Patriarchal Possession and Familial Resistance in Mahesh Dattani’s Where There’s a Will

Abstract

Mahesh Dattani’s Where There’s a Will focuses on the grim and oppressive structure of patriarchy in the modern Indian family, as a sharp black comedy. The play revolves around Hasmukh Mehta, a rich industrialist who has the will to control his family even after death through a meticulously prepared will. This article argues that the play critiques patriarchal possession as an instrument of domination, which includes property, inheritance, masculinity and familial authority. Hasmukh’s compulsion to control is expressed through his will which becomes a symbolic extension of his patriarchal ego, indicating how masculine authority seeks to govern not just money but also emotions, relationships and individual identities. The article goes on to argue that he offers alternative responses through the figures of Ajit, Sonal, Preeti, and especially Kiran who slowly unveils an underlying fragility behind Hasmukh’s patriarchal authority. Utilising humour, irony, spectral presence and domestic strife to do so, Dattani makes this familial sphere a battleground of ideologies. Chaudhuri further notes that he situates his plays within “the contemporary urban Indian family,” which becomes “the site of the ensuing conflict” (25). The play ends up suggesting that patriarchy wounds both men and women, because it cuts off the freedom and emotional growth, not to mention mutual recognition.