IJELLH Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2018 47

Dr Bishun kumar
Asst Professor,
Dept. of English
Sri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Lucknow
India
gbishunkumar@gmail.com

Textualising the Erotic Body: Reading Chughtai's “Lihaaf" through Lacanian Lenses

Ismat Chughtai, born of a Muslim middle class family in Lucknow-- the city of Nawabs
rather a city of tehjeeb, educated in La Martiniere, Isabella Thoburn college and University
of Lucknow, was a Nae- Adab-ke-Mimar (Builder of the New Literature) and one of the
pioneers of Progressive Writers in India such as Munshi Prem Chand, Mulk Raj Anand,
Saadat Hasan Manto, Krishan Chander, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Ahmed Ali, Sajjad Zaheer,
Rashid Jahan, and others.
Though all these progressive writers were diverse in the choice of area/subject of the writing
but unified in sensibility for realism and exploring the natural extinct of life. Ismat was a bold
woman with a radical feminist fervor, long before feminism has gained momentum in the
world but without being conscious of it. For writing on taboo subjects like woman’s desire,
the desire for erotic pleasure, the jouissance and the orgasm through homoeroticism etc,
especially in colonial India and in the world of domineering patriarchy, moreover, by a
female and still more by a Muslim writer, was not only a challenging but also a perilous task.

Material dimensions of the term “jouissance”, says Lacan, contain connotations of sexual and
aesthetic enjoyment, bliss, possession as the end of desire, to ‘la langue’ as a layer of
meaningless verbal enjoyment preceding la langue which we learn in schools. His project of
psychoanalysis is grounded in the premises that the unconscious is ‘structured like a
language’ which can highlight important aspects of life of signs in human societies such as
disturbance in people’s natural need for erotic pleasures causes, psychosis, hysteria, mania,
irritation and many other mental disorders. Chughtai puts female body to cross-examine its
erotic aspects. That is why she herself admits:
I assumed a softer tone and said humbly, ‘Aslam Sahib, no one has actually told me
that it was a sin to write on the subject with which “Lihaf” is concerned. Nor had I
read in any book that such a disease….such aberrations should not be written about.
IJELLH Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2018 48

Perhaps my mind is not an artist’s like Abdur Rahman Chughtai’s but an ordinary
camera that records reality as it is. The pen becomes helpless in my hand because my
mind overwhelms it. Nothing can interfere, with this traffic between the mind and the
pen.’ (Chughtai 2012: 30).

The deprivation of person’s biological need results in the form of struggle between life and
death and sometimes, for being unreported, unobserved, unnoticed, and unrecognized it leads
the person to a very miserable life and if s/he fails to opt at least one of the available
alternatives it might cause untimely death. Even the dichotomy of religion is that it rewards
the act of creation, the reproduction but labels the charge of sin on the same act as fulfillment
of biological need.

Since Lacan’s analysis is an extension of Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis which he analyses

through the three orders namely: 1- Imaginary (the field of images, imagination, and
deception), 2- symbolic (La relation d' object) and 3- real (the physical experience).
Therefore, Sigmund Freud cannot be ignored who, first, through his theory of psychoanalysis,
saved the lives of people defending their need for 'libidinal pleasures" favouring it as one of
the fundamental biological needs of human beings. Before Freud, sex, the vigor, the sensual
energy of human beings had always been equated with 'sin' especially in Islam and Christian
religion. It was he who set up his clinical analysis of psychosis and other mental diseases and
went on experimenting with the worst effects of repression of “libidinal desires”. He found
how the unfulfilled desire for sex causes frustration, trauma, irritation, hysteria, abnormality
of mind etc. He categorizes the stages of human mind into three parts namely- Id, Ego and
Superego.

Lacan, then, is an extension of Freud’s theory because he talks of desires reflected in words
and mental and body’s behavior translated into linguistic structures. Thus, Lacan’s “pleasure
of text” is fusion of Freud and Saussure. He cannot ignore Saussure’s concept of sign
(object), Signifier (word) and signified (meaning) that served the base for longue (speech)
and parole (speaking). In his analysis of the “ego stage” he tells that man makes every effort
either to repress the overthrow of libidinal energy or to saturate it through vocal/verbal or oral
or through homoerotic enterprises and at the stage of super ego, he controls the energy
through suitable higher alternatives like displacement, condensation, sublimation,
transformation etc. Jaques Lacan goes a few steps ahead and formulates that reflection of all
above mentioned effects could be observed not only in person’s behavior but also in the
IJELLH Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2018 49

structures of language that s/he employs to communicate with. Lacan’s poststructuralist

readings of Freud elaborately trace the effects of psychosis reflected through signification of
those signs which belong to deep structures, the invisible world but both vocal and oral
devices belong to the visible world, which one reflects through abuses, exchange of taboo
words, obscene statements while the other reflects not through words but through external
physical erotic devices. The purpose of these temporary devices is to enhance displacement
of the real, the permanent course, the saturation of libidinal energy.

