A Voice for Those Who Cannot Speak - Book Report/Review Example

A Voice for Those Who Cannot Speak For centuries, women around the world have suffered at the hand of gender preferences, often victimized by theirhusbands and the beliefs of their culture. Through the brave voices of Kate Chopin, Ousmane Sembene and Mahashweta Devi the lives of these victimized women have been brought to light. In Sembene and Devi's stories the overall social norms, or established practices of society, in India and Africa reflect that very little value is placed on women while Chopin's story reveals the prejudices of pre-civil war America and how they ruined the life of an honest woman. The common factor trying all three works together is shown in the way the women are underappreciated and berated due to beliefs stemming from the social conditions within their societies. Through their eye opening stories, Father of Desiree's Baby, Her Three Days and Giribala, the authors capture the sorrow and injustice that these women faced bringing truth to the forefront. In Father of Desiree's Baby Chopin tells the story of a woman who is penalized not only because of her husband's ignorance, but of her nation's discrimination of African Americans. The story is set in the United States pre-civil war south where slavery was in full effect. In the story, a ''fiery Creole planter'' falls into a rage when his wife gives birth to a mulatto baby. The planter, convinced that the racial ''taint'' had come from her, drives the wife to kill herself and her baby" (Bernstein). When Desiree's child is born with brown pigmented skin she is shunned by her husband. She argues in vain to prove to him that the child is his and that they are both white, but it proves useless. At the time, women were held in high regard for the virtuousness and superiority of her moral and character. Both traits that disappeared as soon as it was determined Desiree's child had brown skin. She describes her husband as a changed man who no longer seems to have any love for either their child or herself. Chopin truly conveys the feelings of heartbreak that Desiree feels stating, "I shall die. I must die. One cannot be so unhappy and live" (Chopin). The way is which Chopin chooses to write the story is very interesting. She does not disclose the truth until the very end of the story in what seems to be an attempt at making the reader form their own opinion about Desiree's honesty. Although Desiree's baby has brown skin, her heartbreak and genuine love for her husband cancels out the possibility that she would have known anything about her heritage or if she had has an affair. Leaving the reader blind causes them to face the story just as Desiree's husband and mother did. Both were clueless as to why the baby had brown skin and were forced to conclude that Desiree was to blame. They reacted in ways that were dictated by their society. Both showed racial discrimination when looking at the baby, associating brown skin with slaves and a race they believed to be subservient to their own. Through no fault of her own, Desiree is doomed to suffer. It is not until the very end of the story that Chopin reveals the truth by allowing Desiree's husband to find his mother's old letter which read, "Night and day I thank the good God for having so arranged our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother, who adores him, belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery" (Chopin). The question asked in Sembene's Her Three Days is why it shouldn't be that every woman should "have a husband of one's own" (Sembene) Like most women in most cases, the Senegalese narrator is sold at a young age to become one of many wives of the men in the village were the family resides. At the time that the story takes place this practice was considered to be a social norm and a common occurrence prone to women in India and Africa. This sad situation is highlighted in Ousmane's story as her protagonist, Noumbe, is struggling with having to share her husband with other women, and feels jealousy towards the newest wife. Her new found reality of no longer being the favorite wife and being demoted to one of the disgraceful positions of an earlier wife causes Noumbe to fear being abandoned by her husband Mustapha. Only after three days of fighting the truth to maintain her dignity, as well as her final effort to get Mustapha to come pay her a visit does Noumbe accept the cold reality of a polygamous marriage by mourning. She accepts this truth by eloquently expressing her distaste for it to Mustapha when finally arrives to visit on the third day and final hour (pp. 405 406)Sadly Noumbe's experience outlines the lives of many other women in the same predicament. While Sembene mentions Noumbe's traditional dignity and the purity that she radiates, it is also pointed out that she epitomizes the negative influence of Islam on African tradition. Sembene is known as an author who could criticize Africa, he could criticize sexism he could criticize racism" (O.A.). This statement outlines the honesty in which Sembene's stories have been written, giving a voice to the many women who are helplessly forced into unwanted