Women
“Hindu goddesses are traditionally conceived to be strong figures,even indomitable ones. By comparing his female characters to these goddesses, Rushdie attributes them with a force of character.He perceives India as a matriarchy, where maternal power, energy, and love is the means to social cohesion.” (Jennifer Takhar) Durga, the washerwoman who had nursed Saleem’s son in his sickness, is an important figure in Saleem’s life. As we understand from the description of her (pg:445), she is a powerful woman who is an opposite image of the docile Indian woman. She may be representing the power that is repressed in these women. Saleem fears her as she symbolizes the hope that he has lost. “ Her name, even before I met her, had the smell of new things; she represented novelty, beginnings, the advent of new stories, events, complexities, and I was no longer interested in anything new.” (pg:445) She is again the one who foretold Saleem's death. So, these kind of women as witches inspired fear in Saleem. Like Durga, Parvati-the-witch, who is Shiva’s wife, is another important figure. She causes in creating their child which is necessary for the continuation. Mother was seen as a nation. There is parallelism between continuity of nation th
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Some common words found in the essay are:
White Castle, Saleem India, Midnights Children, Saleem Saleem, Takhar Durga, Parvati-the-witch Shivas, Saleem Shiva, , Mary Pereira, Reverend Mother, saleems life, women saleems life, nation women, saleem women, women saleem, past escape, women saleems, women sexuality, white castle, identity nation, midnights children,
Approximate Word count = 1411
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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