Candy HUNT :

Beyond the 64…

By Anuradha Malalasekara

One of my good friends asked me ‘what can you tell me about Sri Lankan feminist literature’? It was a very challenging question for me, because I am not a specialist in feminist theory and in fact I am not a feminist. Within my territory of knowledge I was able to recommend some prominent women writers (Sinhalese) who touched women’s life with a fairer perspective.

Since history has been written, women seem to have got an inferior status compared to men. Due to their delicate nature, they seemed unable to handle heavy work. On the other hand, women have obvious physical limitations. In fact it is not fair to ask for equal status for men and women as they carry different attributes.

Feminist theory not something which asks for an equal status. It is all about world’s perspective of women.Once I heard a reputed lawyer says that feminism can be buried forever when a woman or a girl child can walk alone on a road anytime of the day. World is widely on alert what women wear, talk,interact or think. The same friend who asked the question of Sri Lankan feminist literature told me once how she struggled in translating a controversial novel in to Sinhalese which carried a lot of taboo words.

The point I bring here is when a man uses a taboo word, it is easily taken by the society. When a woman uses one even professionally (in a capacity of a translator) the world gets a shock.These are the places where feminism slaps back the world.

Artscope was opened many times for Eva Ranaweera, the most prominent feminist writer Sri Lanka did ever produce. I love the way she builds up Sedona’s character in her so called book. Sedona falls in love with a married man and she never shed hopes on the very man. The empathy the writer shedon the character is amazing and I believe Sedona is one of the most beautiful feminist novels I have ever read.

Feminist literature is not what should be essentially written by a woman. Briefly, feminist criticism aims to reinterpret literature from a female point of view. This is accomplished in several ways. Some feminist critics seek to interpret the works of male authors, with particular attention to women characters, in order to explore the moral, political and social restrictions women traditionally faced. Other feminist critics choose to analyze the works of women authors that have been previously overlooked by male critics.

Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho is one of the best feminist novels I have ever read. If you see in a different way, the thriller Da Vinci Code can be listed as a feminist novel because the whole story is based on sacred femininity. Women do feel better when they learn how fairly the world loo kupon them and window to learn this is literary depiction.

Feminist perspective change due to the cultural environment the women belong to. Cultural restrictions always decide the scope of feminist writings. The equality can be shadowed by happiness sometimes. Rallying holding placards is not always a good methods winning equality. As most of the women know, most of the things can be won strategically.

Sunethra Rajakaranunayake’s Nandithaya (translated by Vijitha Fernando as Chameleon ) is one of the most ‘strategic’ feminist novels. Developing a male protagonist, Sunethra cunningly exposes how women no matter their origin, skin color or language they speak, get exploited by that man. Although it is said that they own 64 enchanting spells, a woman life is always challenging. Ability to capture those challenges aesthetically makes a writer a great feminist.