B.A. (Hons.

) English – Semester V Core Course

Paper XI : Women's Writing Study Material

Unit-4 : Autobiography

Edited by: Nalini Prabhakar

Department of English

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

University of Delhi
Paper-XI : Women’s Writing

Unit-4 : Autobiography

Edited by:
Nalini Prabhakar
School of Open Learning
University of Delhi
Delhi-110007

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
5, Cavalry Lane, Delhi-110007
 Paper-XI : Women’s Writing

Unit-4 : Autobiography

Contents
S. No. Title Pg. No.
1. Introduction 01
2. Learning Objectives 01
3. (a) Mary Wollstonecraft–A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) 02
4. (b) Pandita Ramabai ‘A Testimony of Our Inexhaustible Treasures’ 05
(2000)
5. (c) Rassundari Devi Excerpts from Amar Jiban (1876) 09
6. Summing Up 13
7. Bibliography 13
8. Image Courtesy 14

Prepared by:
Shrimi Gupta

SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING

UNIVERSITY OF DELHI
5, Cavalry Lane, Delhi-110007
 Unit-4

Autobiography
Shrimi Gupta

1. Introduction

The earliest known autobiography in English is The Book of Margery Kempe (1501) written
by an English pilgrim in the fifteenth century. The form was thereafter employed by several
women writers to carve out a place for themselves in history. It is one amongst a plethora of
life-narrative forms used to record a person’s life experiences, and takes centre stage with
regard to women’s writing, for it allows access to the subject’s perspective that is otherwise
eliminated by institutionalised monologic discourse. One amongst the three prescribed
readings within this section, Rassundari Devi’s Amar Jiban (1876), is the earliest known
autobiography written by an Indian woman. Historically, it was not until the late nineteenth
century that Indian women started writing about their experience of oppression. Ironically,
the culture of Indian women writing life-narratives finds its roots in the western literary
tradition that spread with the establishment of British colonialism. It brought with it the
notion of individualism and selfhood. The significance of such writings becomes evident
when viewed within the larger patriarchal discourse that deprives women of agency, i.e., the
ability to make choices. The act of writing, then, becomes synonymous with an act of
defiance and resistance as women take to questioning their oppression. In this study material
we shall examine how the women writers prescribed for your study played a critical role in
the development of selfhood for women in the eighteenth and nineteenth century society.

2. Learning Objectives
This lesson will enable you:
 To explore how women writers challenged patriarchal constructs through their
writings.
 To examine women’s autobiographical writings as an act of resistance and self-
assertion.
 To understand the structural oppression of women.

1
3. Unit-4(a) : Mary Wollstonecraft–A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)

3.1 About the Author

Figure 1: Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), an English philosopher
of the eighteenth century, is regarded as one of the
founding feminist thinkers and writers. Realising early on
her inability to conform to the socially assigned gender-
roles, she was hired by Joseph Johnson, a noted publisher
of radical writings, to write for his journal, Analytical
Review. This remains one of the most intellectually
productive periods of her life. She married William
Godwin, an English political philosopher, and died a few
days after birthing her second daughter, Mary Shelley, the
renowned author of Frankenstein (1818). Wollstonecraft’s
unconventional way of life led to the discrediting of her
feminist writings for most of the century. It was not until the suffragist movement of the
1990s that her revolutionary writings found their rightful place in history.
3.2 About the Text
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) makes a case for women’s right to education,
social equality and an individual identity. The book is the result of Wollstonecraft’s
realisation of an oppressive patriarchal power structure that trained women to be subservient
to men, and conditioned them to believe that they were naturally incapable of achieving
intellectual parity with men. She asserts the need for a reformed education system that would
view women as rational beings in their own right, and equip them with the ability to build a
life of dignity for themselves. Far ahead of its time, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
continues to resonate with the feminist and human rights movements of today.
3.3 Detailed Summary
Chapter I: The Rights and Involved Duties of Mankind Considered
Mary Wollstonecraft begins by identifying how Reason, Virtue and Knowledge set humans
apart from other “brute creation”, in turn allowing them to find their rightful place in society.
She is of the opinion that an egalitarian society stands capable of facilitating a greater
exercise of reason, virtue and knowledge, thereby paving the way for the overall
improvement of humankind. She argues that while all humans are capable of exercising
reason, some men wrongly use it to justify their prejudices.
The chapter sheds light on the many flaws that plagued the eighteenth-century society.
By citing the example of European society, Wollstonecraft highlights the unfairness prevalent
in the world where a select few born in rich, accomplished families continue to grab the

