Love in a Cage: A Critical View of Patriarchal Victimisation by Mahesh Dattani in Bravely Fought the Queen

The Criterion: An International Journal in English
ISSN: 0976-8165 | Impact Factor: 8.67 | Peer-Reviewed | Open Access
Indian Literature

Love in a Cage: A Critical View of Patriarchal Victimisation by Mahesh Dattani in Bravely Fought the Queen

Iraa Panda
Vol. 17, Issue 1February 2026Pages 266-280Article ID: 2026V17N1077

Abstract

: Indian society, being a patriarchal one, has been victimizing both men and women since long time. It hides its brutal realities behind the mask of modern civilization.Mahesh Dattani, one of the celebrated modern playwrights, creates plays with their themes relating to modern urban Indian family. His protagonists search for their identities within the oppressive societal structures of customs,tradition etc. He presents how the patriarchal domination makes the women to live under extreme oppression and accept it as “natural.” In his one of the most celebrated works Bravely Fought the Queen, Dattani dexterously emerges the issue of oppression, domination of patriarchy on both the males and the females giving them lifetime traumas. This paper aims to depict Dattani’s tortured characters focusing on the play Bravely Fought the Queen that represents all the tormented people in India facing struggles for existence being caged in an invisible prison named patriarchy.

Keywords

Key Words: Patriarchy, Societal Norms, Domination, Performativity, Women, Oppression.

How to Cite

Iraa Panda. “Love in a Cage: A Critical View of Patriarchal Victimisation by Mahesh Dattani in Bravely Fought the Queen.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 266-280. ISSN: 0976-8165.

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