Courtesan as Resistance to the National and the Colonial A Study of SevaSadan

Abstract

Premchand's SevaSadan has been read as a powerful critique on the treatment of the courtesan culture in Indian society. The discourse of courtesan as a threat to the masculine/national/colonial is emphatically conveyed vis-a-vis Suman, who becomes the embodiment of both home and the world. The paper aims to study both nationalism and colonialism as hegemonic structures that attempt to push the courtesan to the "feminine" space. The paper examines the courtesan's body as a constant space of negotiation and trial, whivh both liberates as well as confines her. Also, since SevaSadan is a thorough case of translation, it thus allows us to interrogate the reception of the courtesan in various cultures (via its translations).