Loss of Power and Potency in the Short Stories

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Loss of Power and Potency in the Short Stories “Tiger” by Najalini Jones, “Aphrodisiac” by Ruth Jhabvala and the Movie Little Miss Sunshine
In Passive Men, Wild Women, marriage counselor and author Pierre Mornell argues that most marriages fail because men have not only lost their sexual virility, but also because they are so engrossed in their careers that they have little time for their families and wives. To illustrate his point, the author gives an example whereby today’s corporate-type husband comes home late at night, very tired and only interested in taking a rest and shutting off from the outside world. In contrast, women want to share their day’s activities and achievements, as well as pour out their frustrations. While the woman wants the man to talk, the man wants her to shut up (Mornell 77). Consequently, they respond by resisting their wives attempts to initiate conversations. The short stories “Tiger” and “Aphrodisiac,” by Nalini Jones and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and the movie Little Miss Sunshine explore the loss of virility in men as a result of modern civilization. The texts and the movie suggest that men’s sexual passivity is symbolic of their declining power in society, which has allowed women to become more assertive and independent.
Nalini Jones’ “Tiger” is a portrayal of a man’s loss of power as a result of taking a passive role in the family. In the story, Essie, the heroine, is the center of attention, and the authority figure in the family, because of the laid back nature of the male members. Her husband Francis is rarely present in the home as he spends most of his time away playing gymkhana, a racing game for men. Francis’ absence from the home and the minor role he plays symbolizes the loss of male power. While Francis has not been affected by career commitments, his commitment to his games with his peers suggests men’s gravitation away from their families to other roles. Not surprisingly, he only comes home for meals and to sleep. Essentially, he is shut out from the goings on in the family, and to a large extent he is like an outsider. Although his marriage does not end up in divorce, his relationship with his wife is remarkable in that they do not relate or talk like married couples. For instance, Essie sends him away when he comes home, telling him that supper is not ready. She snaps at him saying, “Dinner’s not ready… another twenty minutes at least” (Jones 312). Evidently, she treats him like a little boy who comes too early before dinner is ready to disturb his mother. He chases him away as a mother would a naughty child whose presence is unwelcome. It is also very telling, that the only time that Francis appears in the story is during meal time; just like children who are called to eat their meals and then chased away to play.
Francis is also unaware of what is affecting his wife, an indication that he has slipped from his role as the man and leader of the family. While taking a bath one afternoon, Essie discovers a cancerous tumor in one of her breasts. Instead of telling her husband, she chooses to confide in her daughter Marian. It is Marian who convinces her mother to go and see a doctor, and it is her who insists that she gets the results to know whether the tumor is malignant. In response to Marian’s suggestion that her mother asks her husband to accompany her to see the doctor, she angrily retorts: “Stop pulling your father into my affair…I’m perfectly capable of going on my own” (Jones 314). The fact that Essie considers her husband unimportant to know about her condition shows not just her attitude toward Francis, but most important, the author’s treatment of gender power relations. Her sons are away working, but she seems not to miss their presence in any way (Carlson 2011). In fact, she does not need them as long as she has Marian with her.
Similarly, Essie’s self-confidence that she can take care of herself contradicts with the traditional family set up whereby a wife depends on her husband. What is equally notable is Essie’s overdependence in her daughter (Carlson 2011). She is most heartbroken not because she suspects she has developed breast cancer, but chiefly because Essie has left her after returning to the States with her family. Little wonder, then, that the theme of shifting gender power relations comes out in every situation where Essie confronts male characters in the play.
Daniel’s gentleman manner is interpreted as lack of assertiveness. For instance, he avoids arguing with Essie, just as her husband is too timid to assert himself as the man of the house. He responds to any opinion by others with his “blank American look and blank American smile” (Jones 294). In addition, Daniel portrays the shifting role of husbands in the family institution by his having to go to the States for his job instead of tending to Essie’s illness. In the absence of Essie’s two sons and her husband’s commitment playing games, Daniel is the visible male member. However, his presence is neutralized by the authoritative and demanding nature of his mother-in-law. In fact, it is the women who run the family, and the men are only passive members.
The character of Gopi, the coconut harvester, is important in demonstrating the connection between men’s involvement with family roles and their potency as husbands. Francis, either due to old age or ineptitude, is not able to harvest his own coconuts as any man worth his salt should. This lack of competence to carry out a man’s duty for his family is symbolic to his declining power not just sexually, but also metaphorically as head of the family. In contrast, Gopi, who can climb the coconut tree to harvest its fruits, is productive in his role as husband; his wife has just delivered a son. Although Francis has fathered children, he is no longer capable to do so, a situation that the author uses to portray changing times whereby contemporary men have lost it all to women within the family set up.
The cat in the story plays a symbolic role to portray feminine power. The female cat is alone with her kittens with their father, suggesting the responsibility that female members are taking as the head of their families. At the same time, the cat is fierce and protective of her young ones, a quality that she shares with Essie. Es...