Women under Patriarchy

Women under Patriarchy: A Study on Suffering and Realization in Kamala Markandayäs Possession is an attempt to analyze Markandayäs novel Possession in the light of the suffering and predicament of individuals in a patriarchal society. It also reveals the author¿s great fascination for the traditional Indian values. The novel depicts an allegory of human suffering. It is the story of Valmiki, the painter, and Caroline, the English Tourist. Markandaya suggests that India has to draw sustenance from life-giving springs of its own culture. In Possession a woman is the central character but she is a British national, whereas the story is being told from a predominantly Indian view point. Lady Caroline Bell in Possession seems to belong to an altogether different category created possibly out of Markandayäs opposition to patriarchal traditions as also of her intention of giving an allegorical garb to a political theme of the British domination of India. Markandaya believes that equality for women is achieved through co-operation rather than confrontation.