2
limelight and exercise power, thereby feeding into the existing social inequality. She draws
attention towards the unrestrained use of power by kings and members of the royalty as a
result of the concentration of power in the hands of a select few. The practice of
“subordination of rank” contributed to the said power imbalance by enforcing a servile
attitude in the subjects, in turn limiting their potential and restricting their mind.
Wollstonecraft claims that reason could help overthrow “arbitrary power”. She recalls
how the unfairness thus outlined had compelled the Genevan philosopher, Jean-Jacques
Rousseau, to condemn social structures and seek refuge in solitude. Here, she expresses her
disagreement with Rousseau’s belief that “man was naturally a solitary animal” by claiming
that if God indeed intended for man to live like other animals, then he would not have granted
him passion or the ability to reason.
Chapter II: The Prevailing Opinion of a Sexual Character Discussed
In the second chapter, Mary Wollstonecraft argues that women are not destined by
Providence to be “gentle, domestic brutes”, but are, in fact, taught from infancy to seek the
approval of their male counterparts. She refutes John Milton’s claim that “women are formed
for softness and sweet attractive grace.. to gratify the senses of man” and calls out all writers
who, through their respective writings on female education, have contributed to the prevalent
image of women as being “artificial, weak characters.. useless members of society”. She
condemns Jean Jacques Rousseau’s declaration that women should be taught obedience, and
that female education should aim to “render them pleasing”. Citing an example of one of
Rousseau’s “captivating” but “grossly unnatural” female characters named Sophia, she
asserts how these writings contributed to the idealized idea of a woman in society. She rejects
Scottish moralist John Gregory’s view as expressed in his book, A Father’s Legacy to His
Daughters (1761), that women should “cultivate a fondness for dress” as it is “natural to
them”. She condemns his advice to young girls to lie to their husbands about their actual
feelings to preserve their modesty.
Wollstonecraft argues that a good marriage is based on respect and friendship, rather than
love, and that it is not always a sound decision to marry for love alone as with time “the fever
of love” subsides. She states how the existing nature of female education is aimed solely
towards preparing them for marriage, instead of equipping them with the ability to exercise
reason. She concludes by making a case for an education system that “would strengthen the
body and form the heart” for a proper education would “enable a woman to support a single
life with dignity”.
3.4 Critical Analysis
Chapter I: Critique of Monarchy
Wollstonecraft’s emphasis on a reformed social order based on equality and reason resonates
with the thought prevalent in the Age of Enlightenment which placed Reason, Knowledge
and Virtue above all else. With its sharp critique of monarchy, the first chapter establishes her

