When Dreams Travel reveals the concerns of women from a feministic point of view. Gita Hariharan does it with the help of recreating myth and dreamy environment. It is aimed precisely on a quest of women for their identity. However, it is dealt with a unique approach and manner. In this connection, Rama Kandu observes: “When Dreams Travel is also about a woman's search for "her'' story. But what seems to have undergone a sea change is the author's treatment of the subject. Here the author attempts to write a meta-fiction through an elaborate inter-text that is made to foreground the feminist issue from a fresh perspective” (179). The crux of the novel appears to be the power of storytelling, dreams, enriching mythical atmosphere, miseries and the assertion of female characters. Therefore, the novel can be studied at any level. Rama Kandu says: When Dreams Travel reveals the concerns of women from a feministic point of view. Gita Hariharan does it with the help of recreating myth and dreamy environment. It is aimed precisely on a quest of women for their identity. However, it is dealt with a unique approach and manner. In this connection, Rama Kandu observes: “When Dreams Travel is also about a woman's search for "her'' story. But what seems to have undergone a sea change is the author's treatment of the subject. Here the author attempts to write a meta-fiction through an elaborate inter-text that is made to foreground the feminist issue from a fresh perspective” (179). The crux of the novel appears to be the power of storytelling, dreams, enriching mythical atmosphere, miseries and the assertion of female characters. Therefore, the novel can be studied at any level. Rama Kandu says:
Seen from the angle of modern fiction theory this double fiction appears to be a story about storytelling. With the purpose to suggest the ulterior triumph of art over life, of imagination over mundane and cruel reality, or the ennobling effect of art even on an insensitive/in sensitized mind, and of course the possibility of art as a liberating device for a woman imprisoned in the "dungeon" of patriarchal norms (180).
The novel When Dreams Travel exhibits the suffering in a mythical background. It demonstrates how women are exploited in a society which is patriarchy based, it further elaborates the repercussions of their exploitation. It is a retelling of the Arabian Nights or Thousand and One Nights. This novel powerfully appeals the reader to contemplate on the male depiction in the famous medieval Arab anthology. Gita Hariharan uses this novel as a rejoinder to answer back predominantly male literary tradition. She further criticizes and erodes the sexual influence of the original text. The novel When Dreams Travel reflects the self-assertive tone. It also establishes the storytelling of women passed from one progeny to another. In the novel, it is the woman who creates a story while the man can heed and repeat them.
It can be said that there is a strong manifesto of second-wave feminism in When Dreams Travel. Gita Hariharan through this work brings to notice the marginalized to the limelight or centre in varied ways by colonial and endeavouring patriarchal power structures. It is worth to note that Thousand and One Nights is one of the few texts that made its way from east to west and is included in the annals of world literature too. It was quite inspiring for many authors and its impact was noticeable on various forms and genres of western literature.
When Dreams Travel is divided into two parts, the first part is titled as “Travellers” this part is a rewriting of the original story Thousand and One Nights. The plot unfolds in the first section of this part entitled “In the Embrace of Darkness”. We see the recasting of the myths of Shaharyar and Shaharzad in the first two sections of the first part of the novel. While the second part of the novel is titled as “Virgins, Martyrs and Others”, this section carries a brief introduction, which is subheaded as, A Dream, A Mirror. This is further followed by seven pairs of tales narrated alternatively by Dunyazad (Shahrazad's sister) and Dilshad. (Dunyazad’s lover)
Hariharan with a deliberate attempt shifted the narrative scheme to unknot the power struggle in which women are entangled. This is one of the primary differences between Gita Hariharan and the original one. The second section is loaded with some new stories or tales told by Dunyazad and Dilshad from a feministic agenda as well as moral substance, these are completely different from the content of Arab tale collections. The original story goes with two brothers Shahryar and Shahzaman, they are Sultans of two different cities, who discover their wives are adulterous. The two brothers make up for the wrong of adultery by killing, wives, lovers and slaves who attend the harem. Shahryar has made up his mind that no woman is chaste, so he decides to marry a virgin every night and finally executes her in the morning. There is Wazir in the city where this entire course takes place; he has two daughters namely Shahrzad and Dunayzad. However, Shahrzad is considered to be the wittiest, intelligent of the two. She is gifted with an extraordinary memory and has a hold on Philosophy, Physic, History and other disciplines too. She deliberately asked her father to propose to her as she wanted to put an end to the barbarity of the king, especially the killing of the brides every morning. To support her in this endeavour she is accompanied by her sister Danyazad.
Hence Shahrzad starts to narrate a tale every night at the time of dawn, these tales are filled with suspense and magic. The tales fascinate Sultan so much that he postpones the killing until he does not listen to the end of the story. She stretches one tale in such a way that it leads to others, having some connection. This is done intentionally by Shahrzad to save others and herself from being killed. There is an unending thread of stories until one thousand and one nights. This makes Sultan realize that Shahrzad is the saviour of many unfortunate events that may have resulted because of the resentment of the Sultan. Therefore, he renounces his barbarous act.
The first section entitled “In the Embrace of Darkness” depicts the scene of the two men and women; Sultan Shahryar is shown listening to the tale and laying on the bed. The tale narrator is his wife Shahrzad, while Dunyazad sister of Shahrzad is shown sitting on the floor near the bed of the Sultan. Dunyazad occasionally speaks a few words or sentences that help her to continue the process of storytelling. The person present there is Zaman, brother of Shahryar. In such a static move Shahryar is the only character to have the choice to choose life or death at any time. We see her working as an assistant for her sister, while Zaman leaves no stone unturned to provoke hatred of Shahryar against women. Here, Shahrzad is seen only talking while the rest of the three characters Shahryar, Zaman and Dunyazad are silent.
