Dialectics of Sensuality and Gender in ‘One Part Woman’: A Critical Review

Dr Abhilasa Kaushik’s essay, One Part Woman’: A critical review of Sensuosity and Sexuality in Perumal Murugan’s award-winning novel, wins the title of SheThePeople’s FEMINIST NARRATIVE submitted for #TMYS review December 2020. The year-end issue of TMYS Review (a digital quarterly for Humanities) was themed on Sensuosity and Sexuality in Contemporary fiction. This is published in partnership between TMYS and SheThePeople.

Dr. Abhilasa Kaushik’s essay, One Part Woman’: A critical review of Sensuosity and Sexuality in Perumal Murugan’s award winning novel, wins the title of @SheThePeople’s FEMINIST NARRATIVE
The essay will be published by She The People.https://t.co/MPLm1xo6AE pic.twitter.com/N8SSeza9R6

— #TellMeYourStory (@_TMYS_) December 10, 2020

Abstract:

The article presents the double standards and hypocritical measures of society in terms of sensuality. The sensuality which is defined as a pleasure for the senses and thus a source of enjoyment especially in the conjugal life as per the religious and cultural beliefs of India, is appreciated and much talked from the male perspective but the same is underrated in terms of feminine expression. Sensuality is treated as a right in terms of a male while duty in terms of a female. If a man practices it, it is considered as a sensual pleasure but if a woman practices it, it becomes core sexuality and obsceneness on her part.

The articles illustrate the same through the novel by Perumal Murugan’s One Part Woman (2010) reflects the customs, rituals, religious beliefs, duties, rights in relation to sensuality, interpreted by the society differently for the male and counterpart whereas the goal of sensuality remains the same for both as defined by the scriptures.

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 Sensuality is described as enjoyment which is connected with physical or sexual pleasure, as per the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary it means ‘the fact of giving pleasure to your physical senses, especially sexual pleasure'. It has been the vital part not only of the human beings but the animals and birds also.  This pleasure is instrumental in maintaining the life cycle by leading the living beings to reproduction thus its importance can never be denied. The topic has been considered taboo especially to speak of the feminine pleasure. Nowadays this so-called taboo theme has become very prominent with the type of literature especially which is called feminine erotica.

The importance of the erotica or the sensual pleasure was always felt from the very beginning if we look at it from the historical, religious, cultural, scientific, psychological or literary perspectives but it was given as a privilege to the male only not the female.

Also Read: Women In The Kamasutra as told by Wendy Doniger in her new book

“As per the Hindu mythology, Brahma the creator of being created men and women and in the form of commandments in one hundred thousand chapters laid down rules for regulating their existence with regard to Dharm, Arth, Kama, and Moxa. Commandments related to kama were compiled by Nandi in 1000 chapter.” (Mrugesh, V, 2019)

The Hindu tradition has the concept of the Purusharthas which outlines the “four main goals of life” that are necessary and sufficient for a fulfilling and happy life. Kama one of the four Purusharthas, signifies desire, wish, passion, emotions, pleasure of the senses, the aesthetic enjoyment of life, affection, or love, with or without sexual connotations which is a vital part of the life that leads to Moksha at the end.

Kamasutra manuscript page preserved in the vaults of the Raghunatha Hindu temple in Jammu and Kashmir which is based on the book ‘Kaamasutra by Vatsyayana, a Hindu Philosopher during the Gupta Empire in India which is considered the most authentic work in the study of sexual activity and has been translated into several foreign languages which is an ancient Indian Sanskrit text on sexuality, eroticism, and emotional fulfillment in life.

According to Vatsayayan, Kama is the enjoyment of appropriate objects by the five senses of hearing, seeing, feeling, tasting and smelling assisted by the mind together with the soul. The work is not merely one on erotic’s sensuality and seduction like Ovid's ‘The art of love’. But, major part of Vatsyayana's work deals with courtship, marriage and wifely duties and conjugal happiness. Sex was interpreted by the society as a duty for the woman and as a right for the man always as if the sensual enjoyment was not desired by the woman.

