ice candy man: female suppression and marginalization by Madiha Habib student of BS ENGLISH IIUI

1. Ice Candy Man: A Feminist perspective
The novel Ice Candy Man presents femine psyche and experiences in a
unique style. The women characters of the novel are aware and very
confident of their individuality, Lenny, her Ayah Santa, her mother and
Godmother show a strong character and exhibit ability of assuming new
roles and responsibilities. It is second novel by a woman writer dealing
with the theme of partition of India. But it is first by a non Pakistani
writer. Bapsi Sidhwa being a parsee does not belong to any of the two
communities. She presents partition as a neutral being and highlights
disharmony, mutual suspicion which leads to hostility of feelings of
friendliness and good neighbourliness and the eventual holocaust.
Sidhwa depicts events in their naked cruelty. it is a very brave attempt
for a woman to choose a theme which is other than the traditional issues
of women like romantic involvements and sentimental stuff. She takes a
female protagonist into the moral centre and presented male characters as
apathetic and involve in destructive violence. The analysis of Ice Candy
Man shows women characters to be strong enough and live life of their
own. They are not suppressed. In the patriarchal set up males are
superior and females are considered inferior. All the good qualities are
associated with males and all the weaknesses with female. But in Ice
Candy Man all the strong qualities are presented by female characters.
The main character of novel is a young , who is lame. Through this
handicap child it is presented that women can be creative even with
disabilities. She takes pen and narrates the story of partition. In general
notion writing is the characteristic of males and women has to perform
domestic tasks. By making Lenny narrator , Sidhwa lends weight to the
femine perspective.
There is a notable difference between a feminist text and a male
discourse. In the later all the heroic qualities are associated with males
and the female protagonist remains suppressed and recipient of male
power and orders. In a feminist text, it is the woman who performs and
controls the action by her active involvement and given heroic qualities
and glory. In the novel Lenny’s cousin remain cousin throughout the
novel without any identity. It shows equality of gender rather superiority
of women. Lenny is very much strong in her character and wise that she
does not allow him to take advantage of her disability. He wanted to
manipulate her sexually but he could not seduce her. It is because of the
influence of Ayah.
Ayah is a flame of sensuous pleasure and all her admirers move around
her for the sexual warmth she radiates. She is like a queen bee who
control the actions and emotions of admirers. She is so powerful that no
admirer can afford her anger. Although she is flirtatious but she is aware

2. and confident of herself. No one can take advantage of her. She is also
very loyal to the family she serves and extremely protective of Lenny,
more than her mother. Later on she is abducted and raped and became
the mistress of Ice Candy Man. He make her a dancing girl and compel
her to change her religion. But as soon as she gets the chance, she gets
away by using her freedom from the man she does not love. She is firm
and decisive. She want to go back to her family. Inspite of Ice Candy
Man’s love, she does not stay with him. He weeps, begs and became a
faqeer for her.
Lenny’s mother is presented a faithful wife who is always submissive to
her husband, tolerates his moods and make her relation successful. All
the good qualities are associated with women by Bapsi Sidhwa. While in
Train to Pakistan , it is Juggut Singh who with the feelings of love for his
beloved Nooran, save the lives of many Muslims migrating to Pakistan.
In Ice Candy Man it is Lenny’s mother and aunt who play heroic role of
fighting for the lives and properties of Hindus. Thus it is the two women
who undertake the risky job of saving lives in danger.
Another very vibrant figure, very close to the protagonist is Godmother.
Her personality shines with humour, extreme love for Lenny and her
social commitment. When she so desires , earn her respect and
admiration of people around her. She is endowed with understanding of
human existence. Her wisdom is showed when she solaces the Ayah
after what has been done to her. The best example of he self confidence
and authoritativeness is how she deals Ice Candy Man and rescue from
kotha. Ice Candy Man was not an easy man to deal with.
Against Sidhwa’s novel, Kushwant Sing’s Train to Pakistan presents the
man in command and are centre of stage. The focus is on hero Juggut
Singh, even though he is portrayed as badmash but the writer’s sympathy
is with him. He is arrested for a murder in village. There is hardly a
woman in the novel who matches his position. The relation between him
and his beloved Nooran is that of an overbearing lover and submissive
beloved. Once his lust overtakes him , he lays her. He is like a peasant.
He compel her to obey what he says. When we compare this relationship
with the relation of Cousin and Lenny , we find Lenny stronger. When
cousin tries to fulfil his sexual desire , she stops him and never let him
take advantage of her. All the women characters in Train to Pakistan
remain sex objects and there is no concept of women rights. The women
are marginalized and all the importance is given to males.
When we see the character of Slavesister , she is also suppressed and
obeys the orders of Godmother. She does not do anything by her own
will. By this character Bapsi Sidhwa conveys the message that the
exploitation and suppression of one individual by another are not