We can get an idea of the cruel intention of Sultan about the suppression of female identity in the very first section of the novel. Sultan Shahryar (Shahbaad) and his brother Zaman (Samarkand) are happy with their respective kingdoms. Zaman is invited by Shahryar and he is delighted at this proposal. Therefore, he starts preparation and sets for Shahabad along with his men. While he was relaxing all of a sudden it came to his mind that he forgot an important gift from his palace, so he goes back to the palace. But here he is shattered after watching his wife in the embrace of a dark slave. He is shaken and this scene blurs his vision. He murders his unfaithful wife along with the slave and then orders his fellow army men to march forward. He is received in Shahabad with great zeal by his brother. There is also a hunting expedition ready for him but he refuses since he is hurt and in a state of shock, therefore, he withdrew the idea of going for a hunt. Apart from this, at the time of Shahryar’s departure, Zaman also saw his sister-in-law naked and involved with adulterous acts with black slaves. This is another horrible sight that shook Zaman to a great extent. The only solace to him was now that he is not the only one to be betrayed and cheated; his brother is also a victim of this cheating adultery. However, he also senses within himself that his misfortunate is not greater than his brother Shahryar. These thoughts revitalized him of the serious mental state; when Shahryar comes back and Zaman spills the beans. This turns Shahryar restless and he starts to spy his wife to get confirmation. When he finally discovers the truth, he murders his wife and states; he will renounce the world until he finds a person who has met the same fate. To check it out both brothers decide to travel far and wide, they reach the seashore in the course of their travel. They find a Jinni with a chest, Jinni unfolds the chest and takes out a box, within the box comes a beautiful girl. Jinni, her master lays on her knees and quickly falls asleep. The girl manages to lure both brothers and provokes them for sexual pleasure, they enjoy, once they are done. The beautiful girls take one ring from each of them, and add them to her collection of rings in a string. She discloses her own story to them, how she was taken away during her bridal night. Therefore, to revenge, she has deceived her master a hundred times in his presence without being caught. This gives a sense of comfort to two brothers that someone shares a large portion of shame than them. They return to Shahabad and announce a unique law in the Harem i.e finding a virgin everyday marry her at night and then strangulate her in the morning if she fails to entertain him with stories.
The orders are implemented, brides enter the harm for a night and in the morning they meet their unfortunate fate. Sultan Shahryar gratifies his sexual urge this way only. This continues for three years and results in the dearth of virgins. Only at this point does Wazir of Shahabad send his daughter (Shahrzad) to Harem. She is sent to save the city from this barbarity along with her younger sister Dunyazad, to cope with the situation through her knowledgeable resources. Her sole aim is to save the girls from being murdered, to get them rid of from the cruel hands of Sultan, she initiates the process of narrating stories for one thousand and one nights and connecting each story to yet another one. The king is highly impressed by the powerful mode of storytelling of Shahrzad, so he decides to marry her and make her his queen. Afterwards, Zaman is also married to Dunyazad and lives happily.
Hariharan defies the conservative belief of patriarchy as was discussed by the first- wave feminists. She stated it is very difficult to live happily for a woman when you have people like Shahryar around you. Hariharan exhibits the physical suffering of women, it is shown as deeply rooted in the psyche of women. Patriarchy wants women to be passive, docile and subordinate. The conduct of women is believed to follow the code of conduct as per Manusmriti, "A virtuous wife should constantly serve her husband as a god, even if he behaves badly, freely indulges his lust, and is devoid of any good qualities- it is because a wife obeys her husband that she is exalted in heaven" (115). It is like on one hand patriarchy uses women while on the other hand, it abuses them:
Patriarchy' literally means the 'rule of the father'. It has been adopted by the majority of feminist theorists to refer to the way, in which societies are structured through male-domination over, and oppression of, women. Patriarchy, therefore, refers to the ways in which material and symbolic resources (including income, wealth and power) are unequally distributed between men and women, through such social institutions as the family, sexuality, the state, the economy, culture and language. (Edgar and Sedgwick 269-70).
In this story, misuse of power is evident by the brothers and only this power defines their male identity. Patriarchy intensively trusts in their aptitude to rule womenfolk. Without their power show, they presume that their lives have no meaning. Shahryar is projected as a person who takes pleasure in the suffering of women, while his brother Zaman equally shares the magnitude of this guilt. Shahzaman means "shah of time, ruler of the age", Shahryar means "friend of the city, master of the city" (Hariharan 9). However, they are contrary to what their names mean, they violate everything, and they are not proponents of justice but perpetrators of barbarity. Sultan Shahryar builds a dungeon in the palace to secure himself from the wrath of Avengers. Hariharan’s work When Dreams Travel is based on an ethical debate that is the battle between sexuality and power. The same argument is found in the Helen Cixous theory of gender where man is at the centre and woman is marginalized. This link between the sexuality of men and violence is frequently repeated in When Dreams Travel. We see in the very beginning of the novel both brothers Shahryar and Zaman are shown holding a sword. Shahryar holding "mere the ornament...a grand showy thing of gem-encrusted gold" while the latter holds another "plaything in his hand, an ancient, blood-dripping sword" (Hariharan 5). It seems that masculinity and violence go hand in hand in this male-dominated society. This is very obvious in the first part when the two brothers underscore the plan of violence. It is worth to note that "It is she [Shahrzad] who holds the scene together. If she stops, if she collapses, if she loses Shahryar's interest or attention, the roof could cave in, and with it, all hope of the city's deliverance, or its Sultan's redemption" (Hariharan 7).
