Society Versus the Desires of Women in Madame Bovary and Grihadaha: The Scandalous Woman Conundrum

Abstract

This research paper attempts a comparative study between Sarat Chandra Chattopadhaya’s novel Grihadaha and Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. The exploration involves a comparative analysis of the dreams and desires of the female protagonists in relation to the social and cultural norms of the times in which the novels are set with an intention to evaluate how the respective societies treat these women. Initially, both texts were closely read and analyzed separately for better understanding. Then the texts were read comparatively to identify the similarities and the differences. The study led to the discovery that be it the conservative Bengali society or the comparatively lenient French society, the pursuit, and fulfillment of the dreams and desires of women are always restricted in favor of patriarchy. Men enjoy privileges that are not offered to women and societies are often inherently hypocritical and unjustifiable.