ABSTRACT
Even in the democratic Athens of Socrates and Plato, man’s prerogative was seen in ‘commanding’ and a woman’s duty lay in obeying. Likewise in the medieval period the role of woman remained circumscribed by domestic trivialities, periodically interrupted by the birth of children. Rajinder Singh Bedi describes vividly the attitude of a patriarchal society towards womenfolk under the calamitous conditions of the Partition, wherein even the exchange of abducted women between the two countries shows the degradation and degeneration of human values which seemed to have touched the lowest ebb. Lajwanti learns through her personal trauma how difficult it is for a woman to nurture the desire of being treated as a real human being rather than exist like the fragile Lajwanti flower that withers at the slightest touch. A common point that emerges from the above discussion is the fact of the intricate nature of the man-woman relationship.
