-10-To the extent, then, that all authors a:rgued <strong>for</strong> the necessity of women'sliteracy, it would seem all were self-consciously camnitted to at least somechan:Je <strong>in</strong> the roles women played <strong>in</strong> BerxJali society. Disagreements mightexist am:mg authors on the extent arxi speed of these changes but not as towhether change itself was necessary. But as we nxJVe on to a more detailedexam<strong>in</strong>ation of two chapters of one of these texts, Grha I.akshrni, we will seethat the authors were not only <strong>in</strong> disagreement with each other about thenature arxi extent to which women's roles must change, but they were also-assum<strong>in</strong>g that this text is a representative guide--<strong>in</strong> considerabledisagreement with themselves a
-11-husbar¥:'Is away at college or work. '!hey should be able to keep householdaccounts arrl co.mt arrl add without error; then the husbarrl c::ani.n:J home after"the whole day sweat<strong>in</strong>g, do<strong>in</strong>g the work of the office" can be released fromthese tasks (Raychaudhuri 1887:14). They should be educated <strong>for</strong> the joy ofeducation, to learn about the world--''where, when, what is happen<strong>in</strong>g," thehusbarrl exclaims enthusiastically, "from the daily newspaper you can know thatwhile sitt<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> your own roam" (Raychaudhuri 1887:15). F<strong>in</strong>ally, women shouldknow how to read arrl write so they can pass this knowledge on to theirchildren. '!he husbarrl says,IDok•••you don't want to write arrl read from fear of your mother.later, aga<strong>in</strong>, perhaps your descen:lants won't want to write arrl readfrom fear of their mother....If the mother ga<strong>in</strong>s an education thedescendants can become educated <strong>in</strong> a way that they could not be [ifthey were educated] by a thousarrl gurus•.•• (Raychaudhuri 1887:16).Here we can see the <strong>in</strong>pact of newly arisen con:litions <strong>in</strong> the world ofBritish India. '!his was a world of office work, travel away from home,newspapers, arrl a a:mplex educational system <strong>in</strong> which one's children Wouldhave to be able to negotiate. Ambitious western educated boys expected tosperxl time at college or at work separated from the family home. '!hey wantedwives who could cope with arrl help them cope with these new conditions.But these argI.mlellts were addressed to women who only half lived <strong>in</strong> thisllIOdern world, arrl the more traditional context of their world made literacylargely irrelevant. Thus the wife is able <strong>in</strong> this text to reject each of herhusbarrl's arguments. She would learn to read arrl write, she says, but "auntiesays 'Girls do not read. If they read doesn't it happen that they becomewidows? "' (Raychaudhuri 1887:13) . In arr:t case, she cont<strong>in</strong>ues that womenalready keep the household accounts. The elder women of the household do it-doesn't her husbarrl th<strong>in</strong>k they do them properly? As <strong>for</strong> the need to writeletters-how long will they be separated, she asks, that she would need thisknowledge? Besides, writ<strong>in</strong>g arrl read<strong>in</strong>g are necessary only <strong>for</strong> those who workoutside the house. "Ah!" she says, ''will the wife, wear<strong>in</strong>g pantaloons arrl aloose robe [office cloth<strong>in</strong>g] go <strong>for</strong> one half day to the office?" (Rachaudhuri1887:14)'!he author of Grtla I.akshmi was not the only writer to have difficultyconstruct<strong>in</strong>g a conv<strong>in</strong>c<strong>in</strong>g argI.mlellt <strong>for</strong> literacy. Another text, strir PratiSyamir Upade$ (A Husb<strong>and</strong>'s lIdvice to His Wife), also illustrates thisproblem. "Suppose," says the husbarrl <strong>in</strong> that text, that one day ''Mother,younger brother's wife arrl elder brother's wife had gone to Tarakeshor <strong>in</strong> themorn<strong>in</strong>g arrl only you arrl I rema<strong>in</strong>ed at home." And he, the husbarrl says, has aterrible fever. .My younger brother Bip<strong>in</strong> writes a letter [from school] say<strong>in</strong>g "Elderbrother, I've come arrl <strong>for</strong>gotten my book. Please sen::l the bookquickly. On wednesday my exaJIIS will beg<strong>in</strong>." As I [plan to] sen::lthe book, I have wrapped it <strong>in</strong> paper, but so IllUCh fever strikes methat I am a:mpletely bedridden. I have stamps <strong>in</strong> a box, but you[the wife] not know<strong>in</strong>g how to write arrl read, couldn't write theaddress. Bip<strong>in</strong> doesn't get the book; his exam<strong>in</strong>ation isunsuccessful. '!he family is <strong>in</strong> great danger (Mitra 1884:1) .
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