• January to March 2024 Article ID: NSS8573 Impact Factor:7.60 Cite Score:57108 Download: 337 DOI: https://doi.org/ View PDf

    The Plight of Women in Mahesh Dattani’s Play Where There’s a Will

      Dr. Chhagan Lal
        Assistant Professor, SGN Girls PG College, Sriganganagar (Raj.)
      Dr. O.P. Tiwari
        Professor and Head (English) Dr. B.R.A. Govt. College, Sriganganagar (Raj.)
  • Abstract: The current scenario of Indian English Theatre has completely changed thanks to the innovative ideas, artistic insight and futuristic vision of the playwrights like Mahesh Dattani. He beautifully blends the traditional urban Indian issues with post-modernist ones. Where There’s a Will is a tragicomedy manifesting some characteristic traits of Dattani. The play has a Gujarati setting, which is a trademark of Dattani. The playwright shows a woman as a subaltern in her own home.

    Dattani is an expert in finding reality by presenting us glances of the past. His mining of the past shows us the truth hiding at the unfathomable pit of the past. He does not want to mine the past for myth as Girish Karnad does. Dattani has a view that realization of errors done in history helps us to be better in the present. This touch of history makes his plays lively and audience never feel bored.

    Humanity has progressed in every sphere and education has touched the new horizon, but conditions of women have not changed for centuries. It is said that by giving education and job, we can change the current situation of women. But Dattani shows us that only imparting knowledge and providing employment is not enough to improve women’s conditions in Indian society.

    ­Keywords: Innovative, futuristic, post-modernist, subaltern, unfathomable.