LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 23:12 December 2023
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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“Chathurangam”: A Confirmation of Byron’s Dictum on Woman’s Love

Dr. Susan G. Varghese M.A., B.Ed., Ph.D.


Courtesy: www.amazon.com

Abstract

This paper seeks to introduce to non-Malayali readers the plot of a strangely designed story in Malayalam entitled “Chathurangam” (Chess) by Kamala Das, where the heroine moves from a predicament of isolation to a discovery of her lonely self after her journey through the weariness of wedlock and the warmth of transient male love outside the orbit of marriage. The narrative weaves a tale that reflects the diverse nature of human emotions and psychological dimensions of a romantic relationship. Kamala Das is seen here to be a realist-feminist who appropriates existing fictional frameworks to fashion woman-centered narratives where one could hardly demarcate the boundaries between fiction and autobiography.

Keywords: Chathurangam, Kamala Das, woman-centered narrative, isolation, self-discovery, Byron, woman’s love.

1. Introduction

Most of you may be quite familiar with Kamala Das as “One of the most aggressively individualistic of the new poets,” as Iyengar chooses to describe her (677); but only very few non-Malayali readers know that her prolific short-fictional work in Malayalam has added a new dimension to her literary stature. She has authored in her mother tongue more than 250 short stories under her penname, Madhavikutty. Four of her memoirs are also found to be in Malayalam.

This paper seeks to introduce to non-Malayali readers the plot of a strangely designed story in Malayalam entitled Chathurangam (Chess) where the heroine moves from a predicament of isolation to a discovery of her lonely self after her journey through the weariness of wedlock and the warmth of transient male love outside the orbit of marriage.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. Susan G. Varghese M.A., B.Ed., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English
Pioneer Kumaraswamy College, Nagercoil-629003
Affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University
Tirunelveli – 627012
Tamilnadu, India
Ph:9994596462
susangvarghese2020@gmail.com
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