3
republican and anti-monarchical stance. Instead of directly addressing the question of
women’s rights, she first examines how the hierarchical structure of society allows for the
subordination of the masses, demanding slavish obedience and crushing their ability to think.
Monarchy not only oppressed, but also facilitated the enslavement of the monarch to
flatterers she writes. The chapter-long meditation on monarchy is not to be mistaken for a
digression from the central issue of women’s rights. It sets the stage for the eventual critique
of oppressive patriarchal institutions that “cramp” the faculties of women, and akin to
monarchy, draws its power from the “subordination of rank”. Furthermore, it allows
Wollstonecraft to demonstrate how the oppression of women cannot be viewed in isolation,
but has to be analysed as occurring in relation to various other forms of oppression.
Chapter II: Critique of Patriarchy
The patriarchal pyramid of oppression thrives on the devaluation of women, placing men in a
power-yielding position. It is the deliberate undercutting of women’s potential through social
conditioning and limited education that Wollstonecraft sheds light on in the second chapter.
Society conditions women to believe that their ultimate goal in life is to seek the “protection
of man” and be of service to him. Like standing armies, they are “taught to please, and they
only live to please”. Deprived of resources to develop a mind of their own, they “blindly
submit to authority”.
The chapter highlights how the writings in circulation, that further perpetuate the myth of
male superiority, remain largely controlled by men, thereby demonstrating how masculine
discourse plays a key role in the creation and spread of the public imagination of a women as
the weaker sex. Wollstonecraft’s critique of the writings of Rousseau and Milton shows how
the elimination of women’s voices from the public sphere has greatly assisted the patriarchal
project involving the naturalization of gender inequality. In her effort to assert that gender is
not a given, but a construct, she deliberately uses language that emasculates officers,
projecting them as sentimental and vain - traits reserved for women, thereby showing that
men aren’t born virile and masculine, rather are trained to project such an image.
3.5 Self-Check Questions
1. Why does Mary Wollstonecraft emphasize upon the need for a reformed social order?
2. How did the writings in circulation contribute to the myth of male superiority and
female weakness?
3. Gender is a social construct. Explain with reference to A Vindication of the Rights of
Woman (1792).
3.6 Further Readings
Finke, Laurie A. “Style as Noise: Identity and Ideology in A Vindication of the Rights of
Woman.” Feminist Theory, Women’s Writing, Cornell University Press, 1992, pp. 108–47,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt207g79t.7.

4
González, Matilde Martín. “Mary Wollstonecraft and the Vindication of the Rights of
Woman’: Postmodern Feminism vs. Masculine Enlightenment.” Atlantis, vol. 19, no. 2,
AEDEAN: Asociación española de estudios anglo-americanos, 1997, pp. 177–83,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/41055470.
“Mary Wollstonecraft.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.,
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mary-Wollstonecraft.

4. Unit-4(b) : Pandita Ramabai ‘A Testimony of Our Inexhaustible Treasures’ (2000)

4.1 About the Author

Figure 2: Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati
Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati (1858-1922) is a renowned
Hindu social reformer and Sanskrit scholar of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth century, who dedicated
her life to fighting for the rights of women, children,
low-caste individuals and destitutes. She advocated for
the welfare and education of Indian widows leading to
the establishment of Sharada Sadan in Pune in 1889, a
school for child widows- the first of its kind. Besides
offering formal education, it equipped child widows
with vocational skills in order to help them lead an
independent life. This was preceded by the creation of
Arya Mahila Samaj in 1882 that worked for the
education of women and fought against the oppression
of child marriage. To honour her commendable contributions to society, the Indian
government issued a commemorative stamp on 26th October, 1989 and later named Pandita
Ramabai as the Woman of the Millenium.

Figure 3: Commemorative Stamp issued by the

Indian Government
Ramabai’s knowledge of Sanskrit earned
her the coveted titles of ‘Pandita’ and
‘Saravasti’. She is known to have followed
after her father’s faith in Vaishnavism, until
later in life, disillusioned by Hindu
religious scriptures and doctrine, she
wandered in search of spiritual satisfaction.

