Mother Loving and the Theatrics of Patriarchy

Abstract

This paper examines the interplay of divinity, feminine power, and gender performativity in literature, mythology, and contemporary sociopolitical contexts. Using Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis, Vijaydan Detha’s Dohri Zindagi, and discourses surrounding the protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat, the essay interrogates how patriarchal narratives deify the mother figure as an idealized, desexualized source of authority while simultaneously constraining women within rigid roles of motherhood and wifedom. By contrasting Padmavati’s sanctification as “Ma Padmavati” with Venus’s embodiment of divine sexuality, the analysis highlights how deification often dehumanizes women rather than empowering them. The paper also explores the performative nature of gender and protest, showing how theatricality in both literature and real-life demonstrations reveals the political stakes of gender identity and power. Ultimately, it argues that feminine authority rooted in desire, autonomy, and performativity offers a subversive alternative to patriarchal constructions of divinity and purity.