Shahrzad does not feel scared by the violence she is surrounded by. She delves in danger and emerges as a model of the feminist heroine. We as readers notice that “She throws back her neck, holds her goblet high and drinks deeply, eyes shut. What she does not swallow she holds for a moment or two, rolling the liquid in her mouth as if she is tasting it for the last time. Then she wets her lips with her tongue and begins again" (Hariharan 6).
Shahrzad emerges as a glorifying fighter; she not only saves herself but the lives of many other women of the Harem. She can achieve her identity; moreover, her identity is concerned with the issues related to people around her. She is very rightly re-named as “born of the city, clever, ambitious and quick-tongued” (Hariharan 16). Shahrzad makes the Sultan understand that all women need not be killed. She confronts the king and displays her great concern for the welfare of the people and the city. She has borne witness to the cruel patterns of patriarchy that used and suppressed women, however, she wins over all obstacles and difficulties. Rama Kandu states about the writing of Gita Hariharan:
With remarkable skill she evokes the grim "faces" of the thousand (plus one) nights; at the same time she uses it deconstructively to bring out the terror, the terrible oppression and injustice, the inherent chauvinism of the comfortable patriarchal assumptions often blunt-insensitive-irrational that she reads between the lines of the world famous legend. (Kundu 180).
Shahryar is delighted by the tales and enquires from his better half, who managed to skip his sword by dint of sharp wit and intellect. “Where did all these stories come from?” Shahrzad replies in the most unromantic manner, “From my dreams. . . only those whose necks are naked and at risk can understand them” (Hariharan 20). Shahrzad does not reply straightly to Sultan “only those at risk should be entitled to understand the dreams that make up for the absence of a sword.” (Hariharan 20).
In his Interpretation of Dreams (1913), Sigmund Freud elaborates that dreams are a cognizant expression of unconscious desire or wish; these dreams are not reachable to individuals in the waking life. He presents a direct connection between dreams and unconscious gumptions by virtue of his “Theory of Mind.” Shahrzad emerges as an example of a moratorium woman who daydreams and expresses a desire to be right. She is keenly interested to display her victory through dreams. Her own story makes it clear that dreams and imagination can make women survive.
It is worth to note that tales of Shahrzad are actually tales of survivors, like the myths they transport across culture, space and are able to access women of today: "the powerless [who] must have a dream or two, dreams that break walls, dreams that go through walls as if they are powerless). In this way, Hariharan reclaims, explicitly, a tradition of women's wisdom in storytelling,"(Hariharan 24-25) is connecting the corruption in the original text to its Western colonization, as “women, dreams and stories are transported from India to Persia to Arabia to France to England and then back to India.” (Hariharan 25) Now no one is at risk and the process of narrating stories is over, Shahryar can rule the city while Shahrzad can disappear into Harem.
Hariharan contemplates what happened to Shahrzad after such grandeur. She is surprised to see Shahrzad being such an extreme lover of the risk game, satisfied with the role of mother and wife of domestic life. How is she able to survive in such a caged atmosphere and locked room? This question is crucial for the comprehension of feministic standpoint and in recasting this tale by Hariharan. Dunyazad is very conscious of Shahrzad’s power to defy the process of killing, she is obsessed with playing danger games. What will happen, if she loses the battle of manipulating the Sultan even for a night, her game will be over? Hariharan sees gender as an important aspect, how women perceive themselves is important. Her role as a feminist or a traditional woman affects her image from a large perspective.
Hariharan projects the past entirely in a different manner from that of legend. She stresses and heeds on aspiration and experiences of unnoticed characters especially Dunyazad. So Hariharan constructs her plot around the sister of Shahrzad (Dunyazad) she is mostly silent except when she questions occasionally her sister to maintain the interest of the Sultan. She is seen as the attendant and accompanier of her sister. The story starts Dunyazad being informed about the death of her sister Shahrazad, this marks the beginning of a new journey and departure to trace out the mystery behind the entire episode of her sister’s death.
Hariharan reproduces the views, perception and lives of the women who were misplaced in the original story. She emphasizes the ignored character of Dunyazad, who travels to Shahabad to trace the mystery behind the disappearance of her sister. She is apprehensive that the murderous Sultan might have done something to her. She wants to take revenge on the fellow who is responsible, this new approach suggests that women are machinists of their fate and cannot be pressurized. Dunyazad finally reaches Shahabad, where she confronts Sabiha (maid of Shahrzad). Dunyazad tries to investigate from her the cause of sudden death of Shahrzad. Much to her dislike, she does not get a convincing answer despite hard persuasion. Now Dunyazad contemplates and anticipates some mystery behind the entire episode of Shahrzad's death. Just before a night of her meeting with Shahryar, she imagines travelling through tunnels and palaces, presumably looking for something. She dreams of visiting her sister’s tomb; here she finds that the grave is wrapped with a “sheet of living gems from one end of the room to the other, a sheet that lists with a subtle, rhythmic movement, like a carpet of flowing water." (Hariharan 48) She further reads on the epitaph, "Here lies Shahrzad, beloved consort of Sultan Shahryar, daughter of the chief Wazir to the Sultan of Shahabad, mother of Prince Umar and the departed prince Jaffar'' (Hariharan 49).
