144. Lalitha Ambigai

Abstract 144. Ms. Lalitha Ambigai

Spaces of Dissent in the Iconic Feminine Figures in Tamil Literature
with reference to Kannagi, Manimekalai and Nallathangal

     Dissent against the patriarchal set-up has been canonized as feminism. Feminism has emerged as a trend of thought against patriarchy which gets explicated through expressions of various modes. There has been a suggestion of binary opposition between women who obeys the confines of patriarchy and a woman who is a feminist. The former is the woman who has been traditionally shaped by the dictates of patriarchy – the one who is silent, subdued, and shaped by the mould of the male understanding. She is usually considered the ambassador of the male tradition – one who carries the germs of instruction from one generation to the next. She is supposed to be the organ voice of patriarchy. It goes without saying that she has little or no partaking in subverting the authority. Such a woman is celebrated and hailed as icons such as Mother, Virgin, and the like. The latter attribute in the binary opposition – the woman who rejects authority explicitly – is usually branded as a dissident in the parlance of the grand narrative.

     Contrary to the above conception, it is possible to detect a trace of dissent even in the woman who is bound by patriarchal values. The present paper attempts to trace the spaces of dissent within the borders of acquiescence. Surprisingly it is not a rare phenomenon. A tradition of subtle but strong dissent can be fathomed even in the patriarchally-constructed feminine world.

     The paper traces the literary articulation of such a tradition of dissent with the characters of Kannagi in Ilango’s Cilappadikäram, Manimegalai in Ceethalai Caathanar’s Manimegalai, and Nallathangal, a Tamil folk figure. Kannagi, Manimegalai, and Nallathangal have been chosen because they are traditionally held as icons of feminine values. However there are attitudes and expressions of dissent in these icons which the researcher brings out in support of the above argument.