Term Paper (Afro-Asian Lit)

1. Philippine Normal University
The National Center for Teacher Education
Faculty of Arts and Languages
Taft Avenue, Manila
A Paradigm of an Empowered Woman
as Shown in Kamala Markandaya’s
Nectar in a Sieve
Submitted by:
Angelie T. Magdasoc
II – 17 BSE English
Submitted to:
Prof. Maria Sarah Palma

2. During the old times, a typical woman is always being referred to as weak
individuals who were always dependent and submissive to man. This is the reason
behind women’s deprivation from their right to education. The society primarily believed
that women are destined to perform only two duties: a wife to their husband and a
mother to their child. Fortunately, this discrimination over women is not being exercised
anymore, because today they are empowered; in such a way that they possess
courage, fortitude, and love as they face the challenges of life.
This paper aims to portray woman characters in the novel Nectar in a Sieve as
ideal sufferers and nurturers through sharing their undertakings and showing how they
responded to those.
Rukmani’s life is a persistent battle to poverty. As early as twelve, she got
married to a tenant she had never known, but still she eventually learned to love him
and they worked side by side in the field to earn a living. Unfortunately, the land which is
their only source of food and income was ravaged by droughts, monsoons, and insects.
Due to this, their family has experienced poverty and famine. She saw one of her infants
died of starvation, her daughter became a prostitute, another son died of torment, she
discovered that her husband fathered another woman’s sons, and finally the mournful
death of her husband who have been there by her side through hardship and triumph.
Unlike other women during the traditional India, Rukmani was educated by her
own will. This became her asset in order to decide wisely and bravely to certain
situations. For instance, her brave actions to seek fertility allow her and her husband,
Nathan, to have sons, and even though she’s technically an obedient wife to him, she
has gained power in their relationship by gaining his love. Another is her fearless action
to show the Indian community in the rural area that she is knowledgeable enough and
that she is worthy to work just like the educated men.
Meanwhile, fortitude or having a mental and emotional strength is another
admirable trait that Rukmani showed throughout the story. She would not be able to
handle such problems if she had let her emotions take over. As the monsoon destroys
their home and their living, Rukmani did not waste any time. Immediately, she grabbed
the last silver coins she have and bought some rice, so that she could give her children
something to eat. Then, as she looks at them sleeping, she thought positively within
herself: ... I would plant more vegetables... such dreams, delightful, orderly, satisfying,
but of the stuff of dreams, wraithlike. And sleep, such sleep... deep and sweet and
sound as I had not known for many nights; it claimed me even as I sat amid the rice
husks and fish scales and drying salt. (49)
The death of her sons, Raja and Kuti, also proves how powerful she is over her
emotions. Everyone weeps and mourns upon Raja’s death but she, she remained
strong and still, though deep inside her grievances were overflowing. Yet she needed to
show her family that in spite of the situation, they need to be tough, thus as she saw Ira
crying she said, “What are you crying for? You have little enough strength, without
dissolving it in tears.” (93) It is so unusual for these lines to come from a mother who
lose her son, isn’t it? She was able to act strong because what she thinks deep inside

3. is... that the sorrow within me is not for this body which has suffered and in suffering has
let slip the spirit, but for you, my son. (94) Likewise, in Kuti’s death she said, “Yet
although I grieved, it was not for my son: for in my heart I could not have wished it
otherwise.” (105)
Lastly, though a woman gets tough and tough because of so many undertakings
she had encountered, love is something which will never be removed from her. Every
woman has this mother instinct that triggers every time they see their love ones in need.
As to Rukmani, all the strength and courage she put forth to the predicaments she
experienced were rooted from her unconditional love for her family. When she
discovered that her husband, Nathan, fathered two sons from another woman, she felt
‘Disbelief first; disillusionment; anger, reproach, pain. To find out, after so many years,
in such a cruel way... he had known her not once but twice; he had gone back to give
her a second son...’ (90) But in spite of this, she accepts her husband again and
continues being a devoted wife to him until his last breath.
However, it is not only Rukmani who became a very commendable female
character in the novel, but also her daughter, Ira. She was a beautiful maiden who got
married at fourteen to a well-off young man. Unfortunately, he was abandoned by him
for she cannot conceive a child. She got herself depressed but eventually her
barrenness was cured through Kenny’s help. Due to poverty and to her willingness to
feed her starving siblings, she bravely chose to enter the world of prostitution. Hence,
she got pregnant by one of her clients and gave birth to a child with Albinism; a
congenital disease characterized by lack of pigmentation in the skin, eyes and hair. She
accepted and loved her son whole-heartedly in spite of her unwanted pregnancy and in
spite of the child’s abnormality. Ira apparently succeeded her mother’s attitude towards
life, thus having them considered as exemplars of empowered women.
Rukmani and Ira have proven that women nowadays are not subversive to man
anymore, and that more than anyone else, they are the one who must acquire proper
education for they are the primary nurturers of their children. Their duties do not just
limit as a wife and a mother, but as a source of strength and positive outlook within their
family. Women nowadays are empowered for they are incautious and emotionally
strong, but still remain affectionate to their love ones in whatever circumstances life has
come to offer.
Reference
Markandaya, K. (1995). Nectar in a sieve. New York: New American Library.