Perpetuation of Female Performativity through Panopticism in Jagmohan Mundhra’s Provoked A True Story

Abstract

Jagmohan Mundhra’s Provoked: A True Story (2006) shows women’s subjugated status and their inability to step out of this imposed boundary as their actions remain under the surveillance of the dominant force. The dominant force also tries to nullify or neutralize any attempt of rebellion from women. In the film, Kiranjit Ahluwalia, the protagonist, is forced to act according to the normative gender roles of a mother, a wife and, above all, a subjugated woman even when she is being severely abused by her husband and thus becomes a prisoner at her own home. Later, she becomes a prisoner of H. M. Prison Mullwood Hall when she tries to break free from the imposed identity. Thus, the dominant patriarchal force tries to reform her actions to ensure the continuity of gendered behavior. The paper draws theories on Female Performativity from Judith Butler’s Bodies That Matter and Gender Trouble; and ideas on Panopticism from Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish. The aim of the paper is to explore the convergences between the two theories to show how the oppressive forces of the society limit and control the actions of women through perpetual surveillance by examining the journey of Kiranjit Ahluwalia.