5
She embraced Christianity as a way of life in 1883. She was awarded the Kaiser-i-Hind Gold
Medal by the King for her public service. Her dedication towards her newfound faith and the
welfare of common people is evident in her effort to acquaint herself with Greek and Hebrew
languages in order to be able to read and translate the Holy Bible into simple Marathi so as to
make it accessible to rural folks. Her Marathi translation of the Bible remains one of her most
famous works till date.
4.2 Detailed Summary
‘A Testimony of Our Inexhaustible Treasures’ remains divided into various sub-sections that
take the readers through various aspects of Ramabai’s life.
An Honorable Heritage: Born to orthodox Chitpavan Brahman parents, Anant Shastri
Dongre and Lakshmibai Dongre, Ramabai grew up observing her reformer father defy the
norms of society to educate his wife and daughters. He did not believe in the then prevalent
practice that banned women and members of the Shudra caste (positioned lowest in the Hindu
caste-system) from gaining literacy and reading the Hindu sacred texts. When the head priest
of the Vaishnava sect, to which he belonged, demanded an explanation for his transgressive
actions, he managed to make a case in favour of women’s and shudras’ right to learn Sanskrit
Puranic literature. Thereafter, relocating to a top peak of the Western Ghats with his family,
he spent the next thirteen years serving the pilgrims passing that way, losing all property in
the process.
A Unique Education: Ramabai elaborates on how in the absence of schools for girls, she
was taught by her mother from the tender age of eight till the age of fifteen. Her parents,
despite their liberal views on education, continued to observe caste-based practices and
required Ramabai and her siblings to observe the same. Hindu religious practices had to be
strictly adhered to. Secular education and learning of any language other than Sanskrit was
strongly discouraged. The family read the Puranas, sacred Hindu texts, in public places for a
living. Ramabai explains that the sacred sound of the recital was believed to ‘purify’ the
hearer, and that the verses weren’t necessarily translated to a vernacular language. The
greater the nature of offering made by the hearers, the greater merit (punya) it allowed them
to earn.
Famine, Death, Doubts and Introduction to Christianity: The Great Famine of 1876-78
led to the death of Ramabai’s parents and elder sister due to starvation since the family was
not equipped to do any other work outside of the reading of the Puranas, and remained
unwilling to engage in menial jobs. The loss of loved ones, despite the strict adherence to the
stringent Hindu religious code of conduct, triggered a loss of faith in Hindu religious
practices, redirecting Ramabai to secular education. She moved from place to place with her
brother, reaching Calcutta in 1878 where she participated in a Christian gathering for the first
time.
Skepticism, Marriage and Widowhood: During her stay in Calcutta, Ramabai read the
Dharma Shastras and other Hindu religious texts realising that one contradicted the

6
preachings of the other. The only point of commonality amidst all Hindu scriptures emerged
to be the demonisation of women and shudras, two sets of individuals who, as per the
scriptures, could never attain moksha (liberation). Her writing highlights the prevalent
practice of untouchability against low-caste individuals. Disillusioned by the dehumanizing
practices observed in the name of religion, she eventually lost faith in Hindu religion. She
married Bipin Behari Medhvi, a Bengali of the Shudra caste who, unfortunately, died within
two years of their marriage. The death of her brother followed by the death of her husband
led her to relocate to Poona where Miss Hudford, an English Missionary, taught her the New
Testament in Marathi. In the duration of her marriage and her stay in Poona, she is known to
have learnt the Bengali and English language.
Baptism, Finding Christ and Telling Others: In 1883, Ramabai visited England where she
studied both secular and religious subjects. She learnt of how while Hinduism viewed “fallen
women” as outcastes and sinners, Christinaity chose to be kind to their plight. Her discoveries
led to her wilful conversion to the Christian faith in 1883. The recently found spiritual
satisfaction gave way to dissatisfaction and confusion as she became aware of the varying
teachings and sects within Christianity. She, subsequently, took upon the task of reading the
Bible instead of the secondary writings on the holy text. She describes the experience as
being akin to finding light in a room full of “thick darkness”. For her, unlike Hindu
scriptures, the teachings of Christ did not discriminate on the basis of caste, creed, labour,
sex, religion, et al. Salvation (moksh) was not reserved for a select few, but was freely offered
“to anyone and everyone who believed in His Son”. She spent the years thereafter in telling
people “of Christ and of His great love for sinners”.
Mukti Mission: Towards the end of the nineteenth century, Ramabai founded Mukti Mission
in Kedgaon village, Poona with the aim to empower destitute women and children, especially
orphans and child widows. The teachings of Christ were not imposed on anyone. Rather, the
inmates were encouraged to develop a mind of their own. During the famine of 1896 and
1900, the Mission rescued several hundred women and children who were then taken care of
by the people of the Sadan. It also equipped teachers with vocational skills.
The Governor’s Visit and Final Message: Ramabai provides details of the Governor of
Bombay’s sudden visit to the Mukti Mission centre. She compares it to the awaited second
coming of Jesus Christ which she firmly believed would take place at some point, when
Christ would come to fetch “His servants” before the final judgement. She concludes by
hoping that her readers may realise their responsibility towards spreading the teachings of
Christ.
4.3 Critical Analysis
Nineteenth-Century India and Women’s Education
Nineteenth century India witnessed several socio-religious reform movements that took up
the cause of women’s education with the intent to empower them. The social reform space
was majorly dominated by men, thereby making Pandita Ramabai’s efforts towards women’s

