Feminist Theory - Lady Miss Rehana - Essay Example

Feminist theory is concerned with how literature and other cultural artefacts and processes promote or resist male domination thus support or oppose female empowerment. As a result, the theory looks at how the male power has affected the way men write books exhibiting misogyny in their representation of women. The short story “good advice is rarer than rubies” by (Salman, 191) Rushdie has portrayed these aspects of patriarchy and how an independent woman is struggling to overcome the male-dominated society. The story is about a young lady Miss Rehana, who is going to the British consulate to get her passport to England. Miss Rehana is then approached by a man named Muhammad Ali, who as the story develops we are told a fraud and con artist who is used to conning young naïve women. The writer descriptions of the scene where the Tuesday women are waiting in lines show how this Indian society is Patriarchal. From the eyes of our character she says that “the consulate was already full of Tuesday women, some were veiled, and a few barefaced like her (Rushdie, 191). They all looked startled, and leaned heavily on the arms of uncles or brothers, who were trying to look confident.” This passage alone shows us that not only was the community male dominated but even the decisions of women were made by man and they accompanied them even to interviews. This text alone shows why some feminist belief that gender is socially constructed while essentialists think there is an essential nature. As quoting from the short story where Miss Rehana says that “some women were veiled, and a few barefaced like her.” Shown an aspect of culture where some women chose to cover their hair while others left it all open. At the end of the short story, she said that now she will go back to Lahore and her job (Rushdie Salman, 191-195). That she works in a great house, as ayah to three good boys. “They would have been sad to see me gone” she says. This only shows the aspect of nature to gender that women just accept certain aspects of their lives that that are what they are supposed to do. Especially the stereotypes (Angel, Monster) drastically conflict with her sense of herself that is of her subjectivity, her autonomy, her creativity (Rushdie Salman, 191-195). As the story continues Muhammad Ali even though being old is captivated by her Beauty and as he tries to sell his con business to her, she does not flinch. Her beauty delights and confuses Ali completely to the extent that he was willing to do anything for her. He tells her that “the interview in the counsel is intrusive to women to the extent of asking the personal questions like Virginity and intimacy between them and their spouses,” in trying to reduce the women into extreme stereotypes. On our hand, the male writer of this short story expresses control over his texts. This is the kind of situation the feminists are talking about that even women cannot choose their spouses in this culture. The story goes on narrating how Miss Rehana refuses the illegal passport that Ali offers her free of charge which Ali tries to complain that should not happen. She goes into the British consul and flunks her interview purposefully; she later confesses to Ali that she was going after an arranged marriage that her parent made when she was young before they died (Rushdie Salman, 191-195). This means women have been interiorized and made an alternative thus the term “second sex” psychology under patriarchy. Miss Rehana shows her independence with the way she conducts herself in front of Ali and the whole passport issue. Basically what feminist have been stressing about books written by men, this short story is written by a man but contrary to their expectation it only shows that the society is patriarchal, but the Women are struggling to get out of that yoke. That she rather thinks for herself than be influenced by the society decisions in this reference her Indian culture. The title of the short story itself “Good advice is rarer than rubies,” was an intention from the narrator that one should trust their instincts before believing that someone could take their worries away (Rushdie). The post-colonial theory talks about permanent or partial effects of colonialism after the people have already gotten their independence. Colonialism itself involves the forceful takeover of people’s land and resources and in turn forcing the indigenous people to work for the colonizer under slavery-like conditions. Colonialism does not only involve the forceful takeover of people’s lands and resources it also involve the colonizer wanting the colonized to practice his culture, speak in his language use their names. The term they usually use is “savages” (Dobie) and to civilize you, you must get rid of your cultures and tradition because it is the one they usually refer to as caveman traditions. The effective way to colonize people is through cultural colonization in this people will forget their identity completely if they don’t exhibit a resistance of any kind. Usually, the colonizers refer to their culture as superior to those who they are colonizing. This is called universalism and Euro-centrism (Dobie). When the term commonwealth literature is thrown in it usually depicts those writers whose country was under the rule of Britain. Which also means that the works of Rushdie Salman are Commonwealth literature since India was a colony of Britain. Since his country India got independence from it s now in the post-colonial era. Every culture had a way to resist the epic changes that were being imposed by the British Government. And in this story “Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies” (Rushdie). We see this resistance by the way the way men treat their women in Indian settings. Even though they are modernized they still practice their traditions like arranged marriages and the women also wear the veils except our main character Rehana and some other few women she points out. In the story along a line is described outside the British consulate, this is symbolic of Euro-centrism that those people think that England is better to live in than India (Rushdie). Rehana surprises Muhammad Ali by turning down his offer of a free British visa. She also fails her exams on purpose, and when Ali asks her, she says, “there are some boys who need me” (Rushdie). Rehana symbolizes resistance to a new culture and thinking. The way the women are interrogated in the British consul symbolizes neo-colonialism (Forster). They ask them tough questions and expect them to play by their rules to get visas into England (Rushdie). In a way, Britain still dominates Indians even if it is a free country its citizens are still being subjected to neo-colonialism. By wanting to move to India, the women show un-homeliness while the ones who don’t want to practice their Indian culture like Rehana, who does not want to, meant his fiancée exhibit internalization of colonial values (Forster). The writer of this short story represents the Orient, and by writing this story he in a way denies the westerners to tell other people about his country culture and way of life (Said, 13). Works cited Dobie, Ann. Theory into practice: an introduction to literary criticism. Cengage learning, 2011. Forster, Edward Morgan. Aspects of the Novel. RosettaBooks, 2010. Rushdie, Salman. Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies. Pantheon, 1994. Said, Edward. "Orientalism (New York: Vintage, 1979)." Culture and imperialism (1978). Read More