abstract

T.S. Eliot's women, on the other hand, are not liberal in spirit. His female companions are powerless. Poverty, exploitation, extortion, violence, destitution, and disease have all been perpetrated against them. His perspective on women's emancipation is limited to men's will. T.S. Eliot grants women one of the fundamental rights, namely the right to speak, but not the right to govern, dominate, reign, or order. He portrays the character of women as being submissive to their men's likes and dislikes. The poor and paralysed women of Canterbury, for example, must endure the brunt of the afflictions and are powerless to save Thomas Becket's life. Despite the Priests' censure, their foreboding of impending disaster goes unnoticed by others. Ordinary women are conversing in a frightened tone about an unknown misfortune in Canterbury. These women are conversing, or more accurately, whispering, on the streets. These women are powerless to prevent impending disaster. Their primary interest is with challenges that arise in everyday life.