AMAR JIBAN

Amar Jiban or My Life was written and published in two parts. The first part, published in 1876 and made of the
comparatively longer set of sixteen compositions, highlights 10 Rassundari Devi’s coming to terms with the
consuming drudgery of domestic life and explores the subsequent struggle involved in her ‘transgressive’ attempt at
learning how to read and write in secrecy.

reflects a growing sense of selfhood

For instance, an upper-class, upper-caste, physicallyable Indian woman’s account of patriarchal oppression cannot
be considered as being representative of the experience of all women of India for it doesn’t take into account the
layered experiences of a low-caste, low-class woman who finds herself at the receiving end of not only
gender-based, but also caste and class-based oppression. Therefore, while examining how first-person accounts of
women facilitate(d) the formation of female subjectivity and female selfhood, it is necessary to look for whether the
multiplicity of female voices have been accounted for or done away with.

The Third Composition Preparations are underway for Rassundari Devi’s marriage to Sitanath Sikdar. Devi invites
readers into her thoughts as she gives words to the mixed emotions she experiences following the news of her
marriage. She is seen fighting back her apprehensions, fears and an “unspoken agony” by shifting attention towards
the wedding music, ornaments, the red wedding sari, and the arriving guests. As the wedding rituals end, an
inconsolable Devi is bid farewell by her weeping mother who reminds Devi of the inevitable nature of the
geographical shift that follows marriage. She reassures Devi of God’s perpetual presence and life-long
companionship. The striking comparison drawn by the author between her journey to her husband’s home and a
sacrificial goat being dragged to the altar distinctly reflects her perception of her miserable and “hopeless situation”.

The Fourth Composition Devi elaborates upon her boat journey to her husband’s home in Ramdia village. She
continues to feel afraid and alone amidst ‘strangers’. In an attempt to describe her predicament, she compares herself
to a “caged bird”, a “fish caught in the net”. Weeping incessantly, she seeks refuge in prayers. The kind words of her
in-laws, the mention of the boat approaching “home” remind her of her family and friends left behind. The unending
reassurances from her ‘new’ family fail to relieve her of her longing for her people.

The Fifth Composition Devi recalls her journey as a twelve-year old new bride struggling to acquaint herself with
domestic chores, as a fourteen-year old experiencing the desire to learn to read books, and as an eighteen-year old
birthing her first child. She reminisces about how she took over the household work in “a spirit of duty”, hoping to
“please people” with her dedicated efforts; how the affection and concern of her ‘new’ family failed to compensate
for the loss of freedom that she experienced. Overhearing people speak of a woman’s desire to study as “strange
things”, she resolves to never verbalise similar desires of her own. The readers learn of the twelve children that she
goes on to give birth to in the duration of twenty-three years, one though dies in the womb. In keeping with the
custom, no maidservant was assigned to work in the “inner quarters” of the house causing Devi to singlehandedly
take over the plethora of domestic and childcare duties. The “pressure of work” was such that she often had to go
without having a single meal. She narrates one such incident wherein consistent engagement in chores prevents her
from eating for two straight days. Devi takes care to not let it come to the knowledge of the family members for fear
of feeling embarrassed, and rather thanks God for blessing her with “excellent health”. The caregiving experience
induces guilt of not having taken good care of her own mother. Devi painfully recollects how she was not allowed to
visit her ailing mother as in her absence “household work here would suffer”. She reiterates feeling like a caged
bird, a slave who was “allowed” to visit her family “only under certain conditions”. The

