Book Review: 'Agnigarbha' Explores Gender Inequality and the Struggle for Female Identity in Nepali Society

Archana Thapa possesses a multifaceted personality. Having earned a doctorate in English Literature, she is also a publisher, editor, fiction writer, and social activist. Following her collection of short stories, Kathputali (2073 BS), her novel Agnigarbha has recently been published.

After reading Agnigarbha, I was strongly reminded of a friend of mine who longed to step out and discover her own existence. After marriage, she became a mother of two. Once her children started school, she asked her husband for permission to take up some earning work, but she was denied. "How much would you even earn? At most, maybe fifteen or twenty thousand a month, which I can earn by working part-time anyway. You manage the household and the children instead." Her husband taught at a private college. Hearing her husband's words, she became disheartened.

How could she explain to her educated husband, who pretended not to know, that the purpose of working is not just for money? Did she think that if the wife also worked, the household chores would be divided by labor? Stepping outside the home means getting an opportunity for personality development alongside earning money. Meeting and interacting with new people also increases eloquence and self-confidence.

It also means becoming more conscious of personal hygiene and developing the habit of keeping pace with time. Perhaps the husband did not understand that people who go out make more progress and advancement than those who stay at home? He discouraged his wife from working outside the home. It is true that nowadays many husbands are the right hand supporting their wives' progress, while many wives spend their time managing the kitchen and caring for the children.

Nepali society's gender discrimination, domestic power relations, and the struggle for female existence are central to this novel.

In reality, why does the kitchen restrict women so much? Should the responsibility of the kitchen be limited only to women? Otherwise, why is there no division of labor? Why are the kitchen and women considered synonyms? The story of the novel Agnigarbha is related to this very politics of the kitchen, which might sound ordinary when heard, but the message it seeks to convey is profound.

This novel is written centering on the gender discrimination, domestic power relations, and the struggle for female existence seen in Nepali society. The novel brings forward issues connected to family structure and social norms through the politics of the kitchen. It raises serious questions about how our society devalues domestic work, traditionally considered the 'natural domain of women.'

Who is the protagonist Tejshree? Who rendered her faceless? How did she express her desire to build an identity? How were her dreams turned to ashes in the flames of fire while doing so, and how she rises from the ashes to make the flicker of existence glow—this is the central narrative of the novel. To understand Tejshree, readers must read the novel to understand her birthplace Aiselukhark, her place of work Jaktisingh Tole, and the members of her family.

Why does Tejshree's husband, Aman, not return home even after completing his studies in America for a doctorate? Aman's lack of commitment towards his wife, daughter Anu, and family brings a storm of curiosity to the reader's mind and propels the pace of reading forward rapidly.

Divided into three parts, this novel contains three legends, each weaving the story of the novel forward in an artistic manner. Folk tales and riddles that appear alongside the context of the novel make the reading even more enjoyable. The core theme of the novel is a deep critique of domestic labor, gender inequality, and the patriarchal social structure. Through the daily life of the daughter-in-law Tejshree, this story exposes the invisible labor within the home and the structural oppression linked to it.

After marriage, the daughter-in-law remains confined to the kitchen continuously. Her day passes in the repetitive cycle of cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, looking after the daughter, and caring for family members. The family takes these tasks as a natural 'duty,' but they receive no valuation, respect, or sharing.

Physically distant, the husband also becomes emotionally distant. Tejshree does not receive the love she should from her husband. Even their daughter, who is with her, becomes unruly due to the lack of paternal affection. Tejshree feels even lonelier when her confidante becomes an outsider. Aman also neglects his daughter and his aging parents. The fact that he has established a world of love elsewhere is confirmed when a letter from his girlfriend arrives for Tejshree.

Upon learning these facts, Tejshree harbors no desire for revenge against Aman; instead, she firmly plants her feet in the search for her own being by opening a restaurant named 'Tejshree Kitchen.' This step forces her to endure many criticisms from family and society. The step becomes a tasty pickle of criticism for Jaktisingh Tole.

