Thomas Hardy remarked – ‘It is difficult for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs’.
Interestingly, the entire history of the mankind has been scripted by great men. It has been the story of MANKIND by MEN. While they did script the moral fiber for the women and fabricated her disposition in totality – they have probably denied her ‘her space’. She did not voice her anguish for several ages; she was an incarnation of the suppressed sounds; and silence was celebrated as the essence of her existence. In spite of her concealed nature (imposed concealed nature, I must say), she passed down history through the memory lane, and certainly she has been the wheel who channeled all communication and imparted us the “MOTHER TONGUE”.
The paradox here is that she was voiceless….and the feelings were let out in the MALE tone – chiefly made by men, to express their emotions. Pondering over this thought for some time, I comprehend that – though women were mediums of communication and transmitters of vocabulary since times immemorial – they have neither sought to patent their terminology nor attempted to colonize the spaces of speech. They were limited to the quiet spaces, re-imposing the subtleness of the “woman’s nature”, yet again.
Dialogue and discourse are still not the qualities of women. She still enjoys singing soothing songs for her little ones – lullabies, and perseveres to preserve the gentleness of her tone of voice effortlessly. Her emotions lack natural accents, are influenced by the mainstream noise (of the men around) and she stays alive with her sweet voice, fitting perfectly into the established notions of being a WOMAN.
Men lack mystery, people often say. May be it could be related with this very denial of expression of the right of being heard for the womenfolk. While men have designed vents to their ideas and ideals in the mainstream voices, women lack this natural pleasure. Only the privileged lot, among the fairer sex seems to voice their opinions in the present times. Truly, a great effort, worthy of all appreciation.
One of the famous quotes of Thomas Hardy that I cherish the most, is a reminder of the mystery that women possess to the entire MANkind. Men fail to listen and acknowledge, not just the audible speech, but the entirety of the woman’s emotions persistently – an array of emotions, uniquely hers. Thomas Hardy remarks – “There are accents in the eye which are not on the tongue, and more tales come from pale lips than can enter an ear. It is both the grandeur and the pain of the remoter moods that they avoid the pathway of sound”.
The paradox here is that she was voiceless….and the feelings were let out in the MALE tone – chiefly made by men, to express their emotions. Pondering over this thought for some time, I comprehend that – though women were mediums of communication and transmitters of vocabulary since times immemorial – they have neither sought to patent their terminology nor attempted to colonize the spaces of speech. They were limited to the quiet spaces, re-imposing the subtleness of the “woman’s nature”, yet again.
Dialogue and discourse are still not the qualities of women. She still enjoys singing soothing songs for her little ones – lullabies, and perseveres to preserve the gentleness of her tone of voice effortlessly. Her emotions lack natural accents, are influenced by the mainstream noise (of the men around) and she stays alive with her sweet voice, fitting perfectly into the established notions of being a WOMAN.
Men lack mystery, people often say. May be it could be related with this very denial of expression of the right of being heard for the womenfolk. While men have designed vents to their ideas and ideals in the mainstream voices, women lack this natural pleasure. Only the privileged lot, among the fairer sex seems to voice their opinions in the present times. Truly, a great effort, worthy of all appreciation.
One of the famous quotes of Thomas Hardy that I cherish the most, is a reminder of the mystery that women possess to the entire MANkind. Men fail to listen and acknowledge, not just the audible speech, but the entirety of the woman’s emotions persistently – an array of emotions, uniquely hers. Thomas Hardy remarks – “There are accents in the eye which are not on the tongue, and more tales come from pale lips than can enter an ear. It is both the grandeur and the pain of the remoter moods that they avoid the pathway of sound”.
