Phoolan Devi: Perceptions Of Power :: essays research papers

Phoolan Devi: Perceptions of Power The purpose of this paper is to analyze and index gender and power as they factor into the life of one Dalit woman, Phoolan Devi. Particularly, I have chosen to examine the idea of whether or not she wielded real power. In an attempt to make it more useful to speak of this slippery thing called power, I would like to make some declarations and pose some questions about its' nature. Cynthia Emerson has suggested that power is ultimately based on dependency relationships (Emerson 1962). It is important to remember that almost all manifestations of power require a power holder and at least one other party that believes that the first holds power. I would like to stress the word "believes" in the previous sentence because I think it is one of the key ingredients in understanding relationships of power. I realize that in many instances the power of the first party may not be undone merely by the second party ceasing to accept it, and that the power of one individual over another may sometimes be physically or otherwise inescapable. Often, the belief follows the direct experience of power, but regardless of the order in which it is conceptualized, I feel the nature of power is inextricably founded in belief and perception. One of the most striking characteristics of Phoolan Devi is her refusal to accept her power-deficient positions in her relationships. From the time that she was a child, she seems to have refused to conform to her society's hierarchical indexing. She resisted attempts to categorize and fix her into typical gender, class, and matrimonial positions. This is not to say that her resistance was always successful, but I am trying to show a lack of willingness to conform and accept her positions in her power relations. Her belief that the status that had been prescribed to her was unjust and her reluctance to accept it are key factors that led to her gaining power and breaking from her power deficient relationships. Her belief in her upward mobility made it possible. This belief in her self and resistance towards accepting the power forced on her helped undermine that same power. This is the one factor that makes Phoolan so different from so many of her Indian sisters that are still living under the thumb of Manu's Code. Does Phoolan Devi possess real power? So far we have considered theoretical power in relationships, but what about physical manifestations of power? The first example that comes to mind is the fact that over two hundred