Beyond Kulina and Kulata: The Critique of Gender Difference in the Writings of K. Saraswati Amma

Abstract

This article re-reads the writings of K. Saraswati Amma, ¹ an author marginalised within the Malayalee literary universe and labelled as an incorrigible man-hater. The effort is to read her writing as an engagement with the positions taken in the debates around modern gender in the early 20th-century Malayalee public sphere. It attempts to trace out the specific sharing between her ideas and Malayalee radical reformism of the 1930s, and the critical distance of the former from the latter. It may be demonstrated that both stay within the ambit of radical reformist individualism, but as a forcefully critical presence. Further, her powerful use of radical reformist individualism to forge a critical account of the emergent modern family and marriage in mid-20th-century Malayalee society is highlighted. Lastly, K. Saraswati Amma's only novel is discussed as making an interesting gesture at an alternative female subjectivity, and at the same time displaying some sensitivity towards the less desirable effects of inflexible individualism.