3. confined to the male-female relationship , but these can exist between a
female-female relationship aswell.
Thus Ice Candy Man becomes a feminist text in true sense by bringing
on stage a female protagonist. Sidhwa belongs to that group of writers
who depict other roles of women than their traditional roles.
In my opinion women should given freedom of choice. They should be
given rights. There must be a world free of dominance . A good society
is one in which there is justice and equality between men and women.
All religions of the world preach justice and equality and rights of
women.
Ice Candy Man; A Saga of Female Suppression and Marginalization
Ice Candy Man presents violation of human rights and pathetic
conditions during the partition of Subcontinent in 1947. Through the
character of Lenny, Bapsi Sidhwa gives the details of how the political
changes affect the citizens of India. The novel realistically represents the
exploitation and suppression of women. Men using their masculine
powers fulfil the desires and brutally assault the women. Sidhwa as a
novelist talks about the power and skills of women.
Feminism is a movement which play a very important role in
highlighting the suppression of women in a male dominated society. In
this society women are considered inferior to men and they are not given
their rights. Many writers suggest some solutions to the degradation of
women based on cast, creed, religion and gender biases. Ice Candy Man
represents a series of female characters who survived the worst time of
1947 in India. The novel represents the realistic picture of Hindu Muslim
clashes and the changing political scenario. Emotional turmoil,
weakness, killings, brutalities and much more are suffered by women.
The whole story is narrated by a female protagonist who shares her
personal experiences of partition. She minutely observes men’s
intentions towards women, the lustful desires of males and the way they
treat the women as sexual objects.
Lenny as a narrator moves from childhood to adolescence and during this
course of time she understands the changes occur in society and
behaviour of men with women. The whole journey helps her to develop a
mature vision of life. She gives a close look at the relationship between
men and women. Being a handicapped girl her world is restricted to her
house. She spends most of her time with her Godmother. Being a child
she had no inclination to female possession. She never played with dolls.
The sexual identity thrust upon her again and again. Her schooling is
stopped by her doctor because she is suffering from polio. He said she
can marry and live a good life. She does not need to take burden of
studies. This suggestion makes her feel that her fate is sealed and

4. marrying and carrying out responsibilities of domestic affairs are the
only aims of women. Since ages it is considered that woman’s duty is to
look after the house, raise children and give comfort to her family.
Shashi Deshpande suggests that women should be given enough space to
realize their true personality. Simon de Beauvior holds the opinion that
mothers are responsible to inculcate the sense of submission in women.
Lenny learns that marriage of a girl is of utmost importance to their
parents. Independence and self identity is for men. As a child she enjoys
the love of her mother and the protection of her father but the story of Ice
Candy Man’s love for Ayah destroys her concept of love. The meeting of
Godmother and Ice Candy Man open her eyes to the wisdom of truth and
compassion. She watches women being rapped and men turning to
beasts. Women including Ayah become prey of men. Lenny was shocked
to see the human mind corrupted so easily. Men were declaring
superiority over each other by sexually assaulting women. Shashi
Deshpande states that rape is a violation of trust between two people and
a greatest violence.
Lenny is shocked to see the changing faces of men and she became
aware of religious differences. She knows that men of different religions
can never become friends again. To take revenge is the sole purpose of
their life. Ayah is kidnapped and she decides to hunt for Ayah, who
became a prey of Hindu Muslim riots.
Throughout the novel, Lenny appears as bold, courageous and strong.
Sidhwa has given feminist touch to her character who moves forward
despite many hurdles. By observing the life of many women she
understands the limitations associated with women lives in patriarchal
society. Bapsi Sidhwa states that women are always marginalized and
she always protest against it. Lenny’s mother is another female character,
a servile housewife, she limits herself to her home. She represents the
traditional woman who never expresses their desire. Through Lenny
Sidhwa shows that men have to dilute their ego and women have to be
strong. The mind sets need to be changed in order to establish equality
between sexes.
Sidhwa exposes the society, which marginalize women, their growth and
development. She has a constructive approach towards women’s
betterment.
Just as Bepsi Sidhwa said about the marginalization and degradation of
women , it is true. Women are always being marginalized and considered
inferior over centuries. They are not given their rights. A big change is
required at social level, which will acknowledge women as human
beings having souls, desires and feelings. Women should utilize their
potentials beyond the domestic life to have their own individuality.

