I thought I clicked the right button to submit this, but when we looked at blog entries in class i noticed this was not there, so now im reposting it...
In Sidhwa's Cracking India I wanted to bring up Slavesister and Godmother's relationship and I want to get a discussion/responses started about all the names Lenny has for the female figures, (Godmother, Electric-Aunt, Mini-aunty/Slavesister, etc.). I find the names Electric Aunt and Mini Aunty interesting especially in regards to the fact she is called mainly "Slavesister". I am struck by this concept of "slavesister". Slave, sister. Sister, slave. The words do not mesh in my mind in a harmonic way. (I might as well blame my ignorance in such areas, being caucasian American with the guilt doubly earned from being a Catholic and a first-generation american with British ancestry. But that is another tangent we can discuss and parody later. I dont mind). Anyway, looking at Slavesister and her interactions with godmother, I found an interesting dynamic that is concrete in verbal discussions, or rather verbal fights between the two women. Slavesister is just that, a slave and a sister. She is a submissive to Godmother, yet she provides banter that engages a common ground between her and Godmother. Its a kind of sisterly-love that is unique, yet not so uncommon so as it is exclusive to these two characters. It shows up in Lenny and Adi's realtionship as well, but it is more sibling rivalry, without the expicit titles to express dominance or submission over a person that add complication to a relationship. There is no adjective to discribe what kind of sister Lenny is, or what kind of brother Adi is, other than elder and younger. In Godmother's world, her seniority allows her to call and have others call or refer to her younger sister as a slave as connoted by the postion of the words within the title; slave comes first, the strongest word as you approach it, then ends with "sister", a word that throws you completely off.
The title is complicated, compromised by the combination and order of the words. In a way, I find Slavesister's femininity compromised by the title of "slave" as well, just by the title she has been given by Godmother. In addition,the title of Godmother is also complicated by the placement of the words in relation to Slavesister. There is a huge gap between the relationship of the words that work with each other as well as complicate each other. Lets revisit the titles looking at them as just words, just titles, no people attached to them: "Slave" and "sister"; "God" and "Mother". Slave sister is submissive to God Mother. Slaves serve God, sisters are offpsrings of mothers. Sister and mother are both universal that is, everyone has a mother (biologically) and that mother can be a sister to someone and a mother can have daughters that are sisters. However, mothers can have dominance over their daughters (whom are sisters), but there is a toss-up of dominance and submission between their own sisters depending upon age. It is the idea of siblings and the relationship between them that allows slave sister to put her two-cents in regards to Lenny and her disposition as well as comment upon the turmoil India is in during partition. Godmother threatens slavesisters wellbeing when she voices her mind, but never acts upon it. This can relate to the idea that "God is a merciless/merciful God" or the idea of "fearing God". The instance in which I am referring to is the scene in which Godmother scolds Slavesister after starting the dangerous Primus stove (91-92). Here we see the dynamics between the two sisters in regards to sibling rivalry/banter and the dominance and submission between the them as well:
"She calls to Slavesister. Her voice still stern from the scolding: 'I want that Japanese kimono Mehrabai brought me two years back. That red one. I want to give it to Bachamai's Rutti. Do you remember where it is?'
"No answer.
"She raps her punkah on the wall to attract her sister's attention, raising her voice to accomodate the hissing stove, repeats the text, adding: 'Did you hear me?'
"Still no answer.
"'Oh? We are sulking, are we?'
"No comment." (92)
Here there is an instance of sibling interaction here, the beginnings of teasing at the end of this excerpt. The fact that Slavesister doesn't answer to her teasing contributes to Godmother's dominance and her silence solidifies her submissive disposition. However, the silence does add a definance to her character, as this allows her to keep the title of "sister" in addition to "slave". Godmother is demanding an answer from Slavesister' commanding her authority over her, but she ends with teasing, a more childish act that allows Godmother to stoop down a level to be equal to her sister.
Looking back at what I'm asking, I suppose I am stuck on the need for these titles as a way to define family in regards to social interactions. Is it really necessary for there to be these titles when such basic names for the place they live (ie boundaries/borders/countries are up for debate)? Why are such clear lines drawn when the lines are so unclear?
Rachel, If I understand your post correctly, you are getting at the idea of hierarchy within familial relations. What hierarchies are present in the novel and how does that play out as the novel unfolds? I, too, was struck by the nomenclature of "Slavesister," which I found to be just plainly odd. Your post provoked me to delve more deeply into comparing the various family relationships we see in the novel. Deven points out in his post that Adi seems to have more control/power as a male {even though he's younger} than does "Lenny Baby." Lenny, in some ways, seems to have more control over Cousin (why does he remain unnamed?). Definitely it seems to be the sibling relations that speak to something about power. Perhaps in a larger sense, this has something to do with the newly developed Pakistan and its relationship to India? Let's figure this out in class
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you did a post on the dynamic between Slavesister and Godmother because the closer and closer I got to finishing the book, the more confused I became as to what their relationship was. You clarified it nicely and definitely put it into perspective for me. The bickering between the two is nothing short of interesting and animated in the same way that sisters do; the sulking, the ignoring, the threatening, the joking - I've seen it all go on between my mom and her younger sisters. And going off of Priya's point, I too think its all about power play between siblings.
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