Introduction

The story ‘Breast Giver’ was written by Mahasweta Devi in 1987. In this story, the author talks about  Jashoda, a lower-class Brahmin woman who became a milk mother in the house of a wealthy landlord family in Calcutta and eventually died of breast cancer. Kangalicharan, who was the husband of Jashoda used to work in a sweetmeat shop. He was also patronized by the head of the landlord family, the Haldars of Harisal because Kangali was a Brahmin. Kangali and Jashoda used to be invited to the house of the Haldars when there was a feast. One day, when Kangali was returning from the sweetmeat shop, he was hit by a car which was driven by the youngest son of the Haldars. Kangali lost his feet in the accident and became crippled. To save the family from the sin of hurting a Brahmin, the Haldar chief decided to take care of  Kangali and his family. However, after the death of the Haldar chief, the family stopped taking care of Kangali and his family. They were left with nothing to feed their children. Then Jashoda went to the Haldar household and asked the mistress of the Haldar household, who has been referred to as ‘mother’, to give her some work. Finally, Jashoda got a job as the milk-mother in the Haldar household.

Breeders of Progeny: Jashoda and the Haldar women

The daughters-in-law of the Haldars did not want to breastfeed their biological children because their husbands did not want them to go out of ‘shape’ because of breastfeeding. Their mother-in-law, the mistress, then came up with the idea that if Jashoda fed the children, then her daughters-in-law would be able to reproduce babies without being out of shape. Here, it can be seen how the bodies of the women have been objectified. The mother-in-law was afraid that if the daughters-in-law went out of shape, her sons might lose interest in their wives and might try to get sexual favours from some other places. Two problems may crop up if the sons of the Haldar family start having sexual relations outside the household. First, the name and the fame of their household would be questioned. Second, the daughters-in-law would not be able to produce heirs for the family if the men lost their interest in their wives.

It would not be wrong to claim that the body of Jashoda was accessible as a milk mother of the children because of her class location. It can also be seen how the experience of reproduction of the women of the  Haldar families was similar to Jashoda, yet different from her. While women of both class backgrounds were perceived by their husbands and family members as yearly breeders of children, Jashoda’s experience of childbearing is different from that of the women of the Haldar family. While the women of the Haldar family could afford to employ a milk mother like Jashoda for their children, Jashoda had to feed both her children and the children of the Haldar family. This is an instance of stratified reproduction (Colen,  1995) because the experience of reproduction, childbirth and childrearing was different between the Haldar  women and Jashoda. As Jashoda used to feed the grandchildren of the Mother (mother-in-law) of the Haldar family, she used to monitor and keep a check on her breast milk supply and her diet. This can be read as disciplining reproduction (Clarke,1998).

Reproductive Ageing and the Reduction of Biovalue: Jashoda’s Helplessness

After the death of the mistress, Jashoda lost her job as a milk-mother for there were no longer any children whom she could suckle on her. Moreover, her reproductive ageing had also set in. She was above fifty years old. She tried going back to her husband. But her husband refused to look after her. Her husband has taken full advantage of the fact that her wife, by working as a milk-mother was bringing was creating bio value (Waldby,2002), which he exploited in terms of having good food and a better lifestyle. However, when she was unable to contribute any kind of bio value, no one including her husband and children took care of her.

She went back to the Haldar house and requested the then-landlady to give her a job. She was appointed as a cook. Jashoda was once looked upon as the Goddess and was respected for being a Brahmin woman and because of her work as a milk mother. But after she became redundant for the Haldar family as a milk mother, she was made to stay with the other servants at the servant quarters. Eventually, she developed breast cancer. Finally, she was left to die at the hospital being abandoned by her husband and children and the  Haldar family. She was thrown out of the pedestal on which she was once made to sit because she became an aged woman and was unable to contribute any reproductive labour.

Surrogates and Nannies as a reflection of Jashoda

The story mentions how motherhood became a profession for Jashoda because she had to continuously reproduce and breastfeed. A similar situation can be found among present-day surrogates and nannies around the globe. For them, pregnancy and motherhood are like professions. Just like Jashoda, both the surrogates and the nannies are at the receiving end of stratified reproduction. The bodies of the women are exploited at the expense of their health and well-being. Just like commercial surrogates, Jashoda was like a  mother-worker (Pande, 2010). As a worker where she was playing the role of a milk mother, Jashoda was expected to work in a disciplined way. She had to take care of her breasts and she was fed well by the mistress of the house. However, as a mother, she was expected to be selfless. She was overworked and overburdened as a milk mother who had to feed thirty other children other than the twenty biological  children of her own.

Importance of the Title

The story is centred around Jashoda’s selfless motherhood. The very name Jashoda is significant. Just as the Indian mythological character Jashoda, the foster mother of Lord Krishna nurtured him in her bosom,  Jashoda also nurtured all the children of the Haldar household as well as her biological children in her bosom without discrimination. Jashoda was described as the “Cow of Fulfillment” (Devi, 1997:50). Just as a  cow is important for milk production, Jashoda was perceived to be nothing more than a cow. Neither Jashoda’s biological children nor the children of the Haldar family reciprocated the care work she contributed towards them. She selflessly gave. But she received no respect in return. Jashoda became the breast giver.

Conclusion

The story ‘Breast Giver’, shows how the experience of reproduction is different for different sections of women. Though women of all sections of society are exploited for their reproductive labour, still the experience of reproduction is different. The reflection of Jashoda can also be seen among the surrogates and nannies, where these women are exploited and dehumanized and are not paid adequately for their reproductive labour.

References:

Clarke, AE. (1998). Disciplining Reproduction: Modernity, American Life Sciences, and The Problem of Sex. University of California Press.

Colen, S. (1995). Like a Mother to Them: Stratified Reproduction and West Indian Childcare Workers and  Employers in New York. University of California Press.

Devi, M. (1997). Breast Stories. Seagull Books Private Limited.

Pande, A. (2010). Commercial Surrogacy in India: Manufacturing a Perfect Mother‐Worker. Signs. 35(4): 969-992.

Waldby, C. (2002). Stem Cell, Tissue Cultures and the Production of Biovalue. Health 6(3): 305–23.

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Riddhi Chakraborty (she/her/hers) is pursuing a Master of Arts in Health, Gender and Society at the Department of Liberal Arts, Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT) Hyderabad, India. She has previously completed her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Sociology from St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata, India. Her areas of interest are around gender, body and sexuality and science and technology studies. This write-up is a part of her assignment.