This essay explores women’s participation in revolutionary practice, as mapped out in Mahasweta Devi’s short story “Draupadi”. Does Devi romanticise the female revolutionary or centralise the limitations of counter-state activity? This question leads to the way that nationalism, as embodied by the state (through the character of Senanayak), is foregrounded in the text. The restrictions placed upon women by the nation-state are juxtaposed against the issue of female subjectivity, and dominant myths of femininity become a vehicle for mediating notions of female behaviour. I will argue that during nationalist crises, in particular, when the nation is most vulnerable, nationalist signifiers are rigorously applied. Nationalist crises empower Devi’s protagonist, whose suffering enables her to go beyond the boundaries of myth, so that in the short story “Draupadi” the mythical figure is reconstructed (as Dopdi) to produce a counter-narrative by deploying the female body and sexuality as the locus of resistance. In selecting the Draupadi myth as a model for the subaltern woman, Devi calls attention to the politics of myth, of how some myths are privileged (like the Sita myth) while the ambiguities within others (like the Draupadi myth) marginalise women. Devi’s protagonist is situated at the point of breakdown between myth and its “real-life” context and finds that it is through extreme, “terrifying” measures that one can secure agency, even if it is only in fictional narratives.

中文翻译：

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反抗的叙述：马哈斯韦塔·德维（Mahasweta Devi）的《德拉帕迪》

本文探讨了妇女在革命实践中的参与，正如马哈斯韦塔·德维（Mahasweta Devi）的短篇小说“ Draupadi”所描绘的那样。戴维是将女性革命家浪漫化还是集中了反国家活动的局限性？这个问题引出了国家体现出来的民族主义（通过塞纳纳亚克的特征）在文本中的呈现方式。民族国家对妇女的限制与女性的主观性问题并列，女性主导的神话成为调解女性行为观念的工具。我将争辩说，在民族主义危机期间，特别是在国家最脆弱的时候，将严格采用民族主义指称。民族主义的危机赋予了Devi的主角以力量，她的苦难使她超越了神话的界限，因此，在短篇小说“ Draupadi”中，神话人物被重新塑造（作为Dopdi），通过将女性的身体和性行为作为抵抗的场所而产生了反叙事。在选择Draupadi神话作为下层女人的榜样时，Devi呼吁关注神话的政治，某些神话如何享有特权（如Sita神话），而其他人的模棱两可（如Draupadi神话）则使妇女处于边缘地位。戴维的主角位于神话与其“现实”背景之间的崩溃点，并发现通过极端，“恐怖”的措施，即使在虚构的叙述中，也可以确保代理。在选择Draupadi神话作为下层女人的榜样时，Devi提请注意神话的政治，某些神话如何享有特权（例如Sita神话），而其他人的模棱两可（例如Draupadi神话）则使妇女处于边缘地位。戴维的主角位于神话与其“现实”背景之间的崩溃点，并发现通过极端，“恐怖”的措施，即使在虚构的叙述中，也可以确保代理。在选择Draupadi神话作为下层女人的榜样时，Devi呼吁关注神话的政治，某些神话如何享有特权（如Sita神话），而其他人的模棱两可（如Draupadi神话）则使妇女处于边缘地位。戴维的主角位于神话与其“现实”背景之间的崩溃点，并发现通过极端，“恐怖”的措施，即使在虚构的叙述中，也可以确保代理。