ABSTRACT
In the Introduction it was established that Satyajit Ray not only belonged to a group of international filmmakers from newly independent nations who tried to define a national culture but was himself implicated in “national cinema” in the Nehruvian era, and that his first film could also be read in this way. Among the more important tasks for Ray would therefore have been looking at the condition of women, since that as an issue had already engaged reformists in the nineteenth century. This chapter tries to examine the portrayal of women in earlier texts that might have influenced him. Even if there is little sign of any influence, it would be helpful to get a sense of how women had been represented.
