From silence to speech: women’s breathing space in “The Laugh of the Medusa”

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Introduction

Woman must write her self: must writeabout women and bring women to writing, from which they have been driven away as violently as from their bodies.
Hélène Cixous, 1976

When women write they enjoy their breathing space. Helen Cixous, the famous French Philosopher and literary critic calls it the The Laugh of the Medusa. Medusa’s laughter stands for the laughter of women who would be triumphant when they will express freely and loudly. Cixous views on women’s writingand expresses her belief in its power to bring change in the lives of all women,the culture and history and the society at large. In the paper we explorethe dimensions of women’s writing and emancipation of women by exploring themselves and appriciating the space of empowerment.

Medusa, is a Greek mythological figure. It is believed that Medusa wasthe only mortal out of the most famous of monsters-Gorgons. Any one who looked directly at Medusa turned to stone. Medusa in greek world petrified everyone opposing her; similarly, today’s Medusa can also laugh triumphantly as women must engage in writing for themselves and for other women. Women have been barred, diverted from expressing freely because of their bodies. But the same body, under the same laws, history, and culture can determine the future.

Professor Helen Cixous, a French poet, dramatist, philosopher, literary critic, rhetorician, and feminist author, wrote an essay titled “The Laugh of the Medusa”. It was originally written in 1975, in French and was translated and releasedin English in 1975. Helena Cixous is considered as one of the three mother ofthe post structuralist feminist theory. The other two are Julia Kristeva and Lucy Irigary. Since 1990 these three together have considerably influenced french feminism and feminist psychoanalysis. Cixous’ writing was influenced by Freud, Lacan, Derrida and Arthur Rimbaud.

Discussion

The study focuses on women’s writing and about impact of it on womenand on the overall society. Cixous expresses her belief in its power to bring change in the lives of all women, the culture and history and the society at large.“The Laugh of the Medusa” stands for the laughter of women who would be triumphant when they will express freely and loudly – the desires of theirbody and mind.

Cixous writes as a woman toward women. She reminds them to be honest with themselves. She says, listen to what your bodies have to communicate,know your body, respect it, hear carefully its vibrations, its notes, its rhythm- synchronise all in a symphony. Women have to find their own voices, speak and write honestly what they want to. Women cannot ignore the vibrating chord within their body, rather they have to acknowledge it. Cixous (1976) promotesa radical feminist literary style that celebrates the body and the unconscious while rejecting patriarchal norms. She exhorts women to oppose and disrupt patriarchal power systems using words.

Cixous talks of “the infinte richness of women’s constitutions’, “their imaginary is inexhaustible”, “their stream of phantasms is incredible”. Every woman has her own universe that she has been covertly living since early childhood. Within their bodies are worlds of searching, that elaborate their knowledge. Their bodies are experimental fields where they are able to accurately interrogate their desiresand passions. J. Kristeva (1980) makes the case that literature and the arts may provide a forum for delving into the complexity of human subjectivity and iden-tity to investigate the connection between language and desire. She emphasizes how crucial it is to challenge conventional language and social standards.

Women must feel the urge to celebrate the functioning of their bodies. Women also have their natural flows, they must claim their desires, and freely expressthe unheard songs to the world. They are not demonic figures, there is no needto feel guilty about what they are. They must examine why they are so. There is need to create true text of women without being scared of the entire capitalist machinery that is patriarchal and anti women.

Men have divided women, have made them stand against each other and have constructed the infamous logic of anti love. Women see each other through mens perspective and interpret through their minds. Women are used by men to satisfy their imperialistic desires. This has lowered women’s self image. It is im-perative to understand that the new woman should be liberated from the old one. According to S.M. Gilbert and S. Gubar (1979), cultural conventions and expectations that consigned women authors to the home sphere often held them captive throughout the 19th century. They suggest the metaphor of the “madwoman inthe attic” to represent the suppressed creativity and yearning of women. While attempting to understand the relationships between race, gender, and sexual orientation, A. Lorde (1984) makes the case for the value of valuing diversity.

I write to you from the depths of a solitude in which I have just recognized myself. I should not be the prey of this lie which is my fate. And yet I was shipwrecked in this abyss, I cannot touch the bottom, and I am drowning slowly (Cixous, 1976).

Cixous talk of breathing space for women. The body censored is likethe breath censored. When women will speak freely, their substance will reach to every woman; thus strengthening the entire community of women. Men usually see women in terms of sex. Cixous sees women writing as a way to realise their individuality that will transform women, the history and culture. Now is the time to break away from the past, to forget it, to reshape it. Two things are to be done, one to destroy and the other to project. According to V. Woolf (1929), to produce work that represents their experiences and viewpoints, female authors need to be financially independent and have their own place. She emphasizes how cruciala nurturing atmosphere is for women's artistic expression.

Cixous strongly writes as a woman toward women. She reminds them to be honest with themselves. She says, find your own voices, speak and write honestly what you want to. This journey from ‘silence to speech’ has to be taken by every woman. According to E. Showalter (1985), a feminist method to literary criticism that may find and promote women's voices and opinions, women's work has often been neglected and excluded from the literature.

Cixous talks about the relationship of one woman to another, of all women to each other. The first music of the first voice of love passes on from mother to daughter and from one woman to another. This nector within her; when expressed would be in white ink. Cixous implores women to write out of love of self,of culture and of life. So that today’s persues may not behead Medusa and another Athena not fix the head on the shield.

