E De Sauza | Marriages are Made | An Analytical Study
E De Sauza | Marriages are Made | An Analytical Study
E De Sauza | Marriages are Made | An Analytical Study
‘Marriages are Made’ is a social poem by Eunice De Sauza. The poem deals with the theme of gender discrimination in Indian society. The poetess’ attitude towards the marriage system as portrayed in the poem is ironic and critical which makes a blow on the tradition of peoples’ agelong outlooks towards women in a male-dominated society.
The narrator (here the poetess) says that her cousin whose name is Elena is to be married. She has undergone a course of formalities which is humiliating for her as a human. The prospective groom of Elena belongs to a Christian family. The family of the groom is searching for the ideal and right bride. They scrutinize the family background of the bride. They have examined whether any of the members of the family of the bride are affected by tuberculosis. Is there any mentally crazy person? The family of the groom goes ahead and makes a search for the economic condition of the family and wants to be sure that Elena’s father was not declared to be solvent.
The matter does not end there. Elena is examined very carefully. They also scrutinize the look of her eyes to be sure that there are no squints in her eyes. Her teeth are also examined to find out whether there is any cavity among her teeth. The family of the groom has not made an end to examining her there. They go further and examine her stools also to know if there is a non-Brahmin worm in them.
Elena is not quite tall, nor is she quite full enough, but her complexion is fair. They say that her good complexion would compensate for her other physical defects. At last, she was considered to be a good suit for her prospective husband Fransico X, Noronha Prabhu.
Elena as a bride does not have to say anything. She is the victim of social customs and tradition in a male-dominated society. All the formalities that are made rounding Elena humiliate her as a human. On the other hand, her groom is above question.
Thus the poem falls an ironic attack on the gender discrimination that prevailed in Indian society.
The title of the poem ‘Marriages are Made’ is very significant. It suggests that marriage is a man-made custom of society laid down to establish the supremacy of men over women. Marriage for the woman is an event of humiliation. In Indian society caste discrimination along with gender discrimination has been prevailing since time immemorial which has been undermining the family structure of society. The supremacy of men compels women to suffer affliction and insulation everywhere in society. Thus the title of the poem is critical. Through the title, the poetess criticizes the marriage system which according to her is artificial bondage that ignores the feeling and emotions of women. Marriage is a ritual that takes off the freedom of women as humans.
The poem is prosaic as it obeys no traditional rule of rhyme or prosody. It is written in free verse. The expression is passive as:
” My cousin Elena
is to be married
The formalities have been completed
her family history examined.”
Thus by using passive voice, the poetess shows the passiveness and incentives of the woman in matters of social rituals like marriage. It also suggests that women are considered by men as goods to be consumed. Men compel women to be the victim of their supremacy. Women have nothing to have their say. All formalities are imposed upon women by men.
Line 20 of the poem is very significant. It reads as:
”Francisco X, Noronha Prabhu
good son of Mother Church.”
This line reflects the status of man in society. In Indian society gender discrimination is a common thing. In society, a man is considered to be the lord of the woman. The man may not have any virtue yet he is beyond criticism. There is nothing to criticize him. All that he has is a virtue. On the other hand, a woman, though she bears good qualities, yet she can not get rid of criticism. Francisco X, the would-be husband of Elena is considered to be so. He as a groom searches after a girl of virtue with sound family background. His family even examines Elena’s stools to know if there is a non-Brahmin worm in her stools.
Thus the last line of the poem bears the message of the theme of the poem that woman, in a male-dominated society, is subjected to suffering. She is like goods to be consumed by men. Hence the last line of the poem is an ironic conclusion to the theme propounded in the exposition. 0 0 0.
E De Sauza | Marriages are Made | An Analytical Study
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N. B. This article entitled ‘E De Sauza | Marriages are Made | An Analytical Study‘ originally belongs to the book ‘World Poetry Criticism‘ by Menonim Menonimus. E De Sauza | Marriages are Made | An Analytical Study
Books of Literary Criticism by M. Menonimus:
- World Short Story Criticism
- World Poetry Criticism
- World Drama Criticism
- World Novel Criticism
- World Essay Criticism
- Indian English Poetry Criticism
- Indian English Poets and Poetry Chief Features
- Emily Dickinson’s Poetry-A Thematic Study
- Walt Whitman’s Poetry-A Thematic Study
- Critical Essays on English Poetry
- Tawfiq al-Hakim’s Novel: Return of the Spirit-An Analytical Study
- Tawfiq al-Hakim’s Novel: ‘Yawmiyyat Naib Fil Arayaf’-An Analytical Study
- Analytical Studies of Some Arabic Short Stories
- A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Pre-Islamic Period …
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