Voices Behind the Veil: Representation of Bhakti

Abstract

Any effort to deconstruct/reconstruct women’s discourse from the historical past would perforce bring up questions regarding methodology and frames of reference. Indeed the ways in which culture is constructed would also come to be scrutinized. Issues such as the authenticity of the woman’s voice and the socio cultural framework of the utterance would also of necessity surface. Many questions such as: What is women’s discourse? Would it exclude men, or would there be space for “the sympathetic male”? Is there a female nature? Crop up repeatedly. Which feminist theory, or what feminist tools would enable one to deconstruct and then reconstruct women’s discourse from the past and study their relevance in the present context?