Sixth Composition Devi describes the range of emotions she experiences with time as the desire to learn how to read
grows stronger. She ponders over the additional challenge of learning how to read in the absence of a teacher. Being
aware of the shame and criticism that disclosure of the same could bring to her and her family, she abandons all hope
until one night she dreams of reading the sacred text - Chaitanya Bhagavata, the first biography of saint Chaitanya in
Bengali. The satisfying experience leaves her with a desire to locate the text in her husband’s collection but her
inability to read hinders her attempt at accomplishing the task. An unlikely coincidence leads her husband to leave
his copy of the Chaitanya Bhagavata for his eightyear-old son to fetch for him later. Reading it as God’s will, Devi
rushes to the ‘spot’ where the text lay, memorises its illustration to be able to identify it in the future, and detaches a
sheet to read from later. Risking the “danger of being seen”, she takes upon the arduous task of learning how to read,
in secrecy, by using the palm leaf on which her eldest son practised handwriting to identify the letters on the ‘stolen’
sheet, following it up with a “verification with the speech of others”. Her fading knowledge of the alphabet from her
primary school days also came in handy in completing the “process” she adopted to learn how to read. She
concludes by recalling how the fear of criticism prevented her from learning how to write, and revisiting the
humiliation she experienced on a personal level for having to take recourse to such clandestine measures to read
only because “I was a woman”

Critical Analysis

Nineteenth-Century Bengal and Patriarchal Hegemony

Amidst social reformers’ efforts towards women’s education and empowerment in nineteenth century Bengal,
Rassundari Devi grew up without a formal education. This was on account of the deep-seated misogynistic belief
that education held the potential to corrupt a woman’s mind such that a literate woman was bound to end up a
widow. Such ideas were deliberately planted in the minds of young girls to deter them from as much as entertaining
the thought of learning the alphabet, let alone reading literary texts. By depriving women of education, the upholders
of patriarchy managed to quash any possibility of resistance, in turn perpetuating and naturalizing gender inequality.
Amar Jiban highlights the subjugation of women within patriarchy– a social structure characterised by male
dominance and the relegation of women to the margins. Social conditioning paved the way for internalisation of
gender roles, such that majority of women lived their lives silently performing ascribed gender roles, failing to
understand and at times even realise that gender roles were but a social construct, put in place to maintain a social
order that allowed men to yield power over women. The ones who managed to identify the unjust nature of the
patriarchal structure struggled, often lifelong, to find an avenue to voice their dissent. In Amar Jiban, Rassundari
Devi, a victim of the patriarchal order, perceives her oppression as being God’s will. Uprooted early on from her
childhood home and sent away to a stranger’s home, she expresses her suffering by comparing her condition with
that of a “caged bird”. A sense of duty underlines her performance of domestic duties. Devi’s awareness of being
caged is worth noting for it shows that while she might have been physically chained by the institution of marriage,
she was mentally not subjugated. Devi’s plight echoes the predicament of scores of women who are forcefully
planted into new families at an early age leading to an identity crisis and fear of entrapment. Despite her wilful
submission to the patriarchal order, Devi remains aware of her suffering being the direct consequence of her gender
identity for in the fifth composition, she confidently states that had she been a son she would have flown directly to
her mother’s bedside. Her painful cry of “Why was I ever born a woman?” highlights the degrading nature of the
patriarchal regime that thrives on the victimization of women. Recourse to Religion
Torn away from her mother’s protective care, Devi is seen taking refuge in religion. Her conversations with God
seem to compensate for the absent mother and father figures in her life. Her prayers are marked by constant
reiteration of her suffering as being God's will and her wilful submission to the same. In the event marking a dream
involving the reading of Chaitanya Bhagavata by her, Devi is seen resorting to religion to legitimise her otherwise
‘transgressive’ desire to learn how to read– “God had at last listened to my constant appeals and had given me the
ability to read in my dreams”. It reflects her internalisation of norms and values, specific to her gender, as
established by patriarchy– “Girls did not read. How could I?” It is interesting how, despite her well-established
religious devotion, there is a striking absence of elaboration on religious teachings, practices, and meditations in the
book.

The Romanticization of Women’s Labour

Amar Jiban draws our attention to the long history of glorification of the self-effacing Hindu wife who braves
suffering with a smile. Rassundari Devi is celebrated as a domestic success for her slavish obedience and silent
compliance with her wifely duties. The praise from her in-laws validates the “sea of housework” that she repeatedly
does in “a spirit of duty”. A major chunk of the narrative is devoted to describing her unending domestic and
childrearing duties. Contrary to popular opinion, labour does not offer an emotional release but is enslaving. Devi
gets reduced to a slave who is “allowed” to visit her family only for “a couple of days like a slave”, and is not
permitted to visit her dying mother “because the household here would suffer”. The due completion of the plethora
of housework is achieved at the cost of her health. Devi records how she often had to go without meals due to the
domestic demands. The same stands true for the collective experience of women across the country for whom
habitual neglect of physical and mental health gets normalised, and non-eating stands valourised.

