Bapsi Sidhwa's Water: Pangs of Widowhood

Abstract

Feminist writings were of crucial interest to the post-colonial discourse for the reasons first both patriarchy and imperialism could be seen to exert different forms of domination over those subordinates to them. So it was important for the experiences of women under the patriarchal influence to come out to the forefront and expose the under cruelty be held on them by men. We observe that women continued to define the borders of the community, class, and race. They tried to exert feminism through their works. These women writers have given us an honest picture of women in family, social relationships, and traditions. Bapsi Sidhwa has made a genuine contribution to feminist literature. Her novels are an amalgam of confliction and convictions, sensibilities and dignity that belong to the historical, political, socio-cultural arena of the Indian Subcontinent. Sidhwa’s novel 'water' brings to the light the age-old customs that victimise women. The subject of the novel is controversial and complex. It is about the plight of widows in 19305 India. It is with this spirit the present research paper has been prepared. As a scriptwriter of 'water'. Bapsi Sidhwa exposes the inherent indifference, fatalism, and violence latent in orthodox Hinduism.