7
empowerment stand out. Given the key role (controlled) education played in creating docile
subjects out of women, it was feared that the expected reform measures would encourage
women to break away from assigned gender roles in their pursuit for an individual identity.
This, in turn, threatened to subvert the social order. With her unconventional education,
exploration of a wide range of Hindu religious literature, extensive travels, marriage to a
Bengali Shudra man, conversion to Christianity, advocacy for the education of women and
remarriage of widows, Ramabai proved the fears of the male reformers right. She refused to
be confined to the domestic sphere, commanding the public space with her endeavours. With
the establishment of Sharada Sadan, Ramabai further challenged the oppression of widows in
the name of Hindu religion by offering Brahmin widows a space devoid of traditional Hindu
hierarchies; one which offered them a chance to lead a dignified life and enjoy simple
pleasures of life.
Challenging Brahmanical Patriarchal Oppression
Hindu society is replete with misogynistic, casteist practices, and Ramabai’s rejection of
Hindu religion as a way of life offers a sharp critique of Brahmanical patriarchy, i.e., the
ideology that upper caste Hindus employ to socially and economically marginalize women
and members of the lower caste. Finding no place for herself in the said religion, she chose to
walk out of it. And by doing so, she deprived Hindu patriarchal society of the control it
otherwise exercises over its women in the name of religion. Due to her strong criticism of the
Hindu caste-system, her writings were shunned by mainstream society and her legacy omitted
from history for the longest of time. But, Ramabai never completely renounced the Hindu
way of life, observing a mix of Christian and Hindu practices. In fact, she was never fully
accepted by either community. She critiqued the Christian way of life too, raising questions
to the Christian missionaries like in the case when her adherence to vegetarianism was
labelled as “clingings to caste prejudices” by Sister Geraldine. She counter-questioned
demanding to know if Sister Geraldine, as an Englishwoman, would think it right to change
her customs which were not particularly hurting anyone. Ramabai found refuge in the
personhood of Jesus, seeking His love the rest of her life.
Click on the links below to read a detailed analysis of Brahmanical Patriarchy and its
functioning:
1. Brahmanical Patriarchy, First Post. https://www.firstpost.com/india/brahmanical-
patriarchy-is-a-term-that-opens-up-the-world-in-a-challenging-painful-but-ultimately-
liberating-way-5664741.html
2. Building Blocks of Brahmanical Patriarchy: An Interactive, Economic and Political
Weekly. https://www.epw.in/engage/article/building-blocks-brahmanical-
patriarchy?0=ip_login_no_cache%3D021946a57843776aa83da63c467e61e7

8
4.4 Self-Check Questions
1. How did Ramabai disrupt the rigid Brahmanical caste and patriarchal structures that
regulated the lives of women in India?
2. Why did Ramabai adopt Christianity as a way of life?
4.5 Further Readings
Kosambi, Meera. Pandita Ramabai Life and Landmark Writings. Routledge, Taylor &
Francis Group, 2016.
Omvedt, Gail. “Towards a Theory of ‘Brahmanical Patriarchy.’” Economic and Political
Weekly, vol. 35, no. 4, Economic and Political Weekly, 2000, pp. 187–90,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4408843.
Pathakhttps://feminisminindia.com/author/siddhip/, Siddhi. “Re-Reading Pandita Ramabai's
the High Caste Hindu Woman.” Feminism In India, 13 Dec. 2017,
https://feminisminindia.com/2017/12/14/pandita-ramabai-high-caste-hindu-woman/
Ramabai, Pandita. High-Caste Hindu Woman. Mint Editions, 2021.
Shetty, Parinitha. “Christianity, Reform, and the Reconstitution of Gender: The Case of
Pandita Mary Ramabai.” Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, vol. 28, no. 1, [Indiana
University Press, FSR, Inc], 2012, pp. 25–41, https://doi.org/10.2979/jfemistudreli.28.1.25.

