Anita Nair : Feminism In Modernism

Anita Nair’s “Ladies Coupe” has narratives by six women characters who by chance meet in a train ladies coupe that Akhilandeswari alias Akhila boards in. all the women speak of the repressive forces of a patriarchal India. Though they are from different community or cultural, all women share pain in different means. The novel is a ‘bildungsroman’ either narrating the childhood to adulthood life or the characters liberation by developing confidence to shun the web of patriarchal metaphors.

There are also themes of immigration and culture. It is interesting that cultural responsibilities to her husband is what really separates Nea and Sourdi. Coming of age and the role men is also something. Yet again, it is the cultural instance of the man Mr. Chhay that takes Sourdi away; despite any protestations of his uncouthness Duke actually may have made for something more inclusive for Nea as he is delayed in development like Nea; symbolized by the fact Duke and Nea even held hands while present with Nea in the car. With Mr. Chhay in the life of Sourdi, there is very little role for Nea; perhaps this is why Nea hates so much that fact that he calls her ‘little sister’ (Chai, 2001). Overall Sourdi represents a choice to become that her mother became, a wife and mother.

Greek deities who would wreak chaos on a soul. Zeus, who would shape shift in a heart beat in order to rape and satisfy his lusts and Hera, notorious for her wrath against mankind, particularly towards her husband's illegitimate children. Case in point, she caused Hercules to go insane and during this episode, Hercules killed his wife and children. As a punishment for his murderous deeds, he was sentenced to servitude to King Eurystheus for a period of twelve years and during his years in bondage; he was required to fulfill twelve challenging tasks. The story of Apollo and Daphne, as well as his sister Artemis and her interaction with the hunter, are excellent examples of deities' interaction with

Despite Zeus being viewed as a hero, his actions eventually strip the title away from him. His morals are not consistent with a hero’s mindset, nonetheless a leader. Lust is one of Zeus’ major downfalls because it gets him into trouble and allows for him to make faulty judgements. Throughout time, the sky god repeatedly cheats on his wife and although Hera is aware of her husband’s constant flings, he still attempts to cover it up. Not only does he lie to his beloved wife, he will also stop at nothing to fulfill his desires. For example, in the story of Callisto, Zeus is well-aware that the young maiden was a follower of Artemis and vowed to remain a virgin. Without hesitation, he tricks the girl and rapes her. This girl becomes pregnant and

Zeus, the god of thunder and the ruler of the sky, was married with Hera, goddess of marriage. Hera was jealous about Zeus because he was a womanizer. Hera knew that Zeus was unfaithful and he had already cheated on her sometimes. She always felt alone and wanted Zeus’ attention, but he was interested in another woman. Hera did not know about this woman, but she was mistrustful that he could be cheating on her again.

First, the gods have an unrighteous jealousy. For example, Jove has many wives and many sons and daughters by these wives. Jove’s first wife, Juno, is very jealous of Jove’s other wives. She is mean to the other wives; she even turns one of them into a bear. She also tries to kill some of the other wives’ sons, this is the case with Heracles, also known as Hercules. Juno sends two large snakes to kill Heracles, but he strangles them with his bare hands. On one occasion, Jove sends Juno, Minerva and Venus to a shepherd named Paris, who is told to choose the goddess who is the most beautiful. He chooses Venus, which makes Juno and Minerva very jealous. Paris is a Trojan, so during the Trojan war, both Juno and Minerva

The father of storms, has let a mortal situation and lust come between his marriage with little sensitivity. Also, not realizing the hardship that could affect the other gods. The primary issues with Zeus’ characteristics are his lack of compassion towards Hera, his aggressive spirit, and his egotistical personality.

Zeus was not known for being a very loyal partner seeing as though he had many wives. Reasonably, Hera was extremely jealous of his infidelity with mortals, yet she was still able to control her anger. But eventually Zeus drove her over the edge.

Zeus, the Greek god of lightning and hospitality, ruled the sky. He was a strong, muscular god who could get any woman he set his eyes on. However, Zeus had a wife who was very jealous of his secret girlfriends. Her name was Hera, goddess of marriage and women's life. So, when Zeus went to frolic with his girlfriends on Earth, he had to come up with clever ideas to cover up his betrayals. Especially when it came to women who were prettier than Hera. Zeus knew Hera would kill the poor woman who he was cheating with. It took Zeus weeks for him to come up with such a clever idea, but when he did, he continuously used it. So when he met Halley, he used it a little too often.

In the myth of Heracles, Zeus impersonated the husband of Alcmene while he was gone avenging Alcmene’s brother and slept with her, resulting in Heracles birth (Graves, 411). As father of the gods, Zeus’ interference affects not only the mortal’s lives but also gained attention from other gods. His actions tricked a mortal woman into carrying his child and caused his vengeful wife, Hera, to interfere further. She arguably had a right to be angry and jealous for her husband’s infidelities and the children born out of them. For example, Hera was jealous of Heracles, the son of Zeus and a mortal woman, sent snakes to kill him in his crib when he was still an infant, which he killed (Graves, 417).

The lives of the residents intertwine and range from comic (2 wives sharing one kitchen is bound to lead to bickering) to tragic (the undercurrent of Hindu-Muslim tensions is ever-present) to divine (a central theme of the novel is a beautiful visualisation of death and reincarnation).

ARES: Ares was the god of war, he was handsome but very mean. He loved to fight in wars and did not care who won as long as much blood was spilled. Ares had a companion, Eris, the spirit of strife, who had the golden apple of discord, threw it among people to make them fight. Ares sometimes got hurt in battle and screamed so loud that the ground shook.

Throughout the play, Zeus is referred to as Heracles’ father, though there is no physical form of Zeus in the play. He is portrayed more in a fatherly fashion in the beginning of the play when Deianira is telling of the battle between Heracles and the river god. She says “at last, to my huge relief and joy, he arrived – Heracles, Zeus’ and Alcmena’s son.” which shows Heracles as a hero, and Zeus as the father of such a hero. She goes on to proclaim “but Zeus, the god of battles, brought about a happy ending” .

In the story “Prometheus and Io” Zeus was responsible for creating a feud between his own wife and a girl named Io. He fell in love with her and then a series of feuds unraveled afterwards. Zeus trying to hide Io from his wife, Hera, wrapped her in a thick cloud, but Hera called off the clouds. Zeus then turns Io into a cow, and Hera is reluctant to believe it is just a cow. She takes it and gives it to the hands of Argus. After Zeus sends Hermes to kill Argus, and protect Io from the hundred-eyed monster, she was set free. Hera drives Io crazy by sending a gad-fly. Io then wonders the world in madness and reaches the nile, where Zeus sets her back into a human. In the end Io birthed him a son and she lived happily.

The mother gets angry and lashes out questions like, “Don’t you want us anymore,” “You want to be a mem-sahib, a white girl?” Panic is shown because the mother thinks she is losing her child and that one day the little girl would grow to resent and be embarrassed by her family. Climax