“Kama Sutra is neither exclusively nor predominantly a sex manual on sex positions, but written as a guide to the “art of living” well, the nature of love, finding a life partner, maintaining one's love life, and other aspects pertaining to the pleasure-oriented faculties of human life.” (Burton,Richard Francis, 2019)

The plot dealt by Perumal Murugan in ‘One Part Woman’ is nonetheless different in many aspects as it connects the sex and sensuality with these aspects like marriage, conjugal love wherein it is shown as the duty of a woman to satisfy the male counterpart.

These teachings in sex and sexuality were also depicted openly through architecture as in the ancient caves of Konark, Khajuraho & in many Hindu temples. The carvings show sex as a pleasure for both but the interpretation of the society has been always showing as if it is a birthright of the male to get it from the female.

Also Read: A Not-So-Secret Secret: India’s Conflicted Relationship With Sex Toys

The religion in this way, accepts it as the inseparable part of life for human beings and thus being culturally enrooted. Sensuality is most often defined as the desire for sensual pleasures, generally with the attributes of being lascivious, carnal or wanton. But the same is treated more wanton if a woman practices that for her pleasure.  In the Bible also, the story of Adam and Eve which led to the origin of human beings was blamed on the sensuality aroused in Eve and showing her guilty of it.

A saint called Vishvamitra in Hindu mythology was attracted due to the sensuality of Menka is a well-known myth which shows that no matter sex is considered lewd but it is treated as a sin when it comes from the feminine side.

In ‘Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality,’ Freud talks about sexual excitement as a major part of life.

“<…> excitations of two kinds arise from the somatic organs, based upon differences of a chemical nature. One of these kinds of excitation we describe as being specifically sexual, and we speak of the organ concerned as the “erotogenic zone” of the sexual component instinct arising from it. <…> in scopophilia and exhibitionism the eye corresponds to an erotogenic zone” (Freud, 1905).

This psychological need of sexual excitement is nonetheless prominent as far as the biological needs are concerned; in fact both psychological and biological needs for the enjoyment by sensuality coincide. There are Estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone hormones that affect sexual desire and functioning. When it comes to sexual desire, the most influential hormone is testosterone. Though testosterone is often considered a male hormone, testosterone — like estrogen– is present in both men and women, though the proportions differ between the sexes. The psychological inclination towards sexual arousal is caused because of these hormones only but it has always been considered as a normal tendency for man and it was not discussed much for what women want physically or psychologically.

The appeal for sensuality was always a cup of tea for Literature and cinema that tried to give voice to the voiceless sensuality lurking from the feminine.

The writings of Philip Roth, E L James, Sylvia Day, DH Lawrence, Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, Ismat Chughtai, Kamala Das, Anant Padmanabhan, Sreemoyee Piu Kundu, etc. were very much instrumental in bringing forth the sensual side of the personality and especially of the female.

“It wouldn’t be wrong to say that sex has finally come out of closet in India, and writers are celebrating this newly-found freedom to write on the subject that demands to be treated with immense maturity and careful aesthetics.” (Raina, 2014)

Even the ancient religious literature has depicted the same appeal boldly. Andal was a Tamil poet and Bhakti saint who fell in love with Lord Vishnu and refused to wed any mortal man. In her songs, she asks for His embrace, demands His caress. She rejects everything and everyone else. In Nachiyar Thirumozhi, she sings passionately, unselfconsciously, longing for spiritual and sexual union with her lord. She sees the physical and the divine as one.

Also Read: Female Sexuality Is Mystifying To Indian Men: Kendra Holliday, Sex Surrogate

Cinema has given sensuality a new dimensional approach by depicting all the senses through the movies wherein the sensual and sexual appeal is presented with a plot that is more influencing than the only porn stuff that appeared mechanical in nature and which showed woman merely an instrument of sex serving for the enjoyment of man.

Hollywood movies like  Bitter Moon (1992), Basic Instinct (1992), Intimacy (2001), The Dreamers (2003), Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013),  Horns (2013), The Duke Of Burgundy (2014), Fifty Shades of Grey(2015), Elisa and Marcela (2019) had been the trendsetting movies in terms of erotic cinema.

India.com mentions that Bollywood movies have added more to the erotic effect more than the C grade movies “some of them might be new but most of them are Bollywood A-listers who did such love-making scenes with panache and confidence that puts even some of the porn movies to shame!"

