A nineteenth-century bengali housewife and her Robinson Crusoe days: Travel and intimacy in Kailashbashini Debi’s The diary of a certain housewife

Abstract

Kailashbashini Debi’s Janaika Grihabadhu’r Diary (The Diary of a Certain Housewife; written between 1847 and 1873, serialised almost a century later in the monthly Basumati in 1952) chronicles her travels along the waterways of eastern Bengal. Her travels are firmly centred around her husband’s work; in his absence, she is Robinson Crusoe, marooned in the hinterlands of Bengal with only her daughter. Bearing in mind the gendered limitations on travel in the nineteenth century for upper-caste Bengali women, this essay investigates Kailashbashini Debi’s narration of her travels and the utopic vision of the modern housewife that Kailashbashini constructs for herself. The essay looks into the audacious nature of Kailashbashini’s effort: to claim a space in public memory alongside her husband. In the process, the essay seeks to address the restructuring of domestic life made possible by the experience of travel, and explore the contours of women’s travel writing in nineteenth-century India.

Alternate abstract:

Kailashbashini Debi’s Janaika Grihabadhu’r Diary (The Diary of a Certain Housewife; written between 1847 and 1873, serialised almost a century later in the monthly Basumati in 1952) chronicles her travels along the waterways of eastern Bengal. Her travels are firmly centred around her husband’s work; in his absence, she is Robinson Crusoe, marooned in the hinterlands of Bengal with only her daughter. Bearing in mind the gendered limitations on travel in the nineteenth century for upper-caste Bengali women, this essay investigates Kailashbashini Debi’s narration of her travels and the utopic vision of the modern housewife that Kailashbashini constructs for herself. The essay looks into the audacious nature of Kailashbashini’s effort: to claim a space in public memory alongside her husband. In the process, the essay seeks to address the restructuring of domestic life made possible by the experience of travel, and explore the contours of women’s travel writing in nineteenth-century India

Alternate abstract:

La obra Janaika Grihabadhu’r Diary de Kailashbashini Debi (The Diary of a Certain Housewife, escrito entre 1847 y 1873, y publicado por entregas después de casi un siglo en la revista mensual Basumati en 1952) narra sus viajes por los canales de Bengala del este. Sus viajes se centran firmemente en el trabajo de su marido, en su ausencia, ella es un Robinson Crusoe, abandonada sola con su hija en la zona rural del país. Teniendo en cuenta las limitaciones de género que regían la actividad de viajar para las mujeres de las castas altas de Bengala en el siglo diecinueve, el presente ensayo investiga la narración de Kailashbashini Debi de sus viajes y la visión utópica de ama de casa moderna que se construyó para sí misma. Este ensayo investiga la audacia de su esfuerzo: reclamar un espacio en la memoria pública al lado de su marido. En el proceso, este ensayo busca abordar la reestructuración de la vida doméstica hecha posible por la experiencia del viaje, y además explora los contornos de la escritura de viajes por mujeres en el siglo diecinueve en la India.