The intentional omission of her name on the tomb creates unrest in Dunyazad because her claim that she is the sister of Shahrzad will be looked upon with suspicion. This omission of her name is directly connected to the invisibility and effacement of women from old ages. Hariharan reinstates some silent characters, providing them with the voice. She in addition to this creates some new characters too; this is also a major deviation from the original text. Hariharan mentions characters like Dilshad, Raziya, mother of Shahrzad and Sabiha, (nursemaid of Shahrzad) they were behind the scenes in the source text. Raziya’s role in the original legend is limited to suppressed wife and mother. She is denied the right to take a decision about her daughters which enrages her after being denied the same. Her death in silence is in itself a way of protest against injustice that her daughters were subjected to. Hence the suppressed mother and her voice are conferred visibility and identity. Again through the character of Satyasama, Hariharan directly attempts to question the phallocentric society. It is hard for a male-oriented society to admit or acknowledge that women can do better than them in talent or presentation of their perspectives. Satyasama is a creation of Hariharan, her character is not present in the original Arabian Nights. Satyasama is presented uniquely; she is shown as a slave girl with sleek fur all over the body. She is the wanderer poetess of her country. Her poetic treatise disgraced the King of her country; therefore he ordered that she should be put to death. However, the executioner did not kill her out of mercy, but her neck was ringed and her voice changed altogether forever. She was put into a merchant’s boat to throw her away. She immediately won favours in the court of Shahryar, she was able to impress by dint of her poetic amusements; she also developed a relationship with one of the eunuchs of the Harem. It was a serious fault, so she was put into a dark windowless room. Satyasama died in the lap of Dilshad who nursed her. But before her departure, she gives a kiss to Dilshad who carried out the imprints on her face all through her life. She wanted to keep Satyasama alive by carrying her mark.
Dunyazad involves herself in risk playing and does not care about her safety. After taking help from Dilshad, she can meet Prince Umar, son of Shahryar and Shahrzad. Dunayzad does not find much of the resemblance of his father in him. Dunayzad gets motivated with his ardent will and wellbeing of his kingdom. Prince is supported like a pillar by Dunyazad. Prince Umar is helped by Dunyazad in disposing of Shahryar. Prince Umar is not liberator of the city just like his father but wants to compensate for his father’s misdoing by doing something fruitful. He may be compared with Aurangzaib, who killed his brothers and caged his father to get the throne as early as possible. Similarly, we see Prince Umar locking Shahryar and taking charge of the city. Shahryar is locked in the same Mausoleum that he intended to build in memory of his wife Shahrzad. Omar is fed up with the unwanted waste of money that his father has done, in all this Dunyazad collaborates with Omar to take over Shahryar. There are two possibilities of Shahrzad disappearance, one is that she is growing old in Harem and as a result, she may have expired. The other version is interesting; this is hinted through the discovery of ‘ivory mirror’. Dilshad intentionally takes out the things of Shahrzad hinted at its connection with the story of Shahrzad. On being asked, where Shahrzad got this mirror, Dilshad replies that it was given by a young merchant to Shahrzad. She further aired a sense of love affair between the two. This makes Dunyazad believe that her sister might have enjoyed the company of this young merchant. This is the second reason possibly responsible for the disappearance of Shahrzad. She thinks Sultan Shahryar might have come to know about the love affair, therefore, announced her death publically. Since nobody finds her body, this increases the apprehension of Dunyazad about the sudden disappearance of Shahrzad.
Next day, Dunyazad reveries her sister, who is no longer caged in the palace, happy in the company of her young man who is lower in rank than her. It is deliberate to mention here “lower rank” because it is a women’s version. Shahrzad leaves the palace before she gets caught; her leaving is not concerned with her infidelity but her courage to leave the palace, symbolically escaping the wrath of masculinity or patriarchy. She frees herself from the reclusive life of the Harem, where she does not enjoy the simple pleasure of life. Dunyazad cannot make out of the two things whether her sister invited death or just because she took ill for a short period and died immediately. We have lurched in ambiguity regarding the sudden disappearance of Shahrzad.
Marriage has been shown as a source of patriarchy to assert power over women by kings. It is clear and evident to readers that marriage is only a means of entertainment for the brothers. As mentioned in the novel this game is called ‘The Martyr's Walk’. It is called The 'Martyr's Walk' and each player describes herself as she makes her way to the blade-holding hand that waits for her...But it is always a man who waits for them. For he has something sharp in his hand, something that draws blood." (Hariharan 53) If marriage brings cruelty and sufferings a woman is left with no choice other than to escape from it. Both sisters have to face the identity conflict, Dunyazad is not allowed even to wear clothes of her choice. She is ordered to put on only pale dresses. He rebuttals her viewpoint, she is made to sit in Harem all the time. This indicates the attitude of men who want their wives to be self-sacrificing and faithful.
Dunyazad’s dream of construction of the tomb, ‘The Martyr's Walk’ enhances the possibility of Shahrzad’s death. However, what is surprising is her body is not traced, in addition to this, there are no clear clues about her death. What is even more interesting is Shahryar does not mention the time spent in her company but wails about the rare love. It is apprehended that Shahryar is responsible for her death. As we find in the novel, he has been compared with, "fat serpent coiled in its bed, waiting with its hood raised ready to strike” (Hariharan 257).
People like Shahryar use the body of women as per their will treating them as rubber dolls, as Hariharan puts it, “They colonized her body, she skillfully planned design, to paint in their sticky colours and words, their moral themes” (Hariharan 274). We see immediately after the opening of the second part of the novel, Dunyazad puts an end to the story of Thousand and One Night logically by making Sultan Shahryar realize the pain of imprisonment. She deconstructs the norm of a heterosexual relationship, as she gets involved in a relationship with the slave girl Dilshad. She is satisfied in the company of Dilshad, hence she refutes the company of men and shelters herself in the embrace of other women, thereby getting involved in a sisterhood relationship. Since they are suppressed within the domain of patriarchy so they chose their way, where male hegemony has no space and scope. Hariharan's version of Arabian Nights is more women-centred. We notice a paradigm shift in the second part of the novel. In source text (Arabian Nights) Scheherazade narrates a story to save herself from getting killed as well as other women too. She engages Sultan in entertainment and defies the process of killing. However, in Hariharan's version in part II of the novel four people are mentioned: Dunyazad and Dilshad and are surrounded by goading jinns- Shahrzad and Satyasama. Dilshad and Dunyazad can be seen narrating stories to each other alternatively as an answer to another for seven days and nights. They propose their version of Arabian Nights through women’s language or ‘ecriture feminism.’ It is fit to mention that there is no linear connection in these unrealistic tales; they appear to be more like a series of illogical dreams. Hariharan has beautifully interwoven the source text in the novel. There is a farrago of history, fantasy, legends and no doubt religion. It is through these stories we are able to know the views and perspectives of Dunyazad and Dilshad. This is how Hariharan questions the colonial and post-colonial literature, where women are assumed and presumed as stereotypes.