……..

A Testimony of Our Inexhaustible Treasures’

remains divided into various sub-sections that take the readers through various aspects of Ramabai’s life. An
Honorable Heritage: Born to orthodox Chitpavan Brahman parents, Anant Shastri Dongre and Lakshmibai Dongre,
Ramabai grew up observing her reformer father defy the norms of society to educate his wife and daughters. He did
not believe in the then prevalent practice that banned women and members of the Shudra caste (positioned lowest in
the Hindu caste-system) from gaining literacy and reading the Hindu sacred texts. When the head priest of the
Vaishnava sect, to which he belonged, demanded an explanation for his transgressive actions, he managed to make a
case in favour of women’s and shudras’ right to learn Sanskrit Puranic literature. Thereafter, relocating to a top peak
of the Western Ghats with his family, he spent the next thirteen years serving the pilgrims passing that way, losing
all property in the process. A Unique Education: Ramabai elaborates on how in the absence of schools for girls, she
was taught by her mother from the tender age of eight till the age of fifteen. Her parents, despite their liberal views
on education, continued to observe caste-based practices and required Ramabai and her siblings to observe the same.
Hindu religious practices had to be strictly adhered to. Secular education and learning of any language other than
Sanskrit was strongly discouraged. The family read the Puranas, sacred Hindu texts, in public places for a living.
Ramabai explains that the sacred sound of the recital was believed to ‘purify’ the hearer, and that the verses weren’t
necessarily translated to a vernacular language. The greater the nature of offering made by the hearers, the greater
merit (punya) it allowed them to earn. Famine, Death, Doubts and Introduction to Christianity: The Great
Famine of 1876-78 led to the death of Ramabai’s parents and elder sister due to starvation since the family was not
equipped to do any other work outside of the reading of the Puranas, and remained unwilling to engage in menial
jobs. The loss of loved ones, despite the strict adherence to the stringent Hindu religious code of conduct, triggered a
loss of faith in Hindu religious practices, redirecting Ramabai to secular education. She moved from place to place
with her brother, reaching Calcutta in 1878 where she participated in a Christian gathering for the first time.
Skepticism, Marriage and Widowhood: During her stay in Calcutta, Ramabai read the Dharma Shastras and other
Hindu religious texts realising that one contradicted the 7 preachings of the other. The only point of commonality
amidst all Hindu scriptures emerged to be the demonisation of women and shudras, two sets of individuals who, as
per the scriptures, could never attain moksha (liberation). Her writing highlights the prevalent practice of
untouchability against low-caste individuals. Disillusioned by the dehumanizing practices observed in the name of
religion, she eventually lost faith in Hindu religion. She married Bipin Behari Medhvi, a Bengali of the Shudra caste
who, unfortunately, died within two years of their marriage. The death of her brother followed by the death of her
husband led her to relocate to Poona where Miss Hudford, an English Missionary, taught her the New Testament in
Marathi. In the duration of her marriage and her stay in Poona, she is known to have learnt the Bengali and English
language. Baptism, Finding Christ and Telling Others: In 1883, Ramabai visited England where she studied both
secular and religious subjects. She learnt of how while Hinduism viewed “fallen women” as outcastes and sinners,
Christinaity chose to be kind to their plight. Her discoveries led to her wilful conversion to the Christian faith in
1883. The recently found spiritual satisfaction gave way to dissatisfaction and confusion as she became aware of the
varying teachings and sects within Christianity. She, subsequently, took upon the task of reading the Bible instead of
the secondary writings on the holy text. She describes the experience as being akin to finding light in a room full of
“thick darkness”. For her, unlike Hindu scriptures, the teachings of Christ did not discriminate on the basis of caste,
creed, labour, sex, religion, et al. Salvation (moksh) was not reserved for a select few, but was freely offered “to
anyone and everyone who believed in His Son”. She spent the years thereafter in telling people “of Christ and of His
great love for sinners”. Mukti Mission: Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Ramabai founded Mukti Mission
in Kedgaon village, Poona with the aim to empower destitute women and children, especially orphans and child
widows. The teachings of Christ were not imposed on anyone. Rather, the inmates were encouraged to develop a
mind of their own. During the famine of 1896 and 1900, the Mission rescued several hundred women and children
who were then taken care of by the people of the Sadan. It also equipped teachers with vocational skills. The
Governor’s Visit and Final Message: Ramabai provides details of the Governor of Bombay’s sudden visit to the
Mukti Mission centre. She compares it to the awaited second coming of Jesus Christ which she firmly believed
would take place at some point, when Christ would come to fetch “His servants” before the final judgement. She
concludes by hoping that her readers may realise their responsibility towards spreading the teachings of Christ.\