5. Unit-4(c) : Rassundari Devi Excerpts from Amar Jiban (1876)

5.1 About the Author

Figure 4: Rassundari Devi

Rassundari Devi (1810-1899) is the first known author of a full-
length autobiography in Bengali. Born into a prosperous, high-
caste, landowning family of Potajiya village, Pabna district in
former East Bengal (present day Bangladesh), she was raised by
her religious mother and relatives following the early death of
her father. At the tender age of twelve, she was married off to
Sitanath Sikdar, a well-to-do landlord from Ramdia village,
Faridpur. A Vaishnavite by faith, her devotion to God and desire
to read religious texts drove her to secretly learn how to read and
write.

5.2 About the Text

Amar Jiban or My Life was written and published in two parts. The first part, published in
1876 and made of the comparatively longer set of sixteen compositions, highlights

9
Rassundari Devi’s coming to terms with the consuming drudgery of domestic life and
explores the subsequent struggle involved in her ‘transgressive’ attempt at learning how to
read and write in secrecy. The exploration of the idea of death and her awareness of the same
takes centre stage in the fifteen compositions that make up the second part of Amar Jiban,
published in 1906. A dedicatory poem precedes each of these compositions.
5.3 Detailed Summary
The Third Composition
Preparations are underway for Rassundari Devi’s marriage to Sitanath Sikdar. Devi invites
readers into her thoughts as she gives words to the mixed emotions she experiences following
the news of her marriage. She is seen fighting back her apprehensions, fears and an
“unspoken agony” by shifting attention towards the wedding music, ornaments, the red
wedding sari, and the arriving guests. As the wedding rituals end, an inconsolable Devi is bid
farewell by her weeping mother who reminds Devi of the inevitable nature of the
geographical shift that follows marriage. She reassures Devi of God’s perpetual presence and
life-long companionship. The striking comparison drawn by the author between her journey
to her husband’s home and a sacrificial goat being dragged to the altar distinctly reflects her
perception of her miserable and “hopeless situation”.
The Fourth Composition
Devi elaborates upon her boat journey to her husband’s home in Ramdia village. She
continues to feel afraid and alone amidst ‘strangers’. In an attempt to describe her
predicament, she compares herself to a “caged bird”, a “fish caught in the net”. Weeping
incessantly, she seeks refuge in prayers. The kind words of her in-laws, the mention of the
boat approaching “home” remind her of her family and friends left behind. The unending
reassurances from her ‘new’ family fail to relieve her of her longing for her people.
The Fifth Composition
Devi recalls her journey as a twelve-year old new bride struggling to acquaint herself with
domestic chores, as a fourteen-year old experiencing the desire to learn to read books, and as
an eighteen-year old birthing her first child. She reminisces about how she took over the
household work in “a spirit of duty”, hoping to “please people” with her dedicated efforts;
how the affection and concern of her ‘new’ family failed to compensate for the loss of
freedom that she experienced. Overhearing people speak of a woman’s desire to study as
“strange things”, she resolves to never verbalise similar desires of her own.
The readers learn of the twelve children that she goes on to give birth to in the duration
of twenty-three years, one though dies in the womb. In keeping with the custom, no
maidservant was assigned to work in the “inner quarters” of the house causing Devi to single-
handedly take over the plethora of domestic and childcare duties. The “pressure of work” was
such that she often had to go without having a single meal. She narrates one such incident
wherein consistent engagement in chores prevents her from eating for two straight days. Devi

