marriage was Bela. Gauri had never recognised the joy in sacrifice that motherhood always offered. Quoted from The Lowland:
Her professor Otto Weiss had offered her the requisite assistance to get her into the doctoral programme and she was looking forward to this Lahiri,
2013: 164.
Gauri is like countless mothers, she must struggle to cope with the feelings of guilt and inadequacy that myths of perfect motherhood generate. It is difficult
to be a confident mother in these circumstances.
2. Redefinition and Reshaping the Accepted Motherhood
Theory on Third World Women and Subalternity show that Third World women are making their voices heard and are beginning to change the face of
feminism in the West. Those theories contribute the diverse representations of subaltern women in the ‘Third World’ who—despite their oppressed and
marginalized status display the struggle to redefine the concept of motherhood. Therefore, we can see how this novel brings the spirit of redefinition of
motherhood. Spivak said, “If, in the contest of colonial production, the subaltern has no
history and cannot speak, the subaltern as female is even more deeply in shadow” Spivak, 1988: 203. According to Spivak, subaltern women are subjected to
oppression more than subaltern men. They do not have proper representation, and therefore, are not able to voice their opinions or share their stories. No one is
aware of the daily struggles they face; subaltern women are ghosts in PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
society. Gauri’s position shows that she is the oppressed and marginalized by the society. Gauri’s role had changed so many times in the past:
From wife to widow, from sister-in-law to wife, from mother to childless woman... She had married Subhash, she had abandoned Bela. She had
generated alternative versions of herself, she had insisted at brutal cost on these conversions. Layering her life only to strip it bare, only to be alone
in the end. Lahiri, 2013: 240.
The quotation above shows that Gauri did not have any chance in the past to define herself. In her society a patriarchal society, Gauri is vulnerable to
subalternity in terms of property, marriage, and divorce laws because, as we shall see, there are no legal guidelines protecting her. Thus, the redefinition of the
feminine role is an effort to revise the perspective and stereotypical role of Indian mother. In other words, it is an effort to break the structure of a mother in the
Indian traditional role that has burdened. Jhumpa Lahiri offers some forms of effort to redefine the meaning of
motherhood through her representation of Gauri and her experiences. The efforts of redefining the motherhood reveal the refusal of the subordinated status and
domesticity of women. Gauri’s effort to gain education and economic independence will be the starting point for her to gain her independence. At first,
she has tried to give the best service to her husband and her children. However, as she evaluates her own experience, she learns that she should have had the strength
to gain her freedom and chose life for herself, by leaving Subhash and Bela to free herself from the oppressive situation. In Gauri’s lifetime timeline, it can be seen
that she tried to redefine herself. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Gauri was born in 1948. She was a girl from North Calcutta, Cornwallis Street, whose parents were dead and who lived with her only brother Manash. She
felt detached for her parents because she did not have any memory to be in a family. She felt estranged from most of her family. Gauri loved books and
Philosophy. Gauri read a lot of books, especially Philosophy books. She had a pride for being an independent woman. Gauri was a girl who likes to think deeply;
she had not been able to define herself, wishing she could alter herself Lahiri, 2013: 59. Her complicated way of thinking is one of the qualities in the next
subchapter that will lead her into the act of rebellion and redefining herself as a woman and a mother. She tried to pursue a higher education and filed herself with
a lot of questions and observations. She tried to define herself to someone that she really wanted to be, back when she was still single, Gauri said that she had not
been able to define herself, wishing she could alter herself Lahiri, 2013: 59. Gauri had a strong view on marriage. She did not like the idea of arranged
marriage. Gauri said that she did not want to get married “I’m not getting married” Lahiri, 2013: 57, because she believes that Manash, her borther, and
she was a product of a fail family. Gauri lived wih her grandparents and did not have any figure of mother. Gauri had a rough relationship with the Mitras,
especially her mother in Law Bijoli Mitra Mrs. Mitra. Gauri was not accustomed to the institution called “family”, so she struggled to have a good
relationship with the Mitras. Udayan and Gauri had the same concept of marriage. They did not like
the society’s norms. They both objected to an arranged marriage; Don’t worry, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
apart from running off with her there’s no scandal. You’re not about to be an uncle. Not yet, anyway. Too many children are victims of our defective social
structure. This needs first to be fixed Lahiri, 2013: 46. The attitude of rejection social’s construct about marriage is the evidence that Gauri trying to prove that
she had a precise and clear idea about a child-free marriage and a social pressure- free marriage.
Gauri and her in laws witnessed Udayan’s body shot in cold blood. The police dragged Udayan’s body after they shot him. The soldiers dragged his body
by the legs, then tossed him into the back of the van Lahiri, 2013: 105. That experience haunted Gauri in the future and affected her.
Gauri did not have any support from the Mitras to face the reality that her husband is dead and she is pregnant with his baby. Gauri felt estranged and tired
to be a good daughter in law in the Mitra’s house. Soon Subhash came to understand that his parents received Gauri coldly and treated her badly because
the marriage was not an arranged one. His parents refused to talk to her or
acknowledge her presence in the house. Subhash’s mother had tried to dissuade him from marrying Gauri. At first Gauri did not know that she was pregnant with
Udayan’s baby. Her recklessness was considered as a silly mistake to Bijoli Mitra, Gauri’s mother in law.
Gauri liked to observe someone. Gauri observed Subhash. She could not ignore that obvious facts reminded her of Udayans presence. Almost the exact
pitch and manner of speaking. This was the deepest and most startling proof of their fraternity. For a moment she allowed this isolated aspect of Udayan ,