Though Indian cinema has been very particular about maintaining the censor value but still there have been movies produced like Fire (1996), Kama Sutra - A Tale of Love (1996), Jism (2003), Murder (2004), The Dirty Picture (2011), Hate Story (2012), Julie (2004), B.A Pass(2012), Ek Paheli Leela (2015) which have been censored but still liked by the viewers to a large extent. These movies have been very much revolutionary in bringing forth the so called taboo themes of sensuality and sexuality but the same movies were assaulted by the society if it talked of feminine sensuality or her desire of sexuality while it was liked by the same society when it portrayed a woman as an object of satisfying the male sexual pleasure.

Sex was something that had been the talk behind curtains in India. In India sex was not boldly talked between people publically but the need to encourage was always felt even by the government. During the rule of Mrs. Indira Gandhi people were made aware about vasectomy. Sex education was felt as an urgent need to make people aware about population control etc and this stimulated the topic to be talked in public.

The Sonagachi Project is a peer education project which was started in 1992. ... In a white-paper released in April 2018, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resource & Development, Government of India released sexual education guidelines in schools. The movies like Vicky Donor (2012), Padman (2018), Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017) etc were an effort towards sex education which talked boldly about feminine insecurities and desires too.

Though it began to be treated in public but women were still not very comfortable talking on this taboo topic but increasing effect of feminism, cinema, and the movements like ‘Mee Too’ (2008)  made it a much-talked topic. Through ‘Me too movement’ feminism worked to gain civil, professional and domestic rights, and sensual feminism reclaimed the personal right to the women’s sensuality, gaining the freedom to seek pleasure if they choose, to give pleasure without obligation, gaining autonomy to celebrate their sensual self without threat of violence or rebuke. It changed the very definition of sensuality itself to describe sensual experience alone without the lewd, lascivious or wanton undertone. The movie ‘Pink’ (2016) talked of it so boldly and it was much appreciated by the public unlike the movies ‘Fire (1992), Kamasutra (1996)’ because the taboo topic now came in trend and people started talking about it publically. But the same topic was not exclusively discussed and treated ill if it talked much about the female being shown as  doing things for her sensual pleasure. The same happened when the writings like ‘The French Lieutenant's Woman’ (1969), by John Fowles and ‘Lady Chatterley's Lover (1928) by DH Lawrence were published and the movies like ‘Fire’ and ‘Kamasutra- A Tale of Love’ were released, the society protested to ban them.

Law played a major role in introducing very revolutionary laws related to LSBT, Live-in relationships etc which were instrumental in bringing forth the closet themes into public front. Such happenings in the society introduced erotica as a genre in fiction writing especially by the feminine erotica had been a daring and bold venture by many writers like Sreemoyee Piu Kundu, an acclaimed journalist and columnist on gender and sexuality and Perumal Murugan who had to face the court for expressing boldness in her One Part Woman (2010).

Sita’s Curse by Sreemoyee Piu Kundu is one such brave attempt in the genre which talked of feminine dreams, hopes and desires taking it through sexual exploration of sexuality in an innocent yet intrepid manner with a certain laissez faire attitude.

Perumal Murugan’s ‘One Part Woman’ is nonetheless bold as a feminine erotica wherein a Hindu woman is shown as sleeping with a man other than her husband seeking for her fullness as a woman so that she can produce a child which has been shown as a religious festival and the born child is depicted as a semi-divine. The same step is appreciated when it comes to a man but a woman following the same to get a baby is something not accepted by the fundamentalists of the society and Murugan had to seek help from the court.

Sensuality has been beautifully treated by Perumal Murugan in her novel ‘One Part Women’ wherein both Kali and Ponna enjoy having sex though the society is very much critical of both being infertile. Ponna has been repeatedly called ‘barren’ by the society but Kali always supports her and his love never lessens for her. Ponna on the other hand is shown as a woman who is very much passionate about being a mother which is the destination of a marriage as per the religion and society. She pines for having a baby though Kali boldly denies getting married second time but she is ok with it seeing the same mindset around. The same conservative society becomes instrumental in making Ponna sleep with another man in order to get a child. Though Ponna is not willing to make anyone else come over even her thoughts but her brother Muthu, her mother, mother-in-law, her father are the ones who do not mind her sleeping with a random man giving it a spiritual garb. Ponna sleeps with another man thinking that this will make Kali happy as they will get a child by this and also as it is a religious ritual wherein all the males in the chariot festival will be the gods. She has not been that revolutionary and bold in her thinking as Kali had been, probably that is the reason she agrees for such a ceremony so that she can make him happy by doing so. But the same man who loved her so much thinks her to be unchaste and cheat without thinking that he himself had not been bold enough to tell her that he is ok without having a child rather he doubts her words when she murmurs, “If you want me to go for the sake of this wretched child, I will.”