What is noteworthy, is that with due course of time, these temporary devices of releasing the
uncontrollable libidinal energy become permanent means of ‘erotic pleasure’, and the real is
either ignored or forgotten, for the person gets engrossed in the ‘jouissance’, ‘the orgasm’
obtained through alternatives. However, such orgasm strikes painfully on social prestige yet
remain unavoidable. After a certain period of time the person becomes so consistent of, or
addicted to these devices that he gets lost in the newly explored experiences. What is more,
these are mistaken to be natural and permanent devices. Thus, persons different from
heterosexuals acquire the form of a prototype of sexually different that gives birth to
homosexuals and lesbians. When ‘desire’, ‘psyche’ and ‘process’ all the three cooperate
towards the conditioning of human race, it loses the power to distinguish between the natural
and unnatural, between real and unreal, between permanent and temporary and consequently
mistakes real to be unreal, natural to be unnatural and permanent to be temporary.

The symptoms of the desire for alternative source of erotica, whether expressive or latent,
conscious or unconscious, visible or invisible, are thus, evidences of abnormality caused by
unquenched libidinal energy. What is more the topology of sexual organs is extremely
enhanced due to obsessive involvement of psyche. The higher is distance between the desire
and desired object, the more is extension of the range of the object. Consequently, entire body
turns as an object of sex. In such a condition mere touch of/in the body also gives the same
pleasure as the real intercourse.

Massaging the body is a brilliant example of such pleasures. Even, Freud does not believe in
homoeroticism to be an innate instinct of man or even of hormonal imbalance. It is an effect
of motivation towards, displacement to, either through sensitization or through sexualisation
of body and arousal of erotic desires in alternative organs at premature stage or of constant
conscious displacement of real source to that of alternative one at mature stage. However,
Celene Surprenant claims, "Works of Art and Literature become substitutes for the creator’s
IJELLH Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2018 50

pathological ideas/artifacts" (Celene Surprenant, p-199) which Freud himself finds the
symptoms inexplicable as:

Symptoms like, mental illness and even normal mental life remain inexplicable for
Freud without the hypothesis that unconscious mental activity permanently
determines, gives a form to and participates in our conscious life." (Celene
Surprenant. "Freud and Psychoanalysis" Literary Theory and Criticism by Patricia
Waugh. Oxford University Press. p-199).

The fact is that whether biological need or psychological desire or both are realized through
'perception' of mind what we call 'ideation process'. It is this perception that is encoded in the
form of message employing the ‘universally acknowledged linguistic signs’ as discussed by
Ferdinand de Saussure in his essay “Course in General Linguistics" that forms the basis of
structuralism. He talks of two types of worlds (a) The visible or the palpable world (the
surface structure) and (b) The invisible or underlying world (the deep structure). Literary
language belongs to the underlying world, the deep structure, therefore, requires expertise of
both encoding and decoding the ‘massage’ in deep structures. Lacan, in his book The Ethics
of Psychoanalysis (1992) elaborates these deep structures that some signifiers have visible
signified while some other have underlying signified which could be realized only through
cognition of human behaviours, the marks of signified. For, it is society rather culture of the
concerned community (folks and literary writers) that charges the signifier (word) with
special signified (meaning).

Now, the attempt will be to put Chughtai's “Lihaaf” in the test of structuralism tracing the
effects of libidinal energy on human psyche. Though the story was labeled the charge of
obscenity but Chughtai, having feel for social responsibility and brought up in a cultured
family, knew very well how to balance the social norms and the crude reality of the dangers
of unfulfilled desires for sex, rather, a biological need. She excellently creates designs and
paints all signs of erotic activities into refined linguistic structures and succeeds in portraying
the true portrait of Begum Jaan, the protagonist of the story and representative of all such
women without employing even a single porn or obscene word. She successfully creates a
visual sensual portrait of Begum with her linguistic structures that could be observed through
experience of sensation and not through bare eyes. She reports, "The Nawab did not budge an
inch. Begum Jaan was heart-broken. Romantic novels and sentimental verse depressed her
even more." (“Lihaaf” in Manushi. p-37).
IJELLH Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2018 51

The semiotic structure and the choice of signifiers signify that the conjugal life of Begum
Jaan was quite miserable. The signifier ''heart-broken" signifies the worst effect of Begum's
unfulfilled biological desires. The signifier “depressed” signifies "mental wreck" and
indicates that it may cause mental disorder. Further Chughtai writes of Begum, "She felt like
throwing all her clothes into the oven". The signifier "throwing of all her clothes" signifies
two signified, she was irritated of not getting the pleasures of life, the joussance of conjugal
life and the pleasure of dressing herself beautifully to get her partner embrace her lovingly
and the second the word “fire” signifies the libidinal fire of her own body that was burning
for not being released and saturated during consummation of her marriage.

