Volume III, Issue I, September 2026
Volume-III, Issue-I, September, 2026 |
Received: 20.09.2026 | Accepted: 26.09.2026 | ||
Published Online: 30.09.2026 | Page No: | ||
DOI: 10.69655/atmadeep.vol.3.issue.01W. | |||
সৌমিত্র চট্টোপাধ্যায়ের নাটকে নারী পরিসর
ব্রজেশ্বর দাস, গবেষক, বাংলা বিভাগ, রাঁচি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়, রাঁচি, ঝাড়খণ্ড, ভারত |
The Female Space in the Plays of Soumitra Chatterjee Brojeswar Das, Research Scholar, Department of Bengali, Ranchi University, Ranchi, Jharkhand, India | ||
ABSTRACT | ||
Soumitra Chattopadhyay, widely acclaimed for his contribution to Bengali cinema and theatre, was also a significant playwright whose dramatic oeuvre reflects his sustained engagement with human subjectivity, social relations, and individual identity. His deep commitment to theatre and the perceived paucity of suitable dramatic texts encouraged him to take up playwriting as an extension of his artistic practice. Despite the demands of a prolific acting career, he continued to write, producing approximately thirty plays published in book form, including original, translated, and adapted works. Even in his translated and adapted plays, his distinctive dramaturgical vision remains evident in the reconfiguration of themes, characters, and dramatic situations. A notable feature of his dramatic writing is the representation of the individual as a self-conscious subject capable of articulating an autonomous sense of self. This becomes particularly significant in his portrayal of women. His extensive experience as an actor, and his close engagement with people across different social locations, enriched his understanding of gendered experiences and social realities. Consequently, women frequently occupy a central and dynamic position in his plays. His female characters negotiate diverse experiences of marriage, family, loneliness, responsibility, rights, protest, freedom, and selfhood. Some resist established social structures, while others suppress personal desires in favour of familial obligations; some embody empathy, whereas others internalize guilt and inadequacy. This paper examines these varied representations of women and explores how Chattopadhyay’s dramatic works negotiate the complex relationship between female agency, individual identity, and socially constructed expectations. It seeks to situate his representation of women within the broader context of modern Bengali theatre and gender discourse. | ||
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