10
takes care to not let it come to the knowledge of the family members for fear of feeling
embarrassed, and rather thanks God for blessing her with “excellent health”. The caregiving
experience induces guilt of not having taken good care of her own mother. Devi painfully
recollects how she was not allowed to visit her ailing mother as in her absence “household
work here would suffer”. She reiterates feeling like a caged bird, a slave who was “allowed”
to visit her family “only under certain conditions”.
The Sixth Composition
Devi describes the range of emotions she experiences with time as the desire to learn how to
read grows stronger. She ponders over the additional challenge of learning how to read in the
absence of a teacher. Being aware of the shame and criticism that disclosure of the same
could bring to her and her family, she abandons all hope until one night she dreams of
reading the sacred text - Chaitanya Bhagavata, the first biography of saint Chaitanya in
Bengali. The satisfying experience leaves her with a desire to locate the text in her husband’s
collection but her inability to read hinders her attempt at accomplishing the task. An unlikely
coincidence leads her husband to leave his copy of the Chaitanya Bhagavata for his eight-
year-old son to fetch for him later. Reading it as God’s will, Devi rushes to the ‘spot’ where
the text lay, memorises its illustration to be able to identify it in the future, and detaches a
sheet to read from later. Risking the “danger of being seen”, she takes upon the arduous task
of learning how to read, in secrecy, by using the palm leaf on which her eldest son practised
handwriting to identify the letters on the ‘stolen’ sheet, following it up with a “verification
with the speech of others”. Her fading knowledge of the alphabet from her primary school
days also came in handy in completing the “process” she adopted to learn how to read. She
concludes by recalling how the fear of criticism prevented her from learning how to write,
and revisiting the humiliation she experienced on a personal level for having to take recourse
to such clandestine measures to read only because “I was a woman”.
5.4 Critical Analysis
Nineteenth-Century Bengal and Patriarchal Hegemony
Amidst social reformers’ efforts towards women’s education and empowerment in nineteenth
century Bengal, Rassundari Devi grew up without a formal education. This was on account of
the deep-seated misogynistic belief that education held the potential to corrupt a woman’s
mind such that a literate woman was bound to end up a widow. Such ideas were deliberately
planted in the minds of young girls to deter them from as much as entertaining the thought of
learning the alphabet, let alone reading literary texts. By depriving women of education, the
upholders of patriarchy managed to quash any possibility of resistance, in turn perpetuating
and naturalizing gender inequality. Amar Jiban highlights the subjugation of women within
patriarchy– a social structure characterised by male dominance and the relegation of women
to the margins.
Social conditioning paved the way for internalisation of gender roles, such that majority
of women lived their lives silently performing ascribed gender roles, failing to understand

11
and at times even realise that gender roles were but a social construct, put in place to maintain
a social order that allowed men to yield power over women. The ones who managed to
identify the unjust nature of the patriarchal structure struggled, often lifelong, to find an
avenue to voice their dissent.
In Amar Jiban, Rassundari Devi, a victim of the patriarchal order, perceives her
oppression as being God’s will. Uprooted early on from her childhood home and sent away to
a stranger’s home, she expresses her suffering by comparing her condition with that of a
“caged bird”. A sense of duty underlines her performance of domestic duties. Devi’s
awareness of being caged is worth noting for it shows that while she might have been
physically chained by the institution of marriage, she was mentally not subjugated. Devi’s
plight echoes the predicament of scores of women who are forcefully planted into new
families at an early age leading to an identity crisis and fear of entrapment. Despite her wilful
submission to the patriarchal order, Devi remains aware of her suffering being the direct
consequence of her gender identity for in the fifth composition, she confidently states that
had she been a son she would have flown directly to her mother’s bedside. Her painful cry of
“Why was I ever born a woman?” highlights the degrading nature of the patriarchal regime
that thrives on the victimization of women.
Recourse to Religion
Torn away from her mother’s protective care, Devi is seen taking refuge in religion. Her
conversations with God seem to compensate for the absent mother and father figures in her
life. Her prayers are marked by constant reiteration of her suffering as being God's will and
her wilful submission to the same. In the event marking a dream involving the reading of
Chaitanya Bhagavata by her, Devi is seen resorting to religion to legitimise her otherwise
‘transgressive’ desire to learn how to read– “God had at last listened to my constant appeals
and had given me the ability to read in my dreams”. It reflects her internalisation of norms
and values, specific to her gender, as established by patriarchy– “Girls did not read. How
could I?” It is interesting how, despite her well-established religious devotion, there is a
striking absence of elaboration on religious teachings, practices, and meditations in the book.
The Romanticization of Women’s Labour
Amar Jiban draws our attention to the long history of glorification of the self-effacing Hindu
wife who braves suffering with a smile. Rassundari Devi is celebrated as a domestic success
for her slavish obedience and silent compliance with her wifely duties. The praise from her
in-laws validates the “sea of housework” that she repeatedly does in “a spirit of duty”. A
major chunk of the narrative is devoted to describing her unending domestic and child-
rearing duties. Contrary to popular opinion, labour does not offer an emotional release but is
enslaving. Devi gets reduced to a slave who is “allowed” to visit her family only for “a
couple of days like a slave”, and is not permitted to visit her dying mother “because the
household here would suffer”.