4.3 Critical Analysis Nineteenth-Century India and Women’s Education

Nineteenth century India witnessed several socio-religious reform movements that took up the cause of women’s
education with the intent to empower them. The social reform space was majorly dominated by men, thereby
making Pandita Ramabai’s efforts towards women’s 8 empowerment stand out. Given the key role (controlled)
education played in creating docile subjects out of women, it was feared that the expected reform measures would
encourage women to break away from assigned gender roles in their pursuit for an individual identity. This, in turn,
threatened to subvert the social order. With her unconventional education, exploration of a wide range of Hindu
religious literature, extensive travels, marriage to a Bengali Shudra man, conversion to Christianity, advocacy for the
education of women and remarriage of widows, Ramabai proved the fears of the male reformers right. She refused
to be confined to the domestic sphere, commanding the public space with her endeavours. With the establishment of
Sharada Sadan, Ramabai further challenged the oppression of widows in the name of Hindu religion by offering
Brahmin widows a space devoid of traditional Hindu hierarchies; one which offered them a chance to lead a
dignified life and enjoy simple pleasures of life. Challenging Brahmanical Patriarchal Oppression Hindu society
is replete with misogynistic, casteist practices, and Ramabai’s rejection of Hindu religion as a way of life offers a
sharp critique of Brahmanical patriarchy, i.e., the ideology that upper caste Hindus employ to socially and
economically marginalize women and members of the lower caste. Finding no place for herself in the said religion,
she chose to walk out of it. And by doing so, she deprived Hindu patriarchal society of the control it otherwise
exercises over its women in the name of religion. Due to her strong criticism of the Hindu caste-system, her writings
were shunned by mainstream society and her legacy omitted from history for the longest of time. But, Ramabai
never completely renounced the Hindu way of life, observing a mix of Christian and Hindu practices. In fact, she
was never fully accepted by either community. She critiqued the Christian way of life too, raising questions to the
Christian missionaries like in the case when her adherence to vegetarianism was labelled as “clingings to caste
prejudices” by Sister Geraldine. She counter-questioned demanding to know if Sister Geraldine, as an
Englishwoman, would think it right to change her customs which were not particularly hurting anyone. Ramabai
found refuge in the personhood of Jesus, seeking His love the rest of her life.

