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Writing English, Writing Reform: Two Indian Women’s Novels of the 19th Century

Author

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  • Indrani Sen

    (Indrani Sen is Associate Professor in the Department of English, Sri Venkateswara College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India. E-mail: indranisen2002@gmail.com)

Abstract

The 1890s saw two literary interventions in English by pioneering Indian women; these were the novels, Ratanbai: A Sketch of a Bombay High-Caste Hindu Young Wife written by Shevantibai Nikambe and Saguna: A Story of Native Christian Life by Krupabai Satthianadhan. Both writers, who were Brahmin converts to Christianity, were deeply involved in debates on female education. Their texts too focus on gendered social reform, especially on female education, as a liberating, emancipatory process. However, while Ratanbai seeks to re-cast high-caste Hindu wives into companionate helpmeets with the help of education, the thrust in Saguna is far more radical, as it problematises very sharply, questions pertaining to conversion, colonialism, female subjectivities and colonial modernity. Written against the backdrop of female reformist writing, these texts throw light on the contradictions within the native female social reform project.

Suggested Citation

  • Indrani Sen, 2014. "Writing English, Writing Reform: Two Indian Women’s Novels of the 19th Century," Indian Journal of Gender Studies, Centre for Women's Development Studies, vol. 21(1), pages 1-26, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:indgen:v:21:y:2014:i:1:p:1-26
    DOI: 10.1177/0971521513511198
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