Gender Politics and Patriarchal Oppression: A Critical Study of Female Desire in Pratibha Ray’s ‘The Stigma’ and ‘The Curse’

The study endeavours to inspire change in the social thought process constructed against women, highlighting the ordeals of two married women in the book Transgression and Other Stories by Pratibha Ray. The reading of two short stories, ‘The Stigma’ and ‘The Curse,’ bring out a female perspective to see the world cursed by patriarchy. Further, the analysis of the doomed fate of Sarami and Pari helps expose and denormalize the subtle, often overlooked suffering of women. With the help of Freudian findings, the study reveals that hysteria, as a disease, is largely misunderstood by people and is not even considered a problem for women who suffer from it. On the contrary, their bouts attract social ridicule, and even fellow women join hands in blaming. The need for a broader approach towards female sexuality, focusing on the dire consequences of repression of sexual desire, is realised through the study. Ray’s narrative is a critique of a minutely constructed social framework. It instills empathy in our hearts against agents of patriarchy that see the female gender as an object of victimization.