Revolutionary woman: A Study of the character of Giribala in The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker

Women are always categorized as the „other‟ having a secondary position and thenotion of „normal‟ is very complex as one has to fulfill the expectations as well as the rules set by the society. Mamoni Raisom Goswami is not only popular because of her writings but also for she transgress the boundaries to address the plights and problems of woman. Women studies flourished with feminism which fights against gender inequalities and it concentrates on studying the different experiences that women goes through. The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker is a literary piece that focuses on the plight of widows in Assamese orthodox family at the same time it also depicts some women characters who tries to cross the patriarchal boundaries. Goswami has very finely depicted issues like caste system and position of woman in a patriarchal society in the novel. Status of women as victimized is very clear in the novel. The title of the novel is very symbolic. It has reference to the idea of „strongness‟ but at the same time the howdah is eaten by moth. The title seems to signify that women are dominated and they are suppressed because of the regulations formed by the male counterparts. The paper attempts to study the women characters, especially the character of Giribala who emerge as a „new‟ woman. The novel narrates the story of Giribala who becomes a widow at a very early age. Through the character of Giribala, Goswami is in search of independent women who tries to transgress the norms set for women by the patriarchal society.