We talked a lot about oppression – especially of Baby – in “The Cure” during class. However, I want to discuss the gender dynamic Kamani explores in the work. It seems pretty obvious that Baby lives in a highly patriarchal society, and that Dr. Doctor is a prime example of the power men have. First and foremost, Dr. Doctor sexually abuses Baby under the guise of medicine. Medicine gives Dr. Doctor an uninhibited authority that allows him to do such things – even Baby’s mother, who is supposed to be her guardian, turns a blind eye to what Dr. Doctor does as he “extracts Baby’s bodily fluids” to cure her tallness. However, the gender dynamic becomes more interesting because Kamani seems to intentionally draw parallels between Dr. Doctor’s and Baby’s appearances. They are both tall and thin. However, Dr. Doctor’s tallness is an asset as it gives him authority as a doctor as he towers over all the other characters in the short story. Baby, on the other hand, is seen as “demonic” and deformed because of her tallness. Men and women in society are clearly held up to different standards and Baby’s tallness becomes the very thing that alienates her from society. There’s nothing physically unsound with Baby, but society treats her as if there is because she towers over others where she should be shorter than them. Not only are women expected to be socially inferior, but they are also expected to be physically shorter as well. I thought it was really interesting how Kamani weaved this into the story because it gives us a visualization of just how differently men and women are viewed.
Tag Archives: “The Cure”
The Theme of Oppression in “The Cure” by Ginu Kamani
In “The Cure,” Ginu Kamani uses Baby’s height and persistent growth to mirror instances in which Baby loses control over her life and other people restrict her ability to choose her own path. Baby’s growth is out of her control and something that her body chooses for her in the same way that her mother, Dr. Doctor, and Ramdass make choices for her and try to control her fate. Modern medicine also comes into the discussion about Baby’s height as the common view is that “these days doctors have a cure for everything.” Baby’s mother entrusts Baby’s fate in the hands of Dr. Doctor, a sexologist, and allows him to sexually abuse her under the guise of knowing how to cure her as a doctor. Baby’s mother begs him to “find a cure, that’s all I ask,” showing her blind faith in a stranger just because of his title. Baby’s height serves as a representation of how modern medicine can be used to oppress women and young girls and to implement traditional conservative views of what a lady should be like. Baby’s mother herself is given tranquilizers to control her mood swings, and she can be seen also as a victim of social pressures in how she is lead to trust blindly in medicine and titles. Baby begins to take control over her life when she extracts her female fluids on her own out of rebellion against the doctor. At the end of the story, she recognizes that her growth as her becoming greater and more powerful than her mother, the doctor, and Ramdass who all have made choices on her behalf and she declares that she is “bigger than all of [them].” Baby states that her body will no longer grow. Although Kamani does not indicate whether or not Baby gains greater control over her life or if she is not forced into marriage and it is unclear whether Baby really stops growing, Baby’s outburst represents a pivotal part of the story in which baby takes control over her fate and rebels against their control over her life. Whereas before she could not control her own life nor her growth, here she declares that she will stop her growth, representing that she will control her life.
– Lauren Hodgson