Representing ‘Women’ at the Threshold of Gendered Identity in Mahasweta Devi’s Bayen

The objective of my paper is to look at identity and gender through Mahasweta Devi’s short story Bayen. The story deals with a woman named Chandidasi who is branded as a witch, a ‘Bayen’. The eponymous character is non-conforming, defiant entity whose body is a repulsive sight for the people of the dom community; Chandidasi is herself a dom- a gravedigger- a profession only reserved for the male members of the community. It is interesting to observe how the female body is marked by her gender, her caste, her class, her personal relationships and the work she does. Chandidasi is a representation of the deviant and defiant female body. She tries hard to establish herself in the world obsessed with sexed differences. The witch’s body is however constructed in a way that is neither strictly feminine nor masculine. Her physical habits and behaviours are likened to beastly creatures thus creating a complicated embodiment, that is also ‘dangerous’. In my paper, I chart the way in which the protagonist’s character goes on to establish an identity that transcends the physical body. The paper delves into the world of a community of lower castes where patriarchal norms are not absent. It interrogates the way in which Chandidasi, the figure of the female body, develops into a symbolic expression of protest and revolt. The paper also looks at Judith Butler’s theory of performativity and how the characters in the story ‘perform’ their gender roles