Tejshree seeks to turn the culinary skills she has acquired over the years into a strong pillar for economic self-reliance. A daughter-in-law from a respected family should not wash others' used dishes. Patriarchal thinking and traditional customs are used to weave various narratives of control against her, such as opening a hotel not being a good deed. Her father-in-law Digvijay and other family members are unwilling to support and respect her work. Tejshree realizes, albeit late, that the kitchen is not just a place for cooking but a symbolic site of gender power relations and social control over the body.

Exhausted by her husband's neglect, the fire of many desires burns in her chest. Among them, to extinguish the fire of economic self-reliance, she seeks self-employment and moves towards self-awareness. She continuously struggles to rise above familial and social boundaries for her labor, self-determination, and self-respect, compelling the reader to question structural inequality and patriarchy beyond just a personal story. Even if her entire business is reduced to ashes, Tejshree maintains her commitment to rise again.

She compares herself to the mythical symbol of the 'Phoenix bird' and possesses the ability to rise from every challenge and difficulty. This unique and powerful bird endures great challenges and destruction in its life cycle, but rises again to gain a new life. Tejshree also rises up against domestic and social barriers for her existence, dignity, and freedom. This shows how courage and audacity filled Tejshree despite difficult circumstances and oppression? And how did the novel Agnigarbha become a story of female power?

The title of the novel, Agnigarbha, itself hints at many things. The fact that the novel begins and ends with a fire is a matter of literary art or narrative craft, which is left to the reader to understand.

Feminist thinker Betty Friedan, in 'The Feminine Mystique,' argues that the ideal role of the kitchen and home curtails the intellectual and social identity of women by discussing 'The Problem That Has No Name' among American middle-class housewives.

Indeed, the notion that 'the kitchen is politics' began to appear, directly or indirectly, in Western feminist thought long ago. The basis for this is that the home and kitchen are not just 'private' spheres but also structural sites of power relations, as stated by the renowned author Simone de Beauvoir in her work The Second Sex. She interprets women as a social construct, not a biological one.

She portrays the continuous repetition of domestic labor as a structure that binds women to 'endless repetitive labor.' Here, she expresses in her book that the kitchen is not just a place for cooking but a social machine that confines women to the private sphere.

Similarly, another feminist thinker, Betty Friedan, in 'The Feminine Mystique,' discusses 'The Problem That Has No Name' among American middle-class housewives, arguing that the ideal role of the kitchen and home curtails women's intellectual and social identity. For her, the kitchen is a symbol of women's incomplete existence, expressing how women are separated from participation in the outside world.

On the other hand, American feminist thinker bell hooks views the home not only as a site of oppression but also as a potential site of resistance. According to her views, relations of power, race, class, and gender are active even in the private sphere, and there is politics in the kitchen because unequal division of labor, imbalance of decision-making power, and control over the body are observed there.

The perception of domestic work as solely 'women's work' must change, ensuring just division of labor, equal participation in decision-making, and emotional support, which creates a conducive environment for women's personality development.

The common essence of the sayings of world-renowned thinkers is that the construction of a woman's existence is not possible with a single step. It is consolidated through a joint process of personal consciousness, family behavior, social structure, and policy change. The first basis for this is self-awareness and self-respect, where women have a clear understanding of their rights, capabilities, and aspirations and prepare mentally to step out of the culture of continuously suppressing their own desires in the name of 'sacrifice' or 'duty.'

Along with this, quality education, skill development, and critical thinking strengthen her decision-making ability, enabling her to question social structures and choose her options independently. Economic self-reliance stands as the central basis for building existence because having one's own source of income significantly increases decision-making power, self-confidence, and social respect. In this process, equal sharing of labor and decision-making within the family is equally necessary.

The perception of domestic work as solely 'women's work' must change, ensuring just division of labor, equal participation in decision-making, and emotional support, which creates a conducive environment for women's personality development. There, smiles bloom on the lips of millions of daughters-in-law like Tejshree. This is what the novel Agnigarbha raises. Published by Akshar Creations, there is no doubt that this novel will establish a distinct identity in the Nepali literary world.