Suchergebnisse

Argues that the emergence of the female voice in medieval bhakti represents a transformation of patriarchal power in early India. Examples from dramatic & devotional works, particularly courtly literature, are used to illustrate a discourse shift called a "new deployment of femininity," & to suggest that theistic bhakti traditions were responsible. Special attention is given to concepts of pleasure & its association with women, noting that sensual enjoyment was treated heroically, with sentimentality added to the lord-subject relationship by orders of bhakti. The new model of joyful service to a lord replaced early paradigms that stressed labor & duty & placed the feminine voice in the political arena. Contrary to the opinion that female voices in medieval bhakti texts were a reaction against patriarchal power, the emphasis on pleasure between lord & servant promoted a more careful articulation of feminine subjectivity into the public discourse. Although the altered relationship did not challenge the dominant patriarchal structure, it provided greater audibility to the feminine voice, & signaled a "whole new formulation of gender.". 27 References. J. Lindroth