12
The due completion of the plethora of housework is achieved at the cost of her health. Devi
records how she often had to go without meals due to the domestic demands. The same
stands true for the collective experience of women across the country for whom habitual
neglect of physical and mental health gets normalised, and non-eating stands valourised.
5.5 Self-Check Questions
1. Why does Rassundari Devi compare herself to a fish caught in the net?
2. What role did religion play in the life of Rassundari Devi?
3. How does patriarchal society contribute to the romanticization of women’s labour?
Explain with reference to Rassundari Devi’s Amar Jiban.
5.6 Further Reading
Bannerji, Himani. “Fashioning a Self: Educational Proposals for and by Women in Popular
Magazines in Colonial Bengal.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 26, no. 43, Economic
and Political Weekly, 1991, pp. WS50–62, http://www.jstor.org/stable/4398213.
Mridula. “Redefining Femininity, Education, and Religion: An Analysis of Rashsundari
Devi's Amar Jiban.” Feminism In India, 8 Sept. 2021,
https://feminisminindia.com/2021/03/04/analysis-rashsundari-debi-amar-jiban/.
6. Summing Up
The writing of life-stories by women reflects a growing sense of selfhood. Here, it is
important to remember that there are layers to an experience of oppression, and that different
women experience oppression in different degrees depending upon their historical, socio-
economic and geographical position. For instance, an upper-class, upper-caste, physically-
able Indian woman’s account of patriarchal oppression cannot be considered as being
representative of the experience of all women of India for it doesn’t take into account the
layered experiences of a low-caste, low-class woman who finds herself at the receiving end
of not only gender-based, but also caste and class-based oppression. Therefore, while
examining how first-person accounts of women facilitate(d) the formation of female
subjectivity and female selfhood, it is necessary to look for whether the multiplicity of female
voices have been accounted for or done away with.
7. Bibliography
7.1 Primary Sources
Devi, Rassundari. “From: Amar Jiban” in Susie Tharu and K. Lalita (eds.), Women’s Writing
in India (1), OUP: New Delhi, 1989, pp. 192–202.
Kosambi, Meera. Pandita Ramabai Life and Landmark Writings. Routledge, Taylor &
Francis Group, 2016, pp. 263-286.

13
Wollstonecraft, Mary. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Norton: New York, 1988, pp.
11–38.
7.2 Secondary Sources
Finke, Laurie A. “Style as Noise: Identity and Ideology in A Vindication of the Rights of
Woman.” Feminist Theory, Women’s Writing, Cornell University Press, 1992, pp. 108–47,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt207g79t.7.
Kosambi, Meera. Pandita Ramabai Life and Landmark Writings. Routledge, Taylor &
Francis Group, 2016.
Sarkar, Tanika. “A Book of Her Own. A Life of Her Own: Autobiography of a Nineteenth-
Century Woman.” History Workshop, no. 36, Oxford University Press, 1993, pp. 35–65,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/4289251.
8. Image Courtesy
Figure 1: Mary Wollstonecraft , Photo: xtimeline.com.
Source: https://mary-shelley.fandom.com/wiki/Mary_Wollstonecraft. Accessed 7 October
2021.
Figure 2: Pandita Ramabai Sarasvati, Photo: AsiaNews.it.
Source:http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Pandita-Ramabai,-Brahmin-Christian-Pioneer-of-
women%E2%80%99s-liberation-in-India-20966.html. Accessed 6 October 2021.
Figure 3: Commemorative Stamp issued by the Indian Government, Photo: Wikimedia
Commons.
Source:https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pandita_Ramabai_1989_stamp_of_India.jp
g. Accessed 6 October 2021.
Figure 4: Rassundari Devi, Photo: Facebook
Source:https://www.facebook.com/396700860700876/photos/rassundari-devi-was-the-first-
indian-woman-to-write-an-autobiography-aamar-jiban/397134323990863/. Accessed 5
October 2021.

14