5. A Comparative Analysis of Ice Candy Man and Train to Pakistan:
The Subcontinent was divided into Pakistan and India in August 1947.
Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice Candy Man and Kushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan
describe all the events and tragedy of partition. Both the novels present
the bitter reality, horror and destruction caused in the name of partition
by retaining their individuality. Bapsi Sidhwa narrates the story through
a female protagonist while Kushwant Singh through male.
The division of partition was based on Two Nation Theory. The Muslim
majority states were given to Pakistan and Hindu to India. This resulted
in massive and violent migration. A large number of people became
victims of partition. One million people died and 75000 women abducted
and raped. The partition enlightens hostilities between both the nations
instead of bringing peace.
The tragedy of partition influences many writers and they started to
define the themes , the turmoil and complexities of partition. Kushwant
Sing’s Train to Pakistan , Attia Hussain’s Sunlight on a Broken Column,
Amitav Gosh’s Shadow Lines, Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice Candy Man , short
stories by Saadat Hassan Manto and poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz give
insight to the sectarian violence. Both the novels Ice Candy Man and
Train to Pakistan received worldwide appreciation for presenting faithful
and true reality of partition. Bapsi Sidhwa was only eight years old in
1947 and originates from Pakistan, while Kushwant Singh was of thirty
and a well known Indian writer.
Train to Pakistan is the account of tragedy of partition in a small village
Mano Majra where Sikhs and Muslims were living like brothers over
centuries. Their life was peaceful and serene without any racial
prejudice. One day a mob of robbers robbed and killed the money lender
Ram Lal (a Hindu) and police arrested Juggut Singh (gangster) as a
suspect. His beloved Nooran was a Muslim. He was arrested because of
his strong ties with robbers and bendits. Iqbal, a European educated
young man was also arrested in connection with murder. One day two
trains came from Lahore filled with the dead bodies of Sikhs and Hindus.
In this way the peaceful atmosphere got disturbed and the village became
a battle field. Friends became enemies and brotherly relations vanished.
The Sikhs and Muslims migrated from their respective places to save
their lives. The Sikhs and Hindus decided to take revenge by killing
Muslim passengers in train going to Pakistan. Juggut Singh’s beloved
was also in the same train with her family. He saved her and many other
Muslims in the cost of her life.

6. In Ice Candy Man, Bapsi Sidhwa describes the communal violence
through a young girl Lenny who is lame. Shanta was her Ayah who takes
care of her like a sister and Lenny loves her a lot. Ayah attracts men with
her physical beauty. Masseur and Ice Candy Man were against each
other because both wanted to win the favours of Ayah. The rumours of
partition were in the air. One day the mobs breakout and killed many
people in Lahore. Soon the entire Punjab Province was seen burning. Ice
Candy Man killed Masseur. The train arrived from Gurdaspur and it was
filled with dead bodies of Muslims and two bags full of women’s breasts.
This sight turned Ice Candy Man into a violent beast. He abducted Ayah
and took her to Hira Mandi and made her a prostitute. Later on he forced
her to change her religion and marry her. Lenny’s small mind was
shocked to see all this and she lost her innocence.
The study of both the novels show that the terror and utter violence
started when Mano Majra and Lahore received trains full mutilated
bodies. The trains are the root cause of uncontrolled violence and
bloodshed.
Communal violence: All the novels in the history about partition
accounts that the violence erupted when the British Raj announced the
division of Subcontinent. Punjab was the most affected province because
it was divided into two halves. People migrated from one city to other to
save their lives. In Ice Candy Man , the enimosity between Masseur and
Ice Candy Man for Ayah shows the conflict between Pakistan and India
regarding who should live where. With the division of Punjab, the hearts
of Sikhs , Muslims and Hindus filled with hatred for each other. They
killed and looted each other’s properties. Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus
raised slogans against each other. The whole world was burning. Ice
Candy Man reported about the train arrived from Gurdaspur which was
filled with dead bodies of Muslims and two bags full of women’s breasts.
This act of violence changed him to a beast. He abducted Ayah in
revenge and made her a dancer.
The picture of this violence and massacre is also found in Train to
Pakistan. In the beginning lines of novel, Kushwant Singh says: ‘the fact
is both sides killed. Both shot and stabbed and speared and clubbed.
Both tortured. Both raped.’
The peaceful atmosphere of Mano Majra started to crumble after the
murder of Ram Lal. The situation got worst when the two trains full of
dead bodied of Sikhs and Hindus arrived from Pakistan. There was no
fuel to burn the dead bodies and they were buried. It was season of
monsoons and the remains of Muslims killed in massacre are float by
floodwaters of Sutlej River.
It is note worthy that both the novels mentioned the reference of
mutilated breasts of women in trains. Apart from this, the way Ice Candy