Perhaps, Chughtai tends to say that the only therapy of the damage caused by imbalances of
libidinal energy is to fulfill the "desire", the "saturation of libido" either through hetero-erotic
partner which is socially acceptable or through opting an alternative, the homo-eroticism etc.
What doctors failed to diagnose the cause of persistent itching in Begum, Rabbu, her maid
servant, diagnoses instantly, "These doctors are crazy….There is nothing wrong with you. It's
just the heat of the body." (“Lihaaf” in Manushi.p-38) The signifier "heat of the body"
signifies "sexual fire", “the libidinal energy" whose upthrust caused itching in Begum Jaan’s
Body. Here, Rabbu, an illiterate but culturally trained, can very well sense the problem of
Begum which the doctor, educated but culturally untrained fails to. Perhaps, she too had been
suffering from the same disease, therefore, could easily recognize her own image in Begum.
The signified that Rubbu's diagnosis marks, is "only the sufferer can realize the actual
suffering of others." In simpler version it could be, ‘Only a woman can realize the Woman's
desire/problem.’

The essence of life and ‘the will for living’ sprouted only when Rabbu recognizes the 'heat' of
Begum’s body and touches her to quench her libidinal energy. Chughtai writes, "Soon her
thin body began to fill out". (“Lihaaf” in Manushi. p-37) The signifier "thin" signifies "the
death in life" due to unquenched sensual love. She further tells, "Her cheeks began to glow
and she blossomed in beauty". (“Lihaaf” in Manushi. p-37) The signifier "glow" signifies her
“revitalized" body after she starts getting the 'jouissance" of her body melting with her inner
fire. The signifier "blossomed in beauty" signifies the "transformation" of Begum from a sick
dying woman to a pleasing woman full of vitality. She describes, “It was a special oil
massage that brought life back to the half-dead Begum Jaan". Chughtai’s craftsmanship can
well be understood through her selection of signifiers in the normal structures of a sentence.
The signifier "special" signifies "uncommon" massage. Thus, the author recharges the
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common signifier, "massage" to signify "sensual sensitization" or "arousal and saturation" of

libidinal energy. Rabbu's constant "arousal and saturation" of desire gives immense
"pleasure" of life to Begum and brings her life back.

Chughtai skillfully paints the course of Begum’s physical intact and the "jouissance"
experienced from alternative devices for satisfying her desire through linguistic structures
without categorizing the subject to that of homoeroticism. The simple word “massage” has
been structured in such a way that the sentence is loaded with extensional signified as:

… and her tiny, puffy hands moved dexterously over Begum Jaan's body-now at her
waist, now at her hips, then sliding down her thighs and dashing to her ankles.
(“Lihaaf” in Manushi. p-38)

The signifiers, "her waist", "her hips" and "sliding down her thighs" signify the "sexual
overtones" of oral erotica. The amount of "jouissance" received can be calculated when
Begum ignores the "sickening stench exuded from her (Rabbu's) body". (“Lihaaf” in
Manushi. p-39) The author poses "special oil massage" in contrast to "sickening stench" and
Begum's anxious waiting for Rabbu signify the effects of overriding powers of libido that
paralyses mind and all sense organs except the genitals. This "pleasure" was not unnoticed
by the other maids of the palace rather they too have the desire for such pleasure and the
contempt make them jealous of Rabbu, "The witch! She ate, sat and even slept with Begum
Jaan". (“Lihaaf” in Manushi, p-38) The signifier "slept with" does not have only one signified
"slept together" but also "had intercourse". The psychosis caused by unsaturated libidinal
energy makes Begum "oblivious" rather “cut off' from the people around her”, "unconscious"
of the "guffaws" and “juicy stories" made by other maids. The signifier, "juicy stories"
signify the "joussance of vocal erotica" in the underlying world. Author, as a child, overhears
the night tiff between Begum and Rabbu and "then came the slurping sound of a cat licking a
plate under the Lihaaf”. (“Lihaaf” in Manushi. p-38.)

We know that the 'visible structures' of language are common, are universal for all while
these same structures, when employed by special community, for especial purpose for the
underlying world, the signifiers are charged with special/extra signifieds which we can also
understand by the author's idiolects or Noam Chomsky’s distinction between E-language and
I-language. The signifiers, "slurping" and "licking the plate" employed in special situation
"during sleeping" and “under the Lihaaf" are suggestive of extension of the signified such
that "joussance" of oral erotica in addition to common signified, "slurping" and 'licking'
IJELLH Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2018 53

consecutively. The signified becomes more extensive when she does not allow Chughtai, the
child to go there, even when she was terrified with the childish illusion of thief inside the
Lihaaf. In the pitch dark, Chughtai watched, "Begum Jaan's quilt was shaking vigorously as
though an elephant was struggling inside." (“Lihaaf” in Manushi. p-40) Extension of the
signifier "vigorously" has been so large that it has been equated with the elephant.