Speech is the most natural phenomenon of any living entity. Birds, animals, insects, trees, plants, flowers or elements of Nature like Water, Air, Sky, Earth all have their speech-their expression. Speech is Life. To be speechless is like being lifeless. Speech thus is as essential as breath. When the speech of a living entity is obstructed, controlled or suppressed it is like depriving that entity of life itself.So when women's voices are not heard it is a striking sign of suppression of their breath, their life. When women do not speak it is also a striking sign of lifelessness.

Women have innate qualities of creation. They are sensitive and compassionate to everything and everyone around them. Women tend to explain and express their concern, their feelings. They have been granted varied capabilities of expression. Women use these to speak, to express the true emotions of the heart, and experiences of the body and mind. They dance, they sing, they draw, they embroider, they make floor-paintings and wall-paintings, they decorate objects, they make clothes and accessories.They also write, they speak, they shout, they quarrel; but whatever women do to express themselves is one form or the other of their speech. This speech is honest and trustworthy.

What matters most in the social setup are their desires and wishes. They want to dismantle the structures of power and privilege – access to which is denied to them. Cixous inspires women to speak, and to breathe, and to live as strong figures. She also inspires them to be compassionate, the natural flow of which must reach from one woman to another and from one generation to another. Only then can women exist as living entities.

Cixous addresses the value of language and the need for a new vocabulary that incorporates the experiences of women. She argues that women need to take back the terminology that has been used against them and develop their ownvocabulary that represents their goals and experiences. Cixous is a supporter ofa language that frees women from patriarchal society's restrictions so they may speak honestly and freely.

L. Irigaray (1977) contends that women's bodies and experiences are often left out of philosophical discourse while criticising standard Western ideas of subjectivity. She stresses the need for a new vocabulary that can communicate women's subjectivity and the need of embracing diversity. She emphasizes the need of acknowledging and rejecting the patriarchal ideals that underlie these depictions in addition to recognising the possibilities of horror as a medium for feminist critique. G. Anzaldúa (1987), while advocating for a new mestiza consciousness that may welcome and enjoy hybridity, speaks to the challenges of balancing many identities and cultural practices and emphasising the need of dismantling current power systems and developing fresh means of expression.

L. Irigaray (1985) looks at how language and women's bodies are related, arguing that traditional philosophical and linguistic discourse has overlookedthe reality of women. She highlights the need of recognising diversity and offersa fresh language that could better capture the subjectivity and experiences of women. In exploring the connections between feminism and psychoanalysis,S. Kofman (1985) makes the case that both might provide a forum for delvinginto the experiences and subjectivity of women. She criticises conventional psychoanalytic theories that fail to account for the experiences of women, and she suggests a feminism-based strategy that might upend patriarchal expectations and hierarchies.

As far as western and non-western women voices are concerned, on one hand, the propensity of western feminist studies to generalise women's experien-ces and disregard the particulars of non-western settings is criticised by C.T. Mohanty (1988). She advocates for a more intersectional strategy that acknowledges the variety of experiences that women have as well as the influence of colonialism and imperialism on feminism. While on the other hand, the western feminist rhe-toric to talk for and about “subaltern” women without allowing them a voice is criticised by G.C. Spivak (1988) by asking for a more inclusive and intersectional feminist politics and says that the power systems that marginalise these women also make it difficult for them to be heard and respected.

These sources provide a variety of theoretical and artistic viewpoints on women's writing, emphasising the need of questioning society conventions and establishing safe places for women to express themselves. The writers promotea women centric approach to literature and criticism that may unearth and celebrate women's viewpoints and experiences. It is imperative that the society listens to and values women's voices.

From Cixous's renowned work, the idea of “The Laugh of the Medusa” asa representation of women's rebellious strength and creative potential develops. The additional references build on and contextualise this notion, highlighting how crucial it is to give women's writing a voice and to challenge patriarchal expectations and systems. These sources provide a wide variety of thoughts and viewpointson women's writing, its difficulties, and the potential it brings. They providean invaluable resource for anybody looking to learn more about the achievements made by women to literature and culture as well as to promote the freedom of speech for all women. According to L. Bell (1989), women's literature may question and disrupt present cultural standards while also creating a platform for women's voices to be heard. Important is to concentrate on the need of fostering an atmo-sphere that is supportive to women.

Conclusion

The need for women to reject the patriarchal systems that have silenced and oppressed them by writing about and reclaiming their own voices and experiences, is advocated by Cixous. The writing by women can be a source of strength and emancipation, and by writing about other women and themselves, women may carve out a place for their own originality and self-expression. Women must reclaim their voices, their roles and must advocate for a rewriting of power relations.

The inspiring essay “The Laugh of the Medusa” by Cixous urges womento embrace their identities, aspirations, and voices. She argues that women needto express themselves with writing and coin new vocabulary to explain their goals and experiences. It can be powerful for women to use their expressions and nar-ratives to break free from the exploitative patriarchal social arrangements andimposed restrictions to create a new future for both themselves, and the societyat large.

About the authors

Sushila Ojha

Government Maharani Sudarshana Girls College

Email: sushila.ojha@gmail.com
Retd. Head, Department of English Jaisalmer Rd, Amarsinghpura, Bikaner, 334001, Rajasthan, Republic of India

Jaya Kritika Ojha

Central University of Rajasthan

Author for correspondence.
Email: jaya.kritika@curaj.ac.in
ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5124-3326

Assistant Professor, Department of Society Technology Interface

Ajmer, 305817, Rajasthan, Republic of India

References