Kali instead of understanding that she just wants to make him happy becomes rude and becomes suspicious about her character. The same loving and sensual husband in Kali is turned into a lusty and merely sex seeking man. “He jumped on her and took control of her” and “all he wanted was to hold back adamantly and ejaculate as soon as he could.” Poor Ponna had to say “Maama, please don’t show your anger on me this way. It is unbearable.”

The society has been so cruel to the people who cannot produce children. It interprets the same points and keeps changing them doubly as per its selfish motif. The same character which is commented on in the case of Kathhayi that she sleeps with  the another man, is appreciated by the very own family of Ponna. The woman satisfying a man’s physical need is called a faithful wife or a Devdasi but if she does not obey man in this she is called a whore, what an irony it is!

Muthu thinks, “Whether Kali gave his permission or not, he had to make sure Ponna went to see the gods.”

Kaali’s remark “What good are these elders for? They plan to pimp their own daughter and also come and tell me that shamelessly”, is a great sarcastic comment on the hypocrite society.

Muthu’s statement “Mapillai, Don’t call him stranger. Who remembers the faces? All men are gods that night. Think of him as god, you might even feel happy about it. Isn’t it a great blessing if your child comes from god?”

Kali’s statement in return is indicative of the double standards of the society when he says, “When you and I went, were we gods? All we wanted was to find some decent-looking women to fuck, didn’t we? Really?! All men there are radiant with divinity, roaming around and holding their cocks in their hands. It happened because people were ignorant in those days. Who will send their women now?”

Kali tells that in case of a child marriage the boy was the husband for the namesake rather it was the father who acted as a husband in the bed. He also says that the same untouchables are treated as gods on the chariot festival night while the same are abhorred normally.

The novel speaks volume about the society’s hypocrisy and selfishness while interpreting the same feeling as sensuality and right in terms of a man and core sexuality and duty in terms of women. Kali, if he denies for a second marriage showing his love for Ponna, is generosity; while Ponna saying yes for the ritual for Kali’s wish is treated as being unchaste. The same men are treated as gods if they go and get physical with women other than their wives in the name of a ritual but if it is vice-versa it is a sin. If Ponna goes and sleeps with other man so that she can give baby to Kali, she is treated as unchaste and whore rather than feeling obliged to her that she sacrifices her chastity for the happiness of her husband. The woman has been treated like a thing throughout, who is dependent on the will of the male if she has to visit her parent’s house, if she has to have sex or not.

Her sensuality is nowhere treated as primary rather it has been shown that it is her duty to satisfy man come what may. Peruman Murugan has been bold enough to write and reveal this cultural politics of portraying woman as a thing devoid of her own physical, psychological desires, feelings and emotions. The dialectics of society and gender have been treated with such boldness and originality without showing much of the sex scenes rather indicating it through the symbols like goat, sheep, bulls, breast, milk, plants etc.

Various factors like the lack of education, selfish interpretations in terms of male and female in the fields of sex, rituals, customs, duties, rights etc have explicated the effect overwhelmingly. One Part Woman has been a successful erotic fiction by Perumal Murugan which definitely imposes crucial questions on the society and holds cudgels for the feminine psychology and rights.

Dr. Abhilasa Kaushik is working at JECRC University, Jaipur, Rajasthan. She is the Head, Department of English. Her specialization is Second Language Acquisition, Remedial Pedagogy and Translation. Her research interests are making Second Language (SL) classroom interesting hence she has designed her own SL games around 50 which are quite helpful in meeting her research interest. She has published many research articles of national and international repute. She is a fiction writer too. Her story telling art along with her story knitting is quite visible through her You-tube Channel ‘Dil Se Dil Tak with Aditi’. It is an audio series which has introduced two seasons- the first one is romantic (Love Bites with Aditi) and the second one is reflexive (Eye-openers with Aditi). She is about to launch her first short-story collection that speaks volumes for the other side of human psychology.

The views expressed are the author's own.