M(O)ther in Mahaswata Devi’s Bayen/The Witch

Abstract

The paper examines Mahaswata Devi’s play, Bayen/ The Witch addressing the issues concerning women’s subjectivity- denial of rights/agency to mothers in certain cultural situations in South Asia, especially in India. The paper argues that mothers, in such societies attain ascendency and identity but only after self-effacement and denial of their own subjectivity. I argue that female agency is either negotiated through motherhood or through an absence of motherhood. In order to explore these questions, the paper draws mainly on Barbara Creed’s theoretical concepts, also relying on Michelle Foucault and Julia Kristeva’s portrayal of subjectivity. Bayen is a maternal figure, but one which is dehumanized, and excluded from human society. The protagonist, Chandidasi, a bayen, gets positioned as an ill-boding and ill-fated figure, as a signifier of death and destruction.  Barbara Creed’s notion of the monstrous- feminine illustrates the way femininity is feared and squelched in contemporary society. It is imperative to note how Creed’s concept of the monstrous-feminine intersects and relates with Julia Kristeva’s notion of the Abject. Mahaswata Devi’s play Bayen/The Witch addresses these concerns remarkably well.