marriages. Sembene's uses Noumbe as a model for the ideal African woman. She embodies a woman who is both revolutionary is her bold thoughts who openly chooses to challenge patriarchy and male dominance. She chooses to address her feelings and tells her husband how she feels. This story differs from Chopin's in that the woman is not allowed to leave and is bound to her husband for life. "Sembene obviously does not condone the propagation of an ideology that perpetuates patriarchy and inferiority of women to men, whether in the name of religion or culture. He sees such an ideology as a bad element, one that should be discarded, one that mothers should not hand down to the young generation of girls" (Mushengyezi). While both women are victimized by their husbands, Chopin's heroine is free to leave her husband. While Noumbe worries that she may have done something wrong to have lost the love of her husband, Desiree knows she is not to blame and fights for the truth. The custom of young girls being married off as pre-teens and early teens is clearly outlined in Devi's Giribala. Similar to Sembene's, the author's village would often, and without any regard for their preference or needs, auction a girl off for a price. This is yet another example of both social norms and a social condition. Devi was once quoted saying, "I think a creative writer should have a social conscience. I have a duty towards society. Yet I don't really why I do these things " (Emory). The social norms she reveals in this work show a nation lacking even the slightest amount of respect for women. This story differs from those of Chopin and Sembene due to the way in which the Bela and Pori seem to have no hope. In Giribala, the privileged males not only dictate who will marry who, the final decision of the groom lies with the father. The bride's wishes are never once considered as her fate is passed from one man to the next. While both Noumbe and Desiree had some hope and tried to fight for what they wanted, Devi's characters seem accepting of their situation. The brides seem subservient as they passively accept the marriages. Hoping to change the minds of her county Devi "Fights for the tribals, downtrodden, underprivileged and writes creatively if and when she finds the time" (Emory). All three stories portrayed men as the dominant figures who held the upper hand. Both Sembene and Devi spoke out against the degraded social conditions in their countries, and the ill treatment of women. They both chose to focus on polygamy and the way in which marriages are arranged. Ousmane embeds the criticism of both topics through Noumbe's physical heart trouble that is obviously worsening from her emotionally trodden heart and her desire to be the only wife. She shows how women were seen as disposable possessions who would be deemed unworthy as they began to age while men remain esteemed and respected until they die. This is evident in Mustapha continuously adding wives to his family circle without equally caring for the previous wives. Devi uses the sadness felt by both the girls and their mother in opposition to the male characters lack of emotion to emphasize the cruelty and inhuman treatment of Bengalese women. Chopin creates a ruthless figure in Desiree's husband as he asserts his authority over his wife despite his ignorance and what is in best for his child. The sorrow and suffering these women suffered at the hand of injustice is clearly displayed in all three of the author's stories. Each of them seemed to write these stories as a form of warning to the women of future generations as they represent the voices of the thousands of women who are unable to speak for themselves. While many women have been freed from injustice since these stories were written they serve as a reminder of how women's lives used to be, and could be again, if they do not continue to fight for what they deserve. Even today, thousands of women remain prisoners and slaves to their own husband's and societies. The stories of Chopin, Sembene and Devi serve as inspiration for all women and empower them to strive towards a world of honesty and equality. Works Cited 1. Berstein, Richard. "Books of the Times: Echoes of a City's Shady 'Underself'". New York Times; 2/ 4/1998, p8. 2. Chopin. Kate. "Father of Desiree's Baby." Discovering The Many Worlds Of Literature: Literature for Composition. Ed. Stuart Hirschberg and Terry Hirschberg. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004. 3. Devi, Mahasweta. "Giribala." Discovering The Many Worlds Of Literature: Literature for Composition. Ed. Stuart Hirschberg and Terry Hirschberg. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004. 770-785 4. Emory College. "Southern Cultures and Literature". < http://www.english.emory.edu>. 5. Mushengyezi, Aaron. "Reimaging Gender and African Tradition". Africa Today; Fall2004, Vol. 51 Issue 1, p47-62, 17p. 6. O.A., Scott. "Ousmane Sembne". Black Scholar, Summer2007, Vol. 37, Issue 2. 7. Ousmane, Sembene. "Her Three Days." Discovering The Many Worlds Of Literature: Literature for Composition. Ed. Stuart Hirschberg and Terry Hirschberg. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004. 397-406. Read More