| Chapter : | Editor’s Introduction |
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In her discussions of the institution of marriage, particularly in her essay “Hindu Stri Ka Patnitva” (Wifehood of the Hindu Woman), Mahadevi levels a powerful critique against Hindu tradition, going as far as to say that marriage can be akin to slavery.
During this historical period when Mahadevi was writing, the “worthy goal” was in keeping with Gandhi’s call for swaraj (freedom) through various forms of social service, noncooperation, and moral self-purification. Despite her otherwise impeccable Gandhian stance, the goal, as far as Mahadevi was concerned, was education and self-empowerment. It was through the acquisition of education, Mahadevi argued, that women would gain a distinct sense of self and, by extension, would be in a better position to bring about social change.
While in “Hamari Shrinkhala Ki Kariyan”, Mahadevi finds fault with Indian society’s treatment of women, in her other essays, “Hindu Stri Ka Patnitva” (Wifehood of the Hindu Woman, 1942), “Ghar Aur Bahar” (The Home and the World, 1942), “Adhunik Nari” (The Modern Woman, 1942), and “Hamari Samasyaen” (Our Problems, 1936), she delves deeper into the different social and economic aspects of Indian (especially Hindu) womanhood. In “Adhunik Nari”, a piece that could be read autobiographically,