Let us analyze some of the stories of both Dunyazad and Dilshad. Dunyazad narrates the very first tale which is entitled as “Rowling a Floating Island”. Dunyazad provides a description of her sister Shahrzad valour and bravery in this tale. She is shown as pregnant but despite that, she does not let lose herself. She does not stop the act of storytelling even after serious labour pain. She is restless and is apprehensive about what will happen if she is not able to continue to narrate stories. What is worth noting here is the pain and anxiety that a woman has to undergo, yet she must be ready at night to recount stories. Shahrzad delivers her baby during day hours but at night prepares herself for storytelling. Here the endurance and power of Shahrzad needs acknowledgement and appreciation. Hence she is able to defer her death by dint of the art of storytelling, she not only satisfies the Sultan mentally through stories but also physically. In response to this, Dilshad presents another story titled, “Nine Jewels for a Rani''. This story is reflective of the female fate in a male-oriented world. There is a one-eyed monkey woman called Satyasama in this tale. She is fond of singing and is welcomed in Eternal City. This Eternal city is divided into two parts not because of any rare or political causes but simply because of “innocent baby blue sky” (Hariharan 264). The sky divides this city into East walls and West walls, the Easties love the sunrise and Westies admire the sunset, however, both cities have an impression that bird songs can affect the mood of sunrise and sunset. When the one-eyed woman sings simple she is left alone. But then there is a twist in the story, One-Eye develops a love affair with Rani; she gives this name to her lover. Secondly, there was a shift in the climatic condition of the eternal city, so heat waves made the people of the city suffer from sunstroke. These heat waves affect their brains and when they cool down, they could no longer share the sky. One- Eye was a proponent of peace through the process of singing; her emphasis was on the importance of both day and night. It is obvious that this natural course could not be broken. One- Eye is called for questioning and is forbidden to sing because she mixed day and night in her songs. However, she rebukes, so she is sent to prison for one year. Her release after one year is subjected to her silence and she must open her mouth only for eating purposes.
This is very much a reflection of female folk who speak against men in a patriarchal setup. They are allowed to speak up only if it favours the male folk. The paradox lies in the fact that Shahrzad is compelled to speak on if she has to survive but Satyasama dies because she did not remain silent as wished and wanted by the patriarchal society.
The next story of Dunyazad is “A Lover A Tomb'' which is about the loss of Shahryar (symbolically representing all mankind) and the triumph of Dunayzad (symbolically representing the victory of women folk). It is about the Shahryar imprisonment by his son Umar, who caged him in the same tomb structure that Shahryar planned to build for Shahrzad. This gives a sense of how it feels to be trapped. His son Umar by following Dunyazad and Dilshad wants to teach his father a lesson. Shahryar constructed this monument to rejoice his lasting love for his wife. It suggests that Sultan intended to attain popularity; he exhibits it to show his love to the world. However, it also indicates the clear reverse of his fate; Dunyazad looks for exact punishment that can be deemed for the crime Sultan has committed. His routine of killing a woman every night is over and his own life is in danger now. If simple punishment is awarded to the Sultan, she feels it will be an injustice to those who got killed by him, such a tyrant needs to be punished seriously. So his son Umar overthrows him, Dilshad (slave girl) helps Umar by betraying the sultan. Here one thing is important to note that the betrayal of Dilshad is a deliberate attempt to notify that if a woman intends to avenge it is not difficult for her, irrespective of any class or status. Sultan must pay for his criminal deeds; though he is loaded with sins, there is hardly any sign of repentance on his face.
He indeed confers the title of ‘Sultana’ to Shahrzad after one thousand and one nights. However, he was not comfortable with the increasing popularity of Shahrzad as the saviour of virgins. She consequently disappeared, which is an indication of her untimely planned death by her husband. Shahryar did it only to supersede her but ended up in being himself trapped in the same tomb waiting for his death. He, towards the end, can be seen visualizing Shahrzad fighting for the glory of power, which is symbolic of Shahrzad’s victory over Shahryar. Yet another story of Dilshad titled “The Well-Constructed Lie” is about the identity of females. Dilshad narrates about Bhai Minar built up by two brothers Azhar and Mazhar. Bhai Minar is symbolic of male supremacy over females. Hariharan states about it, “Smooth, rounded, glinting the marble phallus that thrust its way into the sky” (Hariharan 164). Dilshad comes to know about the structure of this Minar while she was taking a rest under a tree. She learns that it is constructed by two friends, a monkey and a donkey. She further learns about their bravery, and wisdom. They would outdo every enemy, as a mark of expressing their gratitude to the Creator; they constructed one short column of the Minar with an inscription as ‘God is very good’. As time passes they get married to beautiful ladies and relish the blessing of life, now the column is raised with one more inscription, “love is very good”. Lastly, when they are blessed with obedient children, they build one more story of the Minar with these praising remarks “Life is very beautiful”. This monument touches almost the sky; it depicts varied triumphs in addition to the name and fame they desired for. One fine day they plan to go on top of the Minar to see how long the Minar is standing. Their names and deeds as such will be remembered by everyone. It may be compared with the desire of man to search for everything permanent in this temporal world. We also notice that the two friends, a monkey and a donkey, fight over Azhar and Mazhar to see who of the two is best, which again shows the desire of brothers to be supreme. They approach pebble as it was standing there for a long time, they enquire its viewpoint. Now here we have to understand that ‘pebble’ refers to the female perspective in this patriarchal world. Therefore, Dilshad presents her viewpoint when both brothers head to reach the climax of the Minar to count their achievements; Azhar falls because of vertigo attack while in search for a suitable epitaph goes mad. This is the real picture of the world, although death is unavoidable and inevitable, even then man does not refrain himself from the desire to conquer them all. Now when the monkey and donkey get to know about this version of the story they could not believe it, they are swayed by their fanatical whims of Azhar and Mazhar so they reject this version of Pebble. This pebble version here means the female version. In other words, their patriarchal bent of men does not allow them to think beyond that given narrative. Both being angry want to kick pebble but Dilshad swallows it and runs away claiming that females can also have their viewpoint in the same fashion, expressing free feelings and thoughts.
