Questioning Romanticism through the Plays of Mohan Rakesh

The discriminations and exploitation based on Gender is cosmopolitan. These roles are defined socio-culturally, where responsibilities and behavioural patterns of men and women further strengthen the inequalities and hierarchies in society. In a patriarchal set-up, men control women’s production, reproduction and sexuality. In the Indian context, the society is suspicious of positive changes in the lifestyle of its women, as it is believed by the patriarchs that their status as housewives makes them better individuals to preserve the sanity and purity of their culture.
This paper moves a step forward and sees the conflict and attendant emotions as resulting from the clash of opposing world-views or philosophies. In fact, the three plays Asadh Ka Ek Din, Lehron Ke Rajhans and Adhe Adhure may be viewed as the playwright’s engagement with or even rejection of, romanticism and the institution of marriage. Hindu culture believes marriage to be the most essential and important social ritual. The social laws given by Manu have further downgraded women as a fickle and unstable person. It is asserted that since women by their very nature are disloyal, they should be made dependent on men. In this scenario, men should be constantly worshipped as a god, master, owner or provider. Emphasis repetitively has been laid on those scriptural ideals which privilege men and constrain women. In the plays analyzed in this paper Mohan Rakesh, exhibits a psychological mastery in representing the world of reality in his women characters. with a keen awareness of his surroundings, he introduces the reader to the stark realities prevalent in the society. While presenting reality in all its naked forms, he becomes a realist and a humanist and shows the dilemma of women.