Fragmented Bodies, Fragmented Identities: Patriarchy, Medical Ethics, and Trauma in Mahesh Dattani’s Tara.

Abstract

Mahesh Dattani, in his play Tara, gives a deep critique of patriarchy, gender discrimination and systematic marginalisation of women in the modern Indian society. This is the story of Siamese twins Tara and Chandan, which illustrates how patriarchal norms operate at the most fundamental stages of life, influencing bodily integrity, social identity, and family relationships. The paper uses a feminist approach to analyse the intersection of gender, disability, and institutional power in the play, showing how political influence, capitalist interests, and internalised maternal compliance have come together to oppress Tara. Psychological and emotional implications of these structures on both Tara and Chandan also form part of the analysis, which highlights how patriarchy causes trauma and fragmented identities to women and men. Placing this play in the context of modern urban families and the Indian culture, the paper tries to examine how the critical attitude, used by Dattani, is pertinent in modern society, particularly in the context of modern gender prejudice and bias, the ethics in the medical profession, and the favoring family of the male child. Lastly, the paper argues that Tara reveals the compounded nature of patriarchal operation and that the medical ethics, maternal complicity and cultural anticipation according to which it operates can be found in a stimulating literary analysis and a discursive commentary on gender inequality that can be applicable even to contemporary India.