The unquenched 'desire' locked in the unconscious part of Begum's mind, is evidenced
through her slip of acceptance of "pleasure" realized during child Chughtai's massage, and
her directions to the child, "A little harder, . . . open the straps.' and "Here . . . a little below
the shoulder . . . that's right . . . Ah! What pleasure . . . ." (“Lihaaf” in Manushi. p-39) Thus,
she expressed her satisfaction between sensuous breaths and body’s demands, "A little further
. . . ." The locative gestures instructed by Begum to the child signify, "her wish to be tickled
rather sensitized and arousal of her erotic organs by the child." Even more, she tries to
appropriate the child by sensitizing her genitals so that she could act like Rabbu to satisfy her
unsaturated desires, "come here, lie down beside me . . ." "How skinny you are . . . . Your
ribs are coming out." (“Lihaaf” in Manushi. p-39) and she began to sensitize her body
pretending to court her ribs but the child being immature, protests her touch. Begum Jaan
resumes, "come on, I am not going to eat you up. How tight this sweater is! And you don't
have a warm vest on." But the child was overwhelmed with strange fright, when she watched,
"Begum Jaan's deep set eyes focused though I were a doll and the odour of her warm body
made me almost through up." (“Lihaaf” in Manushi. p-39)

But Rabbu jealously watched the Begum’s failure to appropriate the child and muttered,
"Raw mangoes are sour to taste, Begum Jaan." Rabbu's words belong to the erotic community
and thus, are suggestive of extensive signified. The signifier "raw mangoes" signify "the
immature body of the author" and the signifier "sour to taste" signifies, " not pleasurable" and
the structure of sentence semantically signifies that it is Rabbu that can give her "pleasure",
the "jouissance" for she is "ripe", a "mature" and is therefore, "pleasurable".

Chughatai creates a new signifier, which is so big in size that she can pack all signifiers in it.
It is an illusion of "elephant" that always fluttered and tried to squat inside the Lihaaf. Thus,
the signifier 'elephant', an illusion, the shadow of quilt signifies the "coupled body of Begum
and Rabbu", the signifier "fluttering" signifies "the struggle" during copulating and the
signified, "squat" signifies, 'the 'the jouissance of consummating". The reality of erotic body
can be realized through the Chughatai's process of signification. Moreover, she could write
IJELLH Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2018 54

about Begum only when she herself became mature and reached in the community of those
who had the real experience of the desires of female body. Her recollections from childhood
memory awarded her with the extensive signified.
IJELLH Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2018 55

Works Cited:

Chughtai, Ismat. "Lihaaf" [The Quilt] Trans. by M. Asaduddin. Manushi. Volume-110, pp-
35-40.
Faiz, Ahamd Faiz. "Autobigraphical fragments" excerpt from Kaghazi Hai Pairahan trans.
by M. Asaduddin (19959). Manushi. Volume-110, pp-29-35.
Flemming, Leslie A. "Out of the Zenana: New Translations of Ismat Chughtai's Work". The
Annual of Urdu Studies, pp200-207.
Kazmi Laila. "Ismal Chughtai: Unexplored Territory" in Dawn, Sunday, December 5, 2004.
Lacan, J. Le Séminaire: Livre IV. La relation d'objet, 1956-1957 ed. Jacques-Alain Miller
(Paris; Seuil, 1994)
- - - . The Seminar: Book XI. The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis, 1964 (W.
W. Norton & Company, 1998).
M. Asaduddin (Tr.). Ismat Chughtai, A Life in Words: Memoirs. New Delhi: Penguin Books
India Pvt. Ltd, 2012:30.
Nqvi, Tahira. Ishmat Chughtai. “A Note on Ishmat Chughtai’s Non-Fictional Writings” from
Ishmat Chughtai: Non-fictional Writings, The Annual of Urdu Studies, pp-405-408.
Paccaud-Hugnet, Josiane. "Psychoanalysis after Freud" in Literary Theory and Criticism ed.
Patricia Waugh. Oxford University Press, 2006. (pp-280-297)
Patel, Geeta. “An Uncivil Woman: Ishmat Chughtai (A Reviw and an Essay). The Annual of
Urdu Studies, pp-345-355.
Storr, Anthony. Freud: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. 1989.
Surprenant, Celine. “Freud and Psychoanalysis" in Literary Theory and Criticism ed. Patricia
Waugh. Oxford University Press, pp-199-217).