Next tale “Three Scenes and a Father” by Dunyazad, is about her father, the Wazir, in the court of Shahryar. Wazir undertakes three different adventures each exposing symbolically the rotten, decadent and abusive state of patriarchy during Shahryar’s tenure. It shows the unending urge of Shahryar to look for virgins and the state of helplessness of the Wazir.
The first scene depicts the cruel nature of Shahryar, killing the virgins every night. We as readers get pathetic after watching the helplessness of Wazir for the fear of losing his daughters to Shahryar. Wazir is in a state of dilemma and tired of performing his duty as Wazir. When he plans to leave, the Sultan states: "No, you have not finished...Did you think that was all? A whiff of morality, a pinch of justice and the task is done? Is salvation to be bought so cheaply?" (Hariharan 170). This is simply an aspect of patriarchy which directs him, “The journey, dear Wazir, begins here. Be patient; you will have your fill of the pool" (Hariharan 170). No sooner he reaches the pool, to his surprise he finds it filled with body parts of virgins which are executed by the Sultan.
This aspect presents a general perspective on the status of women in our society. We get an idea of how they are treated by our society. Our society has witnessed the killing of the girl child. We still see some parents who do not want a baby girl. Hence even today women do not receive equal treatment by our society. It is like hell and centre of torture, where the value of women is treated as objects of sex and no sooner they quench their lust, women are discarded like use and throw objects.
In the second scene, we see Wazir of the Harem enquiring about the availability of virgins in the house. In the meantime messenger roams around the house, allowing some time to Wazir to dig a ditch and bury his daughter in it only to save her from becoming the victim of Sultan. On his return, the messenger asks Wazir again “Do you have a virgin in the house?” (Hariharan 171). Wazir refuses and the messenger thus leaves, the Wazir digs back immediately to take out his daughter, to his surprise he discovers a plump goat, it clues the fate of all females more or less the same in a society based on patriarchy. They get butchered for the sake of menfolk; they do not have any identity and are submissive to men. The turning of women into a goat depicts the pitiable condition of women during the rule of Shahryar. It depicts how women were used and tortured by the haughty rulers for their self-pleasure, treating them as rubber dolls. They are not things to be played in a shopping mall. They too are humans, they deserve to be treated with the same and equal amount of respect that men are given or receive. The last and final scene shows Wazir returning to the desert to satiate the hunger of his God, so he carries a goat with him. He remembers, "The lord, a gigantic man with wild and red eyes," which reminds him of Lord Shiva, who says, "Remember only something you love will fill my stomach with your devotion" (Hariharan 175).
This scene reminds readers about the famous myth of Tamil race called Saiva Sidhanthic myth. According to which Lord Shiva had come as disguised to testify the faith of his devotee. The devotee was so compassionate that he killed his only son to serve the disguised Lord Shiva, who has asked him to kill and prepare a thing which is most close to his heart. When food is being served, disguised Lord Shiva asks the devotee that his son should also join them. Shattered and broken devotees call his son only for the sake of respect for the disguised Shiva, no sooner he calls the son appears.
Hariharan through this myth tries to present her characters of Shahrzad and Wazir. She challenges and exposes the nature of the phallocentric world which treats God-like authority. It further exhibits that women are like animals that can be easily used for the service of men or Gods. Shahrzad in this tale is compared with the goat and Shahryar God.
The next tale by Dilshad is “Rupavati’s Breasts'' which recounts the popular legend of Lord Buddha's previous birth when he was born a woman named as Rupavati. It is again through this tale, Dilshad wants to air out her perspective about the ‘Buddha’s tale’. No female version is entertained in this patriarchal world, this is indicative of the repressed state of the woman. However, Dilshad through Sataysama is able to present her standpoint, further claiming her assertion too. It also gives some clues about one of the Sanskrit tales acclaiming the state of Buddhahood is a procedure of birth and rebirth. In this story, Buddha appeared as a woman (Rupavati) was generous enough to feed a starving mother by cutting her breasts. The height of her hunger can be understood that the starving mother wanted to eat her son to satiate her hunger.
We notice that this story of Dilshad undergoes a series of recreations at the hands of three-story narrators. They are Satyasama, the old woman and her husband; they reveal their stories with slight modifications. Old woman’s story portrays that Rupavati’s breasts were detached to satisfy the hunger of the mother and her son. In the story of her husband, one breast of Rupavata (his version of Rupavati) was plucked to feed the hungry mother and son. They get into an argument and finally the old man subdues the voice of his wife claiming that chances of Buddha born as a woman are least, so he shuns her voice. Satyasama presents another narrative, she states that a brahmin named Chandrprabha visits a married couple (Rupavata and Rupavati) home and solicits for food. He informs that his wife is about to eat their newborn baby out of hunger, just to satisfy their hunger he requests Rupavati to pluck one of her breasts so that his son and wife can have something to eat. Rupavata was there, he twisted the ear and planted them inside the earth; surprisingly it emerged as a plant to feed the hungry mother and son.
