Motherhood in the East-West encounter: Pandita Ramabai's negotiation of 'daughterhood' and motherhood

The female East-West encounter often pivoted upon the motherhood role playe d by the representatives of the empire. This article aims to explore the co mplexities of the construction and enactment of this role. The analysis foc uses on a cameo of triangular interpersonal relationships formed by Pandita Ramabai, an Indian Brahmin scholar who converted to Christianity in 1883 d uring her stay in England for higher studies, her little daughter Manorama who was baptized at the same time and Ramabai's spiritual mother, the Angli can Sister Geraldine who was deeply and possessively attached to Manorama. After situating motherhood in its international discursive context, the art icle examines the two tension-filled sets of motherhood and daughterhood in herent in this triad, with the help of Ramabai's published letters and corr espondence which were compiled and edited by Geraldine (who made Ramabai's maternal inadequacies her dominant subtext) and of Manorama's unpublished l etters to Geraldine, her 'grandmother'. The article argues that a British m issionary nun's successful exercise of the motherhood role which she sponta neously assumed towards an Indian convert was contingent upon the convert's adherence to the racially and culturally inferior stereotype and unquestio ning submission to the new faith as well as to colonial authority. Such con formity and acceptance alone allowed deep 'maternal' bonding (overlooking r acial differences) which was too fragile to withstand any contestation or e xercise of agency by the convert. The overarching patriarchal ethos of the Church, internalized by the missionary nun, was also a significant determin ant of her treatment of the women converts in various ways.