Silence can stem from myriad stimuli, including but not limited to quietude, speechlessness, secretiveness or repression. The oppressed and marginalised women often resort to the ‘act’ of silence to survive in a patriarchal society. Indian playwright Mahesh Dattani has raised the social problem of misogyny in several of his plays. The women in these plays are neither timid nor shy. Yet, despite being quite vocal about various aspects, they keep parts of their lives buried in deep secrecy. Their selective silence also raises pertinent questions regarding gender-based power equations. Exploring the interconnection between patriarchy and silence in Mahesh Dattani’s Where Did I Leave My Purdah? and Final Solutions, this paper attempts to analyse as to whether silence of women in these plays is a manifestation of their agency or indirect patriarchal imposition.

中文翻译：

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存在的拐杖？：在马赫什·达塔尼（Mahesh Dattani）的精选戏剧中审问女性的沉默

沉默可能源于无数刺激，包括但不限于安静、无言、隐秘或压抑。受压迫和边缘化的妇女往往采取沉默的“行为”以在父权社会中生存。印度剧作家马赫什·达塔尼 (Mahesh Dattani) 在他的几部戏剧中提出了厌女症的社会问题。这些剧中的女性既不胆小也不害羞。然而，尽管他们在各个方面都非常直言不讳，但他们仍将部分生活深埋于秘密之中。他们的选择性沉默也引发了有关基于性别的权力方程式的相关问题。探索马赫什·达塔尼 (Mahesh Dattani) 的《我在哪里离开我的深闺》中父权制与沉默之间的联系？和最终解决方案，