Drama of the Early 20th Century, the Kerala Reform Movement and Namboodiri Women

N. Divya

Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 2017, vol. 24, issue 2, 217-230

Abstract: With the stage always associated with social reform and collective commitment, drama played an active role in the early-20th-century Kerala reform movement. These plays of the 1920s and the 1930s emphasised the need for reforming the situation of women. Produced as a part of social renovation, they had a strong ideology that stood in favour of gender equity and initiated a cross-fertilisation of theatre literature and social restructuring. This paper locates the impact of drama in 20th-century Kerala on the portrayal of Namboodiri women and purports to analyse the deconstructing waves that lashed through the medium of theatre against the conventional norms of feminine subjugation. In this regard, the study explores the role of selected plays by V. T. Bhattathiripad, M. R. Bhattathiripad, Premji and Lalithambika Anterjanam as critical tools in the social reformation.

Keywords: Culture; hegemony; Namboodiri reform; Yogakshema Sabha; tradition; women’s empowerment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:indgen:v:24:y:2017:i:2:p:217-230

DOI: 10.1177/0971521517697880

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