Beyond the Patriarchal Gaze: Giving Voice to the Silenced in Kavita Kane’s Menaka’s Choice

Abstract

The Indian mythology, with its immense nexus of legends, goddesses, and female divine beings, has a strong impact on the cultural and social landscape of the Indian subcontinent. These mythical tales have been cleverly re-formulated by the great scholar Kavita Kane who prefigures them by putting them in the vision of women. In her work she brings new views of the vagaries, desire and agency of the female protagonists. The treatise is a comprehensive review of Menaka’s Choice (2016) by Kane, which questions the cultural values that keep reoccurring in the representation of women in the Indian mythopoetic tradition. The themes of female empowerment, self-realisation, and defiance on the conventional social norms are central to the inquiry and are carefully explored. The paper also reflects on the way this story echoes through the present-day Indian society, creating the discussion about gender equality, rights of women and reclaiming the female voice. Through the examination of the cultural mores and gender relations which are brought to life in the novel by Kane, the current article adds to our wider understanding of Indian writing, feminism as well as the central role which mythological narrations have in shaping the social understanding.