How beautifully has Hariharan explained that in this tale the female version is tagged as “lies” by her egoistic husband who claims the authority of his version? This presents a picture of how in a patriarchal society women are sidelined and bypassed and preventing them from recounting the truth. A woman will not earn an upright position in society because of the treatment of others. When an old woman presents her version of the story she is thwarted by her husband presuming as if this is a self-orchestrated or fabricated version of his wife. “Facts, he snarled at the old woman. You’ve all your facts wrong. How dare you pollute this house with such unrealistic lies? Listen and correct yourself before it's too late” (Hariharan 181). It means that males do not heed to the female voice, they just want them to be silent. To exhibit the male superiority old man subverts the story to Rupavat from Rupavati, However, when Satyam wanted to bring her story that she is not believed and thrown out by the angry old couple from their house. The muteness of the old man’s wife shows her state of servitude. This question relates to the possibility that any female version of a story could have been concocted fabricated and orchestrated by a corrupt patriarchal structure to maintain their supremacy in society. The same versions get enriched from time to time. Hence Hariharan tries to make a point here, that it is through the merger of myth and parody, by the mixture of the present with past which indicates that reality reaches to us through language and the same language is connected to power.
‘Adventures of a Sultan’ is already narrated in the previous section of the novel and continues here also. We as readers have already come to know about the complexities of brothers and their being (Shahryar and Shahzaman). However, Gita Hariharan has powerfully presented a strong-willed woman who avenges her husband (Shahzaman) and then not only creates her own identity but secures it. The old story of this was that brothers on knowing about the adultery of their wives leave in search of a man who is more sorrowful than considering the adultery of their wives. Finally, they reach the seashore and find the unchaste woman and a more sorrowful husband. The name of the woman is jinni girl, wife of the jinni, she involves them in sexual course forcefully thereby snatching their royal rings.
In this new version by Dunyazad, Zaman is presented dreadfully and horrified by the dark. He has the least confidence in himself; he becomes impatient by one of the stories told in court about the unchaste woman. He recounts his haunting past how the two of them lost their royal rings to the unchaste woman. In the same fashion the betrayal of his first wife. Since he had lost his ring to the filthy woman so he ordered all others to remove rings from their hands, this led to a state of rebellion in the Harem. Now, this shows the egoistic nature of Shahazamn who has a chaste wife like Dunyazad but still is treacherous and should never be trusted. He cannot heed the wise advice of his wife Dunyazad who reprimands from bloodshed. However, she is treated just like a toy by her husband. This shows the dominance of menfolk again yet Hariharan presents the version of Dunyazad plots by following with an unsatisfied general of the Harem to overthrow her husband Shahzaman and succeeds. She makes the son of Shahzaman (from the first wife) as the ruler who is kind enough and mature to give due cognizance to Dunyazad. This shows how Dunyazad was compelled to an end to her husband for the safety of the people.
This demonstrates how Dunyazad arose as a powerful matriarch; she would not feel fear of calling a spade a spade. She combats the violence with the tools of violence unlike her sister Shahrzad. This is a welcoming sign for those who are afraid to establish their own identity. Dunyazad not only puts an end to the terror of Shahrzad but also restores the kingdom to normalcy and establishes her female fraternity.
The story “The Woman under the Deadly Skin” is narrated about the character of poison skin who is gifted with the power of changing the destinies and fortunes of men-folk. She is used as a tool by one of the ministers of the palace. We get to know that there is a goatherd woman called Nani who is captured and made use of her innocence. She is made to drink poison until her body absorbs the effect of it. It was done so that the minister would kill his enemies. This is close to the tale of Shahrzad who fled with a person of lower rank. This version has two perspectives; one is that she was asked to take the life of other kings or rulers but she decided to remain chaste and live a life of a recluse. In the same fashion, Shahrzad's escape from the palace is an emancipating substitute from the caged life she has lived in Harem, where she neither could enjoy normal life nor share any public power. It may be summed up that in Arabian Nights Shahryar murders the innocent virgin in every morning; however, Hariharan shifts the power in this version from man to woman. Poison skin does possess the capability to kill but she decides to save the lives of people, she decides against the will of those who wanted her to put an end to their enemies. This is unlike what Shahryar has done; he misused the power for his own sake. This exhibits the strength of women and their triumph in this misogynist world.
The tale namely “The Palace Thief” narrated by Dunyazad is about Prince Umar. We get to know through Sabiha when she narrates the story of Shahryar doing to Umar. Umar is horrified at learning about the misdeeds of his father. But he is equally proud of Shahrzad who ensured the lives of the people are saved. Sabiha tells Umar about the secretive affair of Shahryar’s first wife with a person of lower rank. He also gets to know that Shahrzad out of her compassion asked her father (Wazir) to present her to Sultan so that she can put an end to the killing process. Shahrzad actually succeeds in stopping the killing by dint of the story for one thousand and one nights. Hence, Shahryar has been compared with a thief or a creature that moulds, shapes at his own will. He did not pay attention to the happiness of the people of his city. He is always occupied with his queen while ignoring his subjects who are waiting for justice while others, out of hunger. This was the reason Prince Umar dethroned him when he realized the condition of the city and its people; he immediately sought the assistance of Dunyazad and Dilshad to put his father behind bars from doing any further damage.
