Dattani’s Heroines: A Study of Selected Plays through Feminist Lens

Abstract

Drama has been an ancient tool to mirror society and Indian dramatic tradition is an old establishment, in fact, much before the times of ‘Natyasastra’. The journey of its growth was never smooth thanks to different invasions and colonialism. Modern Indian Drama in English took off much later however. Mahesh Dattani is a household name in literary lanes of Indian English Drama. His plays cover a wide range of themes from gender issues, middle-class predicaments to LGBT rights etc. His female characters are not the ones caught in kitchen compartments only. They have a Feminist call in their own fashion. The Research Paper at hand is an attempt to look at his women characters from that angle. It explores how his female characters start a journey to self-discovery while walking through paths unexplored. It deals with the idea of representation of women in Modern English drama. While Western Feminist approach focuses on the battle of sexes in an attempt for reclaiming the spaces, Postcolonial feminism has a different approach in this regard. In contrast, the Oriental heroine in her journey to self-discovery looks for reconciliation. Thus, the paper at hand tries to look through all these aspects.