Patriarchal Hegemony and Alienation of Women in Ma-hesh Dattani’s “Bravely Fought the Queen’’

Lilack Biswas

VOl-10,Issue-4,July - August 2025

Author: Lilack Biswas

Keywords: Patriarchal, Domination, Marginalization, Abuse, Suffering.

Abstract: The play “Bravely Fought the Queen” was written by Mahesh Dattani in 1991 and was published by Pen-guin Books in 2006. It delves into "questions of gender, sexuality, identity, and family politics all at once" (Rathee 31). Besides these inquiries, the play explores unique aspects of women's bravery, such as resili-ence and defiance in the quest for identity. "Dattani portrays unconventional, radical, and rational as-pects of societal issues, containing the seeds of the clash between the individual’s ‘self' and society's predetermined frameworks" (Agrawal 185). The playwright focuses on feminine concerns within the re-pressed context of homosexuality in a society that only acknowledges heterosexuality. Those who are still uncomfortable discussing sexuality cannot accept non-traditional sexual orientations such as homosex-uality, bisexuality, and transgenderism. Many people "like to discuss feminism because it's widely ac-cepted, but they are unable to address gay issues because it's not considered Indian. It doesn't happen here" (Erin 21). However, Mahesh Dattani has stated that "being gay or lesbian is neither right nor wrong; it's reality, and we need to learn to accept alternative relationships and coexist with them" (Qt. in Erin 21). This paper examines the marginalization and domination of women by patriarchal society. Methodologically, it contains a feminist reading of the text, evaluating the exploitation of women during that period. Dattani has effectively portrayed the crisis and trauma of female psychology through the play. The present research paper subtly explores the theme of male domination and the social status of women throughout the play.

Article Info: Received: 11 Jun 2025; Received in revised form: 06 Jul 2025; Accepted: 11 Jul 2025; Available online: 14 Jul 2025

DOI: 10.22161/ijels.104.18