SHAPING THE BONSAI: THE MULTIPLICITY OF PATRIARCHAL ROOTS IN MAHESH DATTANI’S BRAVELY FOUGHT THE QUEEN

Abstract

‘Bravely Fought the Queen’ deals with shades of patriarchy inherent within the Indian familial structure. The focus is not just on the subjugation of women, but also of men. The women characters lead vacuous lives, beneath the veneer of sophistication. They are bound and shaped by patriarchal forces, just like a bonsai is shaped into will by the owner. The men fit into four different categories of masculinity as analyzed by Raewyn Connell. The bonsai makes an appearance repeatedly and is used as a symbol to present how patriarchy is perpetuated down generations by agents both male and female.

Keywords

shaping, bonsai, multiplicity, roots, bravely, queen.

Works Cited

Batra, Shakti. ‘Mahesh Dattani’s Bravely Fought the Queen: A Critical Study, Surjeet Publications, 2006.

Beynon, John. Masculinities and Culture. Philadelphia, USA: Open University Press, 2002. Print.

Connell, R.W., and James W. Messerschmidt. “Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept.” Gender and Society 2005. SAGE Journals Online.web.

Dattani, Mahesh. ‘Bravely Fought the Queen’, Penguin Books, India, 2006.

Rahul Sen, Fearful Symmetry: Masculinity and Its Discontents in Mahesh Dattani’s Bravely Fought the Queen, published on Academia.edu.

Surendranath Reddy., T.V, “Patriarchy and Gender in Mahesh Dattani’s Plays”, International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL). vol. 2, issue. 3, pp.67-70, 2014. 4. www.arcjournals.org/pdfs/ijsell/v2-i3/10.pdf

To cite this article

Smitakshi Chowdhury. (2020). Shaping the Bonsai: The Multiplicity of Patriarchal Roots in Mahesh Dattani’s BRAVELY FOUGHT THE QUEEN. John Foundation Journal of EduSpark, 2(3), 25-33.