Rashsundari Debi, unlike most women in her times, excoriated the patriarchal setup by critically analyzing the then prevalent socio-cultural practices and not to forget, by putting out her life uncut in the public sphere, an act which itself deserves tremendous adulation.
“Radical” is perhaps the only adjective that best describes Rashsundari Debi, an author who could not, like her peers, live a life devoid of liberty, expression and literacy. Born in 1810 in a rural zamindar family and raised entirely by her mother after her father’s untimely demise, she is credited as the pioneer of autobiographical novel in the modern Bengali literature.
In accordance with the cultural traditions, she was married young (at the age of 12) and ventured out to habituate herself into a new region, new family, new culture and new life. Debi, however could never be complacent with the existing social customs that embraced confinement and imprisonment of women within the four walls and romanticized the idea of servitude as the true path of salvation for the women in the society. The primary reason she is labelled a “radical” can be attributed to the explicit nature of her writing , which is the remarkable characteristic of her literary work.
A line from her autobiography reads “People put birds in cages for their own amusement. Well, I was like caged bird. I would have to ………. I would never be freed.” She further elaborates, “ If I am asked to describe my state of mind, I would say it was very much like the sacrificial goat being dragged to the altar, the same hopeless situation, the same agonized screams”. ( Women’s writing….. 600 B.C. to early twentieth century).
The simile chosen by Rashsundari Debi to describe her mental state at the time of her marriage is indicative of the profound sorrow that is still fresh in her memories and left such an indelible mark that even after so many years, the pain has not mitigated. The life of subjugation marked by the abandonment of passions, thrill, dreams and ideas at the tender age of twelve made her disregard the norm, rather the evil of child marriage. A life that the majority of women accepted as their eventual fate was portrayed as emotionally debilitating practice for any young girl by the progressively inclined Rashsundari Debi.
A God fearing woman, Rashsundari Debi did all household chores and made peace with her duties and conceded them as her lord’s wish but could never outgrow her desire to learn how to read. She wanted to engage with her creator, not only through ceremonies and rituals but also at an intellectual level by reading religious scriptures. This was the privilege however, that women could only dream of as education was reserved only for their male counterparts in those times. She regretted that her gender identity had made her access to education an almost impossible task. Initially, the feeling of culpability enveloped her ever growing desire to read but she eventually found a way to start her education by stealing a page from Chaitanya Bhagvada and palm leaves to write alphabets. Rashsundari, while acting on her feelings, (the desire to read, write and learn) also despised the archaic patriarchal system which made her steal, lie and feel humiliated for a pious act of learning just because she was a woman.
The day finally arrived when Debi through her unbreakable spirit and dedication, taught herself to read thus defying the exclusionary as well as discriminatory custom of her times.
Moreover, the unusual part of her narration, which makes her writing unique as well as reformist, is the attitude of making no bones about the misery that was inextricable to almost every woman’s life after marriage in her young days. She did not complain about her in-laws for they were very kind. However, the duties and tasks that the women in the house had to finish was not just laborious but also left no room for personal care sometimes, even for daily meals.
Unlike many patriarchs in the field of literature, paintings and arts who celebrated womanhood and women by praising their submissive nature and describing, at length, the importance of women being devoted to the household duties and subservient to their male partner, the author made the readers realize that the “morning to night” grind a woman goes through to provide comfort to her husband and children should at least be acknowledged and appreciated, if not remunerated.
“Instead of viewing labor in an aesthetic and romanticized way as male writers like Tagore tended to do, Rashsundari deconstructs the iconic figure of the housewife in Amar Jiban.” ( Malhotra, 2016).
Rashsundari Debi seems regretful of the fact that her identity is entirely reduced to being a mother or wife who should take pride in her raising her children and serving her husband. Also, she does not shy away from mentioning how physically taxing it was for her to give birth to twelve children and fulfil the responsibilities that motherhood entails. Her statements, however should not be misconstrued as depiction of hatred towards her children and husband but an acknowledgement of the tiresome life ( without unnecessary romanticizaion) of a woman engulfed in the care of children, husband, family, kitchen providing no time to take a breather and relax herself owing to her commitments. The famed writer, through her writing, implicitly addresses the gender inequality which is trivialized and normalized in the existing male dominated society.
In her book, she highlights her relationship with her mother whom she considered a companion throughout her life. When her mother was on the deathbed and wanted to have her daughter by her side, Debi could not visit her as the long commute would require some pre arrangements (unmanageable at the eleventh hour) plus the household work would suffer in her absence. She annoyingly states that the travel would never be so cumbersome, had she been a man and repents the fate which deprived her from attending her beloved mother at the funeral pyre.
A woman is no better than a slave, a prisoner, a caged bird. “Alas, my God, why did you let me born as a human being? It is indeed a very rare fortune to be born a human being. Birds and beasts are inferior beings. And to think of the sin I have committed even after being fortunate enough to be born a woman. Why was I ever born a woman? Shame on my life!……………….. but I am helpless. I am a caged bird.” ( Women’s writing in India….. 600 B.C. to early twentieth century).
To sum up , it is indeed true that Rashsundari Debi was a radical woman of her times who refused to abide by the traditional patriarchal beliefs of the society. The beliefs which ensured its sustenance through systematic denial of means of liberation and underemphasized the importance of emancipating women in a society. The courageous author did not conform to the parochial customs and strived to create her individual identity by educating herself and in the process, left behind an impressively inspiring legacy that the posterity should lead by.