Power, the Widowed Body, and Resistance: A Foucauldian Reading of Hindu Widowhood in Bapsi Sidhwa's Water

Abstract

This study offers a Foucauldian reading of Bapsi Sidhwa’s Water, employing the theoretical lens of Michel Foucault to examine how discourses of power/knowledge shape subjectivity, construct the self, and provoke resistance within the socio-religious context of colonial India. Through qualitative textual analysis, the research investigates the institutional and cultural mechanisms that discipline female bodies, particularly widows, by embedding them in a rigidly patriarchal and religious framework that legitimizes marginalization as sacred duty. Applying Foucault theory on the novel particularly the characters like Chuyia and Kalyani, the study reveals that how religious bodies act as a disciplinary power producing “docile bodies” who internalize and perform their prescribed roles. These characters become the product of disciplinary power as they obey the rules set by the religious authorities, but the study also highlights the resistance power. The study further explores how the self is formed through intersecting axes of gender, class, and colonialism, revealing a dynamic tension between submission and rebellion. By situating Water within Foucault’s theoretical framework, the research underscores literature’s role in exposing and challenging the hegemonic structures that govern human lives.