Women’s history in English literature is fascinating. Having to use patriarchal language to break down patriarchal roles. The anxiety of authorship and not having a history of women writers to look up to. Writing under male names. Writing stories that fascinated men- except women did not stop there. We wrote stories about us. Our households. Our sorrows, joys, and victories. In a time when women’s world were confined to betrothals and scandals, we shared those stories and highlighted their important roles, the strength and wisdom of women, and the role we played in shaping the larger society for the “big” events. Soon, the stories expanded as women’s roles and fantasies did. Women became spies. Nurses’ wartime stories were shared. Mothers told of household chores and raising children.
And women wrote about women.
Recently I was reading A Forest of Enchantments, which tells us the epic of the Ramayan from the perspective of Sita Maa, focusing heavily on this domestic, at least at the start of the book. Women’s emotions, their court politics, their struggles for power in a society dominated by men, and their lessons passed from mother to daughter are highlighted. Their pain, the unique weaknesses and strengths women have is shown.
And this made me realize the importance of such stories. Because while we need Arya Starks and Katniss Everdeens, strong women aren’t just found on battlefields. Women don’t always have to be strong in a loud manner either. Strength, endurance, tenacity come in many ways and why only should the stories of strong women be shared? What of the relatability and lessons found in the everyday toil? The civic anger movies like Mrs. and their discourage can ignite? The possibility of a better world lies in acknowledging where our current one falls apart after all.
But how do we write such stories?
My Two Cents on Writing the Domestic: Based on My Media Consumption
They aren’t glamorous with epic action sequences. Nor do they have the will they won’t they appeal of a romance. Yet feminist literature show us it can be done. Whether that’s the masterful use of gossip and situation irony by Austen or the quiet discontent of Mrs. or the visuals of Thappad.
By focusing on the inner world of women, their emotions, we can build compelling characters who demand we listen to their tales.
By sharing their losses and victories, by highlighting how they are forced t be cunning, by sharing generational lessons and the outrage some spark, the sad acceptance or the burn of female rage- we can do this. Our characters need an arc that is set in this domestic or influenced by this domestic and then it is a matter of writing how they deal with this. They can be loud or slow, but their impact is often shown in a good story, even if it is silent like in the short film Juice, which in one room shares the stories of so many women when they uplift each other, work together, and sometimes judge one another. These contradictions is where stories arise, my friend. Whether that be the daily struggles of and the weird freedom a rural woman finds in being a widow or the run of a woman in Lappatta Ladies towards a better future, while also realizing her actions have consequences and trying her to avoid harm.
Nor do we need to imagine such tales and pull them from the bottoms of our brains. We have them in the stories of or mothers, sisters, and grandmothers. In the gol rottis which turned from love to servitude but are served still with a smile and an extra helping of ghee. We have these stories in the discourage of feminism- where sometimes we force modernity on women, and sometimes misogyny is disguised as care. We have them in the lived complexity of knowing your rights of walking the streets at night but also knowing theories don’t protect but pepper spray and prudence does.
In this web, lies the told and untold stories of women. Whether that be fast fashion that empowers one class of women at the unpaid labour of another or the rage at the systems we built but the knowledge of how and why they were important at one point. Of the struggles of balancing the need for a village but knowing not every community serves women. Of wanting companionship and support from others, especially other women, but also understanding that some women uphold patriarchy due to their own struggles and that society forces women to see each other as foes. Of loving yourself but also aspiring to be loved by a fickle society based on beauty trends and still trying to be healthy in it. These stories are often unique to us women, but some are universal still. And in that magical spot lies many theories and tales from feminist literature.
Here’s hoping you get a Room of Your Own to work on stories that are uniquely you.
Author’s Note: Happy International Women’s Day! If this was helpful, a share would mean the world to me. You can read my stories on women at Muses_Saga (Anjali Roongta). Please beware they tackle dark topics like descriptive mental health breakdowns and recovery so proceed with caution.