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Chapter I: The Rights and Involved Duties of Mankind Considered Mary Wollstonecraft begins by identifying
how Reason, Virtue and Knowledge set humans apart from other “brute creation”, in turn allowing them to find their
rightful place in society. She is of the opinion that an egalitarian society stands capable of facilitating a greater
exercise of reason, virtue and knowledge, thereby paving the way for the overall improvement of humankind. She
argues that while all humans are capable of exercising reason, some men wrongly use it to justify their prejudices.
The chapter sheds light on the many flaws that plagued the eighteenth-century society. By citing the example of
European society, Wollstonecraft highlights the unfairness prevalent in the world where a select few born in rich,
accomplished families continue to grab the 3 limelight and exercise power, thereby feeding into the existing social
inequality. She draws attention towards the unrestrained use of power by kings and members of the royalty as a
result of the concentration of power in the hands of a select few. The practice of “subordination of rank” contributed
to the said power imbalance by enforcing a servile attitude in the subjects, in turn limiting their potential and
restricting their mind. Wollstonecraft claims that reason could help overthrow “arbitrary power”. She recalls how the
unfairness thus outlined had compelled the Genevan philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to condemn social
structures and seek refuge in solitude. Here, she expresses her disagreement with Rousseau’s belief that “man was
naturally a solitary animal” by claiming that if God indeed intended for man to live like other animals, then he
would not have granted him passion or the ability to reason. Chapter II: The Prevailing Opinion of a Sexual
Character Discussed In the second chapter, Mary Wollstonecraft argues that women are not destined by Providence
to be “gentle, domestic brutes”, but are, in fact, taught from infancy to seek the approval of their male counterparts.
She refutes John Milton’s claim that “women are formed for softness and sweet attractive grace.. to gratify the
senses of man” and calls out all writers who, through their respective writings on female education, have contributed
to the prevalent image of women as being “artificial, weak characters.. useless members of society”. She condemns
Jean Jacques Rousseau’s declaration that women should be taught obedience, and that female education should aim
to “render them pleasing”. Citing an example of one of Rousseau’s “captivating” but “grossly unnatural” female
characters named Sophia, she asserts how these writings contributed to the idealized idea of a woman in society. She
rejects Scottish moralist John Gregory’s view as expressed in his book, A Father’s Legacy to His Daughters (1761),
that women should “cultivate a fondness for dress” as it is “natural to them”. She condemns his advice to young girls
to lie to their husbands about their actual feelings to preserve their modesty. Wollstonecraft argues that a good
marriage is based on respect and friendship, rather than love, and that it is not always a sound decision to marry for
love alone as with time “the fever of love” subsides. She states how the existing nature of female education is aimed
solely towards preparing them for marriage, instead of equipping them with the ability to exercise reason. She
concludes by making a case for an education system that “would strengthen the body and form the heart” for a
proper education would “enable a woman to support a single life with dignity”.
 3.4 Critical Analysis Chapter I: Critique of Monarchy Wollstonecraft’s emphasis on a reformed social order
based on equality and reason resonates with the thought prevalent in the Age of Enlightenment which placed
Reason, Knowledge and Virtue above all else. With its sharp critique of monarchy, the first chapter establishes her 4
republican and anti-monarchical stance. Instead of directly addressing the question of women’s rights, she first
examines how the hierarchical structure of society allows for the subordination of the masses, demanding slavish
obedience and crushing their ability to think. Monarchy not only oppressed, but also facilitated the enslavement of
the monarch to flatterers she writes. The chapter-long meditation on monarchy is not to be mistaken for a digression
from the central issue of women’s rights. It sets the stage for the eventual critique of oppressive patriarchal
institutions that “cramp” the faculties of women, and akin to monarchy, draws its power from the “subordination of
rank”. Furthermore, it allows Wollstonecraft to demonstrate how the oppression of women cannot be viewed in
isolation, but has to be analysed as occurring in relation to various other forms of oppression. Chapter II: Critique
of Patriarchy The patriarchal pyramid of oppression thrives on the devaluation of women, placing men in a
power-yielding position. It is the deliberate undercutting of women’s potential through social conditioning and
limited education that Wollstonecraft sheds light on in the second chapter. Society conditions women to believe that
their ultimate goal in life is to seek the “protection of man” and be of service to him. Like standing armies, they are
“taught to please, and they only live to please”. Deprived of resources to develop a mind of their own, they “blindly
submit to authority”. The chapter highlights how the writings in circulation, that further perpetuate the myth of male
superiority, remain largely controlled by men, thereby demonstrating how masculine discourse plays a key role in
the creation and spread of the public imagination of a women as the weaker sex. Wollstonecraft’s critique of the
writings of Rousseau and Milton shows how the elimination of women’s voices from the public sphere has greatly
assisted the patriarchal project involving the naturalization of gender inequality. In her effort to assert that gender is
not a given, but a construct, she deliberately uses language that emasculates officers, projecting them as sentimental
and vain - traits reserved for women, thereby showing that men aren’t born virile and masculine, rather are trained to
project such an image.