“Four Lovers in the Wilderness” is narrated by Dilshad who is on her adventure tour in some remote wilderness of Jungle; this may signify the urge of women to confront the risks and challenges that come in their way. The forest may be even compared with the apprehension of women in this male-dominated. She accidentally meets a man with an axe in his hand in this wilderness. This man with an axe in his grip resembles the scene of Shahryar in the opening of the novel when the two brothers are shown with a sword in their hands. She says that axeman on the pretext of showing the way wanted to marry her. He deceives by saying that he will marry her and show her lost track to lend her to the destined spot.
This episode recounts again to mind the greedy and crude nature of man to rule over and prove their power. Their relationship may be said like that of sexuality and power. The way Shahryar used to kill a virgin every night in the vein, this man uses his axe as a tool to prove his authority. Dilshad becomes conscious about the intentions of this man and plans to bring him to book. She contemplates that she is a powerful woman, so one night she snatches the axe and clears much of the bushes, on the way she meets another Deer-man who is half- deer and half-man. She feels attracted to him, in the original text Arabian Nights the sexual act is done to gratify the lust. However, in Hariharan's story, it is about human instinct, desire etc. Secondly it is about the desire of women that is valued and matters. It is Dilshad who makes love to this deer-man hence transfers power from man to woman. There is a contrasting line that we find in the tale of Dilshad, “The King seizes a virgin, the courtesan seduces a virgin boy” (Hariharan 231). When she is done with deer-man, she feels apprehensive that she is followed by an axeman; therefore, she decides to run for her sake. She is able to trace her way out of this chaotic atmosphere.
Now it is indicative that women do possess remarkable decision-making power more so when they are in a desperate situation.
The ‘Slave girl’s Palace’ is again about her journey to the palace to receive accolades from prince Umar in assisting him to dethrone his father. She recounts her past when she was a part of Harem, during the tenure of Shahryar and his brutality was watched live by her. She visits all those parts of Harem where the Sultan would sit and roam, it is hard for her to accept that such barbarity has been stopped.
The tale “The Chameleon on the Walls” projects the battle of the woman in this male-dominated world. It is after her realization she states that men and women are equal. Dilshad narrates the tale of a girl called Lonely Voice; she is spied by her brother, who had locked her in a silhouette. Lonely Voice seeks help from Dilshad and plots against her brother who was spying on them. She narrates the story of four men making love to one woman. While she presents she is pretending that no other person is present in the room. She is gifted by four of them, but the last man, who is a hermit, blessed her with chastity; he thought this is the best reward for a woman. When enquired about the best gift by Lonely Voice, her brother immediately responds, the hermit was the best gift giver. “She became what a man desires” (Hariharan 250).
The tale “The Dreams of a Good Woman” is told by Dunyazad, it is expressive of her emotional state and feeling. It is a story or journey of Dunyazad from bondage to liberty. She is assertive and confident; she even plans to get into the bedchamber of Sultan. She requests her father that she is equally capable of becoming the bride of Shahryar, why did Wazir (her father) neglect her? When her father tries to comprehend her by saying that you are quite young and tender, Dunyazad replies in a state of a furore, “I do love my sister but I do not want to be her shadow” (Hariharan, 256). It is expressive of her urge to be a martyr and earn the place of Shahrzad. She was apprehensive that Shahrzad is going to do everything and later she (Dunyazad) will have nothing to do. Acting on the direction of her father, she also joins Shahrzad in the plan and assists her until one thousand and one nights. She recalls her sister going to the chamber with Sultan and now its Dilshad acting as Dunyazad and Dunyazad acting as Shahrzad. She also brings to her mind the lovemaking of Sultan and Shahrzad and Dilshad would witness all that. This is evident in her inner desire to replace her sister and be in her position.
The last tale entitled “The Morning After” presents Shahrzad as a symbol of positive reformation of feministic sensibilities and feministic consciousness. This reverses the system of women as traditional victims and emancipates them. We see Shahrzad is left to the care of a slave girl; she being widowed and abandoned is waiting for her death in the Harem. So for this news was not disclosed officially, he thinks Shahrzad is dead, but she appears as the personification of feministic consciousness. However, she is an old woman now; she shares a mixed feeling of joy and sorrow and wails for the concern of slave girls. She is happy that she could save the lives of many women by virtue of her storytelling. However, there is no end to the woman's degradation; she being queen enjoyed the royalty of many things but what about other women. She realizes that she can teach them the art of storytelling but is afraid she can no longer fight for them.
Finally, all three of them Shahrzad, Dunyazad and Dilshad, secure their identities and are free to take any decision of their choice. They ensure that they won’t be subdued by the male domination again. Shahrzad is able to defer her death and succeeds in changing the misogynist attitude of Shahryar. Dunyazad’s ignored presence in the original tale of Arabian Nights has been presented as an emancipated woman by Hariharan in this version. It is Dunyazad who breaks free with the help of slave girl Dilshad. Dilshad too earns her own identity towards the end of the novel. She deconstructs the older norms and rules and emerges as a free woman. Dilshad is representative of sidelined femininity taking over the power of patriarchy. When given a chance she attempts to come up with a story of a liberated woman. Through the respective tales, Hariharan challenges the norms and standards that have been set up by society for women. She airs out the voice of women by giving voice to the voiceless.
Hence the three of them Shahrzad, Dunyazad and Dilshad exhibit three different routes by virtue of which modern women can recuperate their due identity. These are, overpowering the system of patriarchy through the process of revenge, by duping patriarchy as a survival tactic and above all by writing her story as a revolutionary tale instead of being docile and passive.
Thus this paper discourses all the challenges that women confront in their lives. The perception that women are weak and docile is proven wrong by Gita Hariharan.
Works Cited