Overview
An interpretation of the role that gender played in defining the Indian state during both the colonial and postcolonial eras. Focusing on both British and Indian literary texts - primarily novels - produced between 1857 and 1947, Sangeeta Ray examines representations of ""native"" Indian women and shows how these representations were deployed to advance notions of Indian self-rule as well as to defend British imperialism. Through her readings of works by writers including Bankimchandra Chatterjee, Rabindranath Tagore, Harriet Martineau, Flora Annie Steel, Anita Desai and Bapsi Sidhaa, Ray demonstrates that Indian women were presented as upper-class and Hindu, an idealisation that paradoxically served the needs of both colonial and nationalist discourses. The Indian nation's goal of self-rule was expected to enable women's full participation in private and public life. On the other hand, British colonial officials rendered themselves the protectors of passive Indian women against their ""savage"" male countrymen. Ray shows how the native woman thus became a symbol for both an incipient Indian nation and a fading British Empire. In addition, she reveals how the figure of the upper-class woman created divisions with the nationalist movement itself by underscoring caste, communal and religious differences within the newly-emerging state.
Full Product Details
Author: Sangeeta Ray
Publisher: Duke University Press
Imprint: Duke University Press
Weight: 0.653kg
ISBN: 9780822324539
ISBN 10: 0822324539
Pages: 277
Publication Date: 20 June 2000
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Awaiting stock
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Reviews
En-Gendering India is a lucid and intelligent study of the play of gender and sexuality in Indian nationalism. Sangeeta Ray cautions against the perception that Hindu nationalism is no longer relevant in an era of globalization and migration, arguing that it has simply entered a more expansive phase. This is an important and timely book. -Jennifer Sharpe, University of California, Los Angeles A significant contribution to postcolonial and feminist studies. Ray's scholarship is rigorous and persuasive, combining theoretical depth and erudition with original and nuanced textual analysis and interpretation. -Rajagopolan Radhakrishnan, University of Massachusetts
""A significant contribution to postcolonial and feminist studies. Ray's scholarship is rigorous and persuasive, combining theoretical depth and erudition with original and nuanced textual analysis and interpretation.""--Rajagopolan Radhakrishnan, University of Massachusetts
A significant contribution to postcolonial and feminist studies. Ray's scholarship is rigorous and persuasive, combining theoretical depth and erudition with original and nuanced textual analysis and interpretation. --Rajagopolan Radhakrishnan, University of Massachusetts
Author Information
Sangeeta Ray, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Asian American Certificate Program at the University of Maryland, is coeditor of Blackwell Companion to Postcolonial Studies.
