ABSTRACT
Reflections on womanhood, as documented in the classical literature, may largely be described as a male discourse. Ancient texts of various genres appearing over a long span of time depict images of womanhood in an utterly contrasting manner. This tendency in literature to deprecate or praise womanhood and femininity has been observed by feminist philosophers in different cultural contexts.
In this chapter, while discussing the question of ‘women and values’ in the Indian context, the phrase ‘traditional India’ does not signify a state of affairs that belongs to India's past alone since it seems that very similar values – discussed in the classical sources – still dominate India's cultural life. In this chapter, the Upaniṣads, the Purāṇas, the epics and the Dharma-śāstras are examined. Balslev concludes that the purpose of carrying out a feminist enquiry of values is that by uncovering the roots of that history of interpretation, be that in art or philosophy, in secular literature or religious discourse, one may better understand the complex power relations through which gender differences have been constructed and which still hold ground, as well as what their eventual social costs are.
