Publication Date
2009
Description
What can we learn about the way that folk storytelling operates for tellers and audience members by examining the telling of stories by characters within such narratives? I examine Maithil women’s folktales in which stories of women’s suffering at the hands of other women are first suppressed and later overheard by men who have the power to alleviate such suffering. Maithil women are pitted against one another in their pursuit of security and resources in the context of patrilineal formations. The solidarities such women nonetheless form—in part through sharing stories and keeping each other’s secrets—serve to mitigate their suffering and maintain a counter-system of ideational patterns and practices.
Journal
Journal of American Folklore
Volume
122
Issue
485
First Page
267
Last Page
296
Department
Women's & Gender Studies
Publisher Statement
- Published as "Talking Tools, Suffering Servants, and Defecating Men: The Power of Storytelling in Maithil Women’s Tales." Journal of American Folklore 122(485):267–296 (2009) by the American Folklore Society"
Recommended Citation
Davis, Coralynn V.. "Talking Tools, Suffering Servants, and Defecating Men: The Power of Storytelling in Maithil Women’s Tales." Journal of American Folklore (2009) : 267-296.
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, Folklore Commons, Other Languages, Societies, and Cultures Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, South and Southeast Asian Languages and Societies Commons, Women's Studies Commons