An Introduction by Kamala Das Summary

An Introduction by Kamala Das Summary

 

About the Poet:

Kamala Das (1934-2009) is a burning example of feminist writing in Indian writing in English. She is a fundamental figure of feminist writing who challenges prejudiced patriarchal interpretations of feminine sensibility. Kamala Das challenges gender stereotyping and gender normativity through her poems like “A hot noon in malabar”, “My grandmother’s house”, “An introduction ” etc.

She wsa awarded Kerala Sahitya Academy Award in 1968 and in 1985. She was short listed for noble prize in literature in 1984.

Through her poem, “An introduction “, Kamala Das presents feminine sensibility authentically raising her voice in favor of her liberty to wear the dress of her taste and behave the way she wants. This poem shows how she achieves feminine sensibility.

Summary :

Kamala Das starts the poem by saying that the political field of the country is dominated by the male figures denying the appearance of women in this field. She mentions the name Nehru who dominated the political field over the years.

Then she proudly confesses her identity as an Indian who was born in Malabar. She defends herself against the allegations of the patriarchal figures like friends, cousin, and critics to speak in and write in English language. She says that language comes to a person spontaneously and a person should follow the language she prefers, not a language someone will force. She feels proud of her language with full of distortion and compares it to the crowing of a crow and roaring of a lion.

She then describes how her father makes her wedded when she expresses her need of a friend. Her husband crushed not only her soft body, but also her soft psychology in the bedroom. When she develops physically, she puts on his brother’s trousers, and t-shirt and cut her hair short, to follow the desire of her heart.

But the categorizers advise her to put on sharee, embrace the identity of a girl or wife and be the typical house wife to quarrel with the servants also. They also advise her to be tender and soft like her name “Kamala”, or Amy or Madhavikutty and accept the role of typical house wife and women crying silently.

Then she shows the contrast between men who want to consume women physically devoid of any passion, and women who tirelessly want honest love and care from their husbands. She describes her husband and every man in general who try to project their dominant position in patriarchal society as “I”. She describes the totalitarian attitude of men who beat their wife at midnight after drinking and also go to hotel for drinking and flesh.

In the final lines, she describes her taking the identity of “I” to attack the patriarchal “I”. She describes herself betrayed by her husband. She desires to do both virtuous and vicious works to make herself counterpart of male “I”. She describes herself as both saint and sinner like patriarchal “I”. She does not find any difference between the emotions and joys of men and women. She says that there is no feelings of oneness between husband and wife. Finally she achieves the identity of “I”.

Critical Analysis: A critical analysis on “An Introduction”

The poem “An Introduction” is an autobiographical writing by Kamala Das. In this poem, she expressed the authentic feminine sensibility denying the wrong interpretation regarding women, by patriarchy. She also shows how females were doubly colonised by patriarchal society and British colonizers. She explains that women are not only oppressed physically and psychologically by patriarchal society, but also they are colonized linguistically.

Kamala Das describes that though she is well educated and knows enough about politics, she is not allowed in the male dominated political ground. She defies the meaningless objections of the society regarding writing in English language which is the language of their colonizers. Kamala Das defies it saying that she is not going to be a British and she would never forget her root if she write in their language.

She makes them assured that she would remain Indian forever. She says that language is just a medium to express something and she would write in the language in which she feels comfortable. She also counters against British colonizers confessing that she cannot utter English perfectly as it is not her mother tongue but she is not ashamed of it. She proudly says that it becomes half English and half Indian which sometimes seems funny to the listeners.

According to Kamala, her language gets alive through her poetries and can express her feelings. Therefore, she calls it as ‘human speech’. She describes that this language is not blind or deaf like the trees in stormy atmosphere or like submissive women whose voices get vanished, rather this language can express her feminine sensibility which remain hidden years and years.

Again she explains with both of anger and grief how her body is treated just as a soft flesh to be enjoyed to satisfy her so called husband’s sexual demands.

She describes that when her limbs swelled and hairs sprouted at her sexual organs, society certifies her as a grown up woman. Even when she asks for a devoted love, her father makes her married with a youth of sixteen. He becomes a decision maker of her life.

She calls her so called husband with no name which indicates that according to Kamala Das, the guy represents every man in patriarchal society. Kamala Das feels pain both of physically and emotionally when she becomes a victim of ‘marital rape’ by the youth. Her soft heart gets broken into pieces due to the intrusion in her privacy denying her own right on her body. She gets pregnant unwillingly.

Getting tired of bearing such tortures and oppressions she makes a protest against them wearing her brother’s shirt trousers and cutting her hair short. Actually, she challenges ‘gender stereotypes’. But there is the same problem. Society forbids her to dress and behave like a tomboy. They make it decided that she has to put on sarees and remain submissive which would prove her as an ideal woman in the eye of society. It expresses the pitiful condition of women in patriarchal society where women have no right even on their own lives.

Kamala Das notices that though every of the men introduce themselves as “I”, females have no right to do the same. Males are the center of power, authority and achievement. Only they have their own identity, existence and selfhood. She describes them as “Sword in its sheath” means the destructive nature (sword) in patriarchal society (sheath).

But now, Kamala firmly challenges that she also would introduce herself with her own identity as she is not different and not inferior than them in any aspects. She also does both of good and evil like them. She has the same emotions if joys and sorrows. Therefore, she would introduce herself as “I”.

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An Introduction by Kamala Das Questions and Answers

THE INTRUSION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

THE INTRUSION SUMMARY BY SHASHI DESHPANDE

THE GHOSTS OF MRS GANDHI QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

THE GHOSTS OF MRS GANDHI SUMMARY

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