Gender, identity and tradition in meera syal, Nisha minhas and B.K. Mahal: Lights and Shadows in unwritten rules of conduct

Abstract

The objective of this thesis is the analysis of the female characters, members of the second generation, created by Meera Syal, Nisha Minhas and B. K. Mahal from the point of view of discourse and gender identity in a context of multiculturalism and culture clash like the British. I propose a reading of their books as a metaphor of conduct books following Armstrong and Tennenhouse (1987), and which point to the construction of new models of femininity. The reasons for having chosen these authors and works are of a different kind. All of them are female writers born in England but whose parents came from the Indian Subcontinent. As such not only are they aware of contemporary British society but they are also direct heirs of the attitude concerning first generation Indians. They are also more sensitive as to the role of women, their identity and the importance of their struggle to gain their own ground and break with all the expectations, stereotypes and demands made on them in social terms. In Chapter 1 the focus of attention is laid on the selection of some issues that better approached the reading of the primary bibliography along the line of conduct books as far as identity, gender and ideology are concerned. The treatment of issues from the point of view of British Asian women as direct receptors of a dual message and the female writers’ desire to have their voices heard emphasise gender consciousness and polarisation in the reformulation of social and cultural roles, a polarisation forced by a strict social order which is symbolically changing from the silence and subjugation of its women to a system where the self prevails over traditional norms. Chapter 2 gathers some key issues on Indian culture as the frame within which to better understand its precepts and to situate and analyse the gender conflict in a dual culture, the British one. All the concerns derive from the maintenance of tradition and point to an indirect guide of conduct whose fulfilment is weakening and becoming subject to negotiation and rethinking on a social, cultural and political scale. Whereas in previous years the voice of women was silenced, what these female writers are doing is revealing the experiences of individuals not wishing to be known for the same submissiveness and culture barriers imposed on their mothers. Chapter 3 focuses on the possible terminology to refer to this new literature and the new projects aimed at the spread and knowledge of new writers from different ethnic communities. In Chapter four the discussion is organised around selected passages from the primary bibliography as the starting point for analysis and comparison with the theoretical accounts from chapters one and two. The preservation of the rules historically dictated by tradition is being challenged and redefined not without a set of subsequent conflicts and controversies of what means living between two worlds-the Hindu -Sikh heritage and a new dual British identity. A perspective is provided by the reality of the Indian household and another one by the outside world. Even within the same family, the battle between tradition and contemporaneity is observed on the diversity of opinions. Consequently, the challenge of power relations is being redefined in the micro context of the Indian household so as to transfer it to the community first and then to a more global sphere. Given the difficulty to achieve personal fulfilment the female characters create their own strategies of survival. With this not only do they offer a new and modified discourse on the pillars of Indian culture but also a new reading of the existing stereotypes.

L´objectiu d’ aquesta tesi doctoral és l´anàlisi dels personatges femenins, membres de la segona generació, creats per Meera Syal, Nisha Minhas i B. K. Mahal des del punt de vista del discurs i de la identitat de gènere en el context multicultural i de xoc de cultures britànic. Així mateix, es propasa una lectura de les seues obres com a metàfora de manuals de conducta seguint a Armstrong and Tennenhouse (1987) i, que com a tal, apunten a la construcció de nous models de femininitat. La importància i l´elecció d´aquestes autores respon a diversos motius. Per una banda, es tracta d´autores nascudes a Anglaterra de pares procedents de l´Índia i, per tant, hereves directes de dos bagatges culturals oposats. Molts dels seus personatges femenins adopten una actitud crítica que qüestiona, entre altres aspectes, la imposició de formes de comportament codificades sobre els fills, nascuts i educats a Gran Bretanya. De fet, i com s´observa en les obres analitzades, en el context multicultural britànic els membres de la primera generació encara intenten reproduir formes de desig acceptades a l´Índia però que els nous personatges reten i redefineixen en un procés de qüestionament i final renegociació de la tradició. Donada la dificultat d’ autorealització creen les seues pròpies estratègies de supervivència i ofereixen no només un nou discurs dels principis que regeixen la cultura índia sinó també una nova lectura dels estereotips imposats. Per l´altra, en el moment de tancament del corpus destacava la dificultat de trobar escriptores que se centraren en els problemes i experiències de la comunitat britànico-asiàtica. La tesi es divideix en quatre parts. La primera inlcou alguns supòsits teòrics sobre el gènere en relació als conceptes d´identitat, llenguatge i ideologia. La segona introdueix el lector en alguns dels aspectes que han definit la cultura índia a través de les diferents generacions. Alguns d´aquests aspectes inclouen, sempre amb la tradició com a punt d´origen, la posició de la dona, la família, el matrimoni o la sexualitat, entre altres, per després comparar-los amb la situació a Anglaterra. La tercera intenta ser un acostament a la possible terminologia per a referir-se a aquest tipus de literatura i a l´aparició de projectes. En la quarta, la discussió s´organitza a partir d´alguns fragments triats de la bibliografia bàsica per al seu análisi i comparació.