7. Man expressed his emotions and convinced his friends to take revenge,
the Sikh leader of Mano Majra is also shown doing the same, invoking
Sikhs for revenge. Thus we can say that both the novels give the account
of harsh realities and violence of partition.
Victimization of women: The history of partition witness the fact that
women of Sikhs , Muslims and Hindus all became victims of partition.
Women were kidnapped, rapped and brutally killed. They were not
accepted by their families after abduction. The victors celebrate their
victory on the bodies of women.
In Ice Candy Man , Ayah is kidnapped by Ice Candy Man and made her
a prostitute. He successfully removed her identity and religion in his
hatred with Hindus. Although Ayah escaped him, but she will be
considered as a fallen woman by her family. This thing led her to
emotional and psychological disturbance forever. Hamida was also a
fallen woman and she was discarded by her family.
In Train to Pakistan , Kushwant Singh gives same account of cruelties
inflicted upon women. He narrates the story of Sundri, a newly wed girl
moving to Gujranwala with her husband on fourth day of her marriage.
They were attacked by Muslims. Her husband was striped naked and she
was rapped in front of him. A part from this the trains with women’s
breasts also tell the brutal attitude towards women. Some women died to
avoid sexual violation, their chastity and respect of family and religion.
Romance: Both the novelists are similar in introducing the romantic
element. Both of them develop love story between the individuals of
opposite religion and ethnic identity. Ice Candy Man and Ayah is good
example in Ice Candy Man and Juggut Singh and Nooran in Train to
Pakistan. Ice Candy Man is responsible for the abduction and disrespect
of Ayah, whereas Juggut Singh saves her beloved from destruction on
the cost of his life.
In Ice Candy Man love exists in many forms. There is the cruel love of
Ice Candy Man for Ayah and pure love between Lenny and Godmother,
Lenny and Ayah and Lenny and her mother. The different forms of love
are love for religion, land and power. The love of Ice Candy Man
continuously changed its shape and role. His love is obsessive and his
character is flexible.
Children and psychological trauma of partition:While discussing the
tragic history of partition, we cannot ignore the children who were
affected by the same violent and angry world. Those who survived were
haunted by horrible memories so much that they were physically and
psychologically handicapped forever. In Ice Candy Man , the best
example is Lenny, the narrator and Ranna. Lenny witnessed the burning
of buildings and fights of Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. The murder of

8. Banya upset and terrified Lenny. She was curious to the meaning of what
she has seen and she tore apart one of her doll and inflicted her psychic
pain on a physical body. She was totally confused with the world around
her. Due to her childhood innocence she was unable to understand the
events. The abduction of Ayah shows her innocence that she became
prey of the wicked world. She suffered throughout the novel.
Ranna’s encounter with the event of Pir Pindo affected him both
physically and mentally. Being a child he was not familiar with the
violence and brutality of man. He witnessed the murder of his family and
all the villagers infront of him and also the rape of many women. He lost
his family. His physical wounds healed but the scars left on his heart
remains forever.
Bapsi Sidhwa accounts the physical and psychological tortures suffered
by children whereas Kushwat Singh upholds only adult’s mirror to
reflect the complexities of partition.
Goodness of human character: The partition fiction in English on one
hand records the savagery of man , and on the other hand it underlines
the sincerity and commitment of man to humanity. The characters stand
for goodness are Iqbal, Juggut Singh, Lenny’s family members and
Imam Din.
Juggut Singh and Iqbal in Train to Pakistan are socially marginalized.
Iqbal is against the killing and exploitation of poor by rich. He was
against the partition and believed that partition give nothing but violence
and destruction. Juggut Singh, a social marginal is involved in many
crimes. When he knew the conspiracy about the train going to Pakistan
in which his beloved was travelling, he saved his beloved and many
other people.
In Ice Candy Man, the Parsee family helped many people. Lenny’s
mother and Godmother helped the fallen to return to their families and
recovered Ayah from abductor. Hamida was also very good and served
Lenny like her Ayah. Imam Din tried to save Ayah from abduction.
These are the characters who are always ready to serve humanity
irrespective of their religious and ethnic identities.
The writings of partition tragedy inspires the film producers from the
literary sources. ‘Earth 1947’ and ‘ Train to Pakistan’ are visual
representations of Ice Candy Man and Train to Pakistan Pamela Rooks
and Deepa Mehta. The role of Ice Candy Man was played by Amir Khan.
From the above discussion we can conclude that Bapsi Sidhwa and
Kushwant Singh clearly portrayed the gruesome reality of partition. We
can also say that partition is due to the intervention and conspiracies of
British Raj. All the people of different religions and ethnic identities
were living peacefully for centuries before the British Raj, even during

9. the Muslims rule. The Britishers inculcate the religious and ethnic biases
in people of Subcontinent. They took the advantage of illiteracy of
people. If all the people were educated, they would be able to take right
steps at right time and would save Subcontinent from bloodshed
SUBMITTED BY: MADIHA HABIB
REGISTERATION: 749-
FLL/BSENG/F-10
COURSE TITLE: PAKISTANI
LITERATURE
PROGRAM : BS ENGLISH 5 TH
SEMESTER
SECTION : A
SUBMITTED TO : MADAM SOFIA
HUSSAIN

10. INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC
UNIVERSITY
ISLAMABAD