the problematics of motherhood in twentieth century women's fiction

47
2.2.2.7. Apart from Rukmani and Ira, other women In the
novel are also described In terms of thelr motherhood
Janakl has a sagglng flgure because she had borne her
husband three chlldren Kunthl moves gracefully desplte her
burden, though her earller pregnancy had almost brought
about her death
2.2.2.8. TO the femlnlst, Nectar in a Sieve ralses a
pertinent questlon Is a woman's prlmary ldentlflcatlon
based merely on her functlonal roles' Does she not have any
worth beyond bearlng and rearlng chlldren' Whlle Rukmanl
completely erases herself to brlng up her sons, Ira to some
extent rebels agalns: exlstlng norms by bearlng an
lllegltlmate son She attempts to transcend the conflnes of
patrlarchal tradition by maklng an lnd~vldual cholce But
even though she does so, 1t 1s only as a vlctlm of
circumstances, not as a woman wlth an optlon open to her
Ira, therefore, 1s "a rebel, but a mother nevertheless"
(Allad1 1989 411 She st111 is unable to break open the
conf~nes of a male-dom~nated culture, she does not reach
over to the femlnls: zone as she cannot shatter the shackles
of patrlarchal rules that have seeped into her psyche
Nevertheless, the sllght changes that one dlscerns In the
three generations of women -- Rukmanl's mother, Rukmanl and
Ira -- foretell the advent of a new motherhood, whrch 1s