How does Sunlight on a Broken Column reflect the society of that time and place?

 Gender Relationships: Exploitation of Women: Sunlight on a Broken column is describes the changing feudal society. In a feudal society, power lies in the hands of the aristocracy, the landowner, the rich and propertied men giving rise to a hierarchical structure. Within a family, the male head exercises authority which is called patriarchy. The feudal subordinates women to http://men.In the novel, Baba Jan is the head of the family who has the power to take decisions for the members of the family. The less effluent members of his own extended family are considered inferior just as Asad and Zahid are not considered suitable husbands for the daughters of the family. The lower sections of the society are considered subordinate.

The exploitation of women, however, is one of the main themes of the novel. Personal feelings and desires of female members of the family is neglected under the control of male members. Muslim women’s decision for their own marriage is not considered, their social interaction is limited and they are required to be obdient and docile. For Zahra marriages promises social security and greater freedom, for Aunt Abida respectability and obedience, for Sita a self-punishment while for Zainab an economic security. However, marriage does not recognise these characters as individuals. Nandi and Saliman not from well-to-do families suffer and are subdued first by their parents and then by the men who use their bodies and posing problems in their lives. Both type of women are made to suffer whether they submit or not to the code.

Aunt Abida

Aunt Abida is an independent-minded woman but is deprived of the full expression of her personality and talent because of the restrictions that are subjected to women. This sensitive and strong woman submits to her brother’s choice and is married off to a widower having grown up children. She even with holds her approval for Laila’s marriage to Amir. One thing is common between Aunt Abida and Laila – both are strong characters. However, they disagree on the way by which traditional structures are to be fought or broken.

The two parts of Aunt Abida’s life are clearly marked. The finest part is in her father’s house when she is in control of things, able and efficient, capable of taking decisions. Her father’s death and return of her brother mark the change in her life. She has to submit and her life represents a tremendous sacrifice made at the altar of tradition.

Nandi

Nandi, the servant of Laila’s house and the washerman’s daughter, is a strong character capable of taking actions. However, she has to bare the brunt of male control and is time and again punished and victimized. Nandi’s story moves with the incidents like her getting caught in compromising position with the cleaner, Uncle Mohsin’s advances towards her against whom Laila protects Nandi, getting out Gulam Ali the culprit of Saliman’s life who cuts off her nose and her marriage with a old man which leads to her relationship with a Pathan who is briefly in the city and her bearing of her child. The novel shows that Nandi’s lower class means her wishes and her body are of no significance. Apart from being a servant which subjects her to be controlled by her masters, her womanhood subjects her to male control in general.

Nadi has a strong personality and bears a rebellious character. She tries to act according to her own likes and dislikes. She gets help by Laila who is very similar to her strong character. Another woman whose character is similar to Nandi is Aunt Abida.

Saliman

Like nandi, Saliman is also a maid servant of the house. However, she is weak and submissive compared to Nandi. Saliman is a daughter of a woman who had been sold to the family during a famine. Her husbnd has abandoned her and her two daughters has run away with another woman. Her suffering is aggravated by Ghulam Ali’s seduction when she becomes pregnant. In this case, it is she who is punished and not Ghulam Ali and is sent away. She dies while delivering the child.

Zahra

Zahra’s character represents an ordinary woman which is remarkably different from Laila, Nanke or Aunt Abida. She is Laila’s cousin though brought up differently, in a traditional manner to be exact. She is given an education in Persian and Arabic and is kept away from modern ways. She is married off at an early age. Unlike Laila, Zahra marries according to her guardian’s wishes and is interested in her husband as provider of good clothes and other material comforts of life. This attitude makes her reject Asad who is poor and can not provide these material comforts.

Laila

Laila is the narrator of the story and the main protagonist about whose life and views the novel dwells upon. We come to know about the society of that time and other character from her point of view which makes the novel a story of her resistance to the impositions of traditional values. Her parents are dead and she is brought up by Baba Jan, her grand father and Aunt Abida. She is imparted western education according to the wishes of her father. Even Uncle Hamid allows her more freedom than what he allows to other women of the family.Laila’s personality thus is a contrast to Zahra. She is able to take decisions, resist impositions, get higher education and marry according to her own choice. This makes her a rebellious character but she is sensitive and emotional at the same time caring for others in need, for example, she helps Nandi throughout.

Patriarchy and Arranged Marriages

Sunlight On A Broken Column questions patriarchy. The decision for marriage is the domain of the male. A woman’s personal wishes, dreams and desire are not considered in the framework of patriarchy. The novel portrays the status of first half of the 20th century women who are required to adjust to their husbands’ wishes, interact with others also according to their wishes and work or not work outside the house according to the wishes of their husband. In any case, in the aristocratic families in question there are no cases of working women though Begum Waheed does contest elections. Although the status of women characters differs, they are placed within family structures. For instance,, Laila exercises choice, Zahra follows the advice of elders, Zainab falls into the set pattern, Nandi violates the rule of marital fidelity, Sita is unable to marry Kamal, Aunt Abida constantly flutters against the confined role and is sacrificed to it.

The keen desire of Uncle Hamid and Aunt Saira to see Laila marry one of their sons, Saleem or Kamal only underlines the significance of property, social status and power in deciding marriage. Laila has half-a-claim on the family property. Similarly, Asad is rejected by Zahra as he is poorer.

Hindu-Muslim Relationships

The novel deals with Hindu-Muslim relationship against the backdrop of the partition of country. It is a fact that Hindus and Muslims share several cultural values, live friendly with each other and celebrate each other’s festivals. However, problems arise when there is religious clash in public sphere such as a procession or a building or an object venerated by one community and considered not sacred by the other come in each other’s way.

Food is another great barrier in the way of developing unity among the two religions. Rahi Masoom Raza’s Adha Gaon shows how the issue of ‘purity’ interferes and the two communities do not eat food cooked by the other. Marriage is also an important area which causes conflict in interpersonal relationships. Kamal and Sita, for example, love each other but do not go against the social rule. Moreover, political power and economic conditions also cause clashes.

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