
support the study.

3.5 Data Analysis Procedure

1. Analyzing about how the culture and society in novel ‘Jasmine’ placed men and
women in the society.

2. Analyzing the events about gender with the concept of gender inequality and how
it is constructed throughout the story.

3. Analyzing the male and female character behavior regarding the matter and how
the society treat them differently, including what kind of custom that tied them to do
it.

4. Analyzing the data with the concept of Sexism, and what kind of things trigger it
based on the concept.

5. Draw the final conclusion.

12
 REFERENCES

1. M. D Hammond & N. C Overall (2017). Dynamics Within Intimate

Relationships and the Causes, Consequences, and Functions of Sexist
Attitudes. Sage Publication: Psychological Science 2017, Vol. 26(2) 120–
125.
2. Glick & Fiske (1996) Hostile Sexism.
3. Hill. S & Marshall C. Tara (2018). Beliefs about Sexual Assault in India and
Britain are Explained by Attitudes Toward Women and Hostile Sexism.
Springer Link.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-017-0880-6
4. IGNOU (2017). Women, Identity, and Gender Construction, Unit-4.
International Convention and Constitutional Mandates for Gender Equality:
eGyanKosh. http://egyankosh.ac.in//handle/123456789/25899
5. B. Mukherjee (1989). Jasmine.

13