Female figure : An Allegory of the nation, Barbarian Girl, India: Statue of Justice, Idea of Bharat Mata in “Kranti” Film, Why Mothering the nation?

1. Potraying nations as female figures
with reference to “Waiting for Barbarian
Hema Goswami
Semester 4
Paper no. 14- The American Literature
Submitted to Department of English ,
MKBU
Enrollment no. 2069108420180020
Roll no. 13
Year- 2017-19
Email id- hemagoswami474@gmail.com

2. Female figure : An Allegory of the nation
•
France:
Statue of
Marianne
Germany:
Statue of
Germania
New York:
Statue of
Liberty

3. Barbarian Girl
• Blind girl
• Representing Nation
• Relations of Magistrate with Barbarian
Girl.
• Barbarian girl represent weak nation
upon which the colonizer wish to rule.
• Magistrate is taking care of her.
• He never realized that when he started
misusing the freedom
•

4. India: Statue of Justice • Greek Goddess
Themis
• The Lady of
good counsel
• Personification
of divine order,
fairness, law
natural law and
custom
• Her symbols
are scales of
Justice tools
used to remain
balanced and
pragmatic

5. Idea of Bharat Mata in “Kranti” Film

6. Why Mothering the nation?
• Men assumes the national stage as
protectors and defenders of women
• A construction that deservedly requires
being saved and protected
• Women are burdened with the task of
maintaining the nation’s honor and integrity.
As a result they are accorded the title
“Mother of the nation”

8. Conclusion
• There is no big difference in the mindset of people,
whether it is India or outside country.
• It become an Archetype to represent nation as a female
figure.
• One cannot come out of it.
• Even Women feels proud about it.
• There is requirement of deeper sense, to understand the
meaning behind any symbol.

9. THANK YOU

10. Works Cited
• Alexander, Simone A. James. "M/othering the Nation: Women's
Bodies as Nationalist Trope." jstor (2011): 390.
• Fouzan. Brainly.in. 6 April 2017.
<https://brainly.in/question/1143889>.
• Williams, Iffland. Litcharts, The Barbarian girl. 31 March 2017. 23
March 2019 <https://www.litcharts.com/lit/waiting-for-the-
barbarians/characters/the-barbarian-girl>.