Masculine Crisis and the Quest for the Divine Feminine in Devdas and Dev.D: A Psychoanalytic Study

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Published: Nov 11, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34074/junc.26065
Keywords:
Devotion; Divine Feminine; Effeminacy; Colonial India; Eurocentric Modernity

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Dr Pratibha Tiwari
Amity University, Noida, India
Dr Shantanu Ghosh
Amity University, Noida, India
Dr Garima Dalal
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, Indi

Abstract

This article examines the crisis of masculinity and the quest for the divine feminine in Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel Devdas (1917) and Anurag Kashyap’s film Dev.D (2009) through a psychoanalytic and socio-cultural perspective. It explores how the character Devdas’s early attachment to his mother and his relationships with Parvati and Chandramukhi shape his masculine identity and create a conflict between sexual desire and the idealisation of the feminine as maternal and sacred. The study then examines how Dev.D reworks this conflict in a globalised and consumer-driven India, where Dev responds to changing femininity through sexual assertiveness, aggression and emotional detachment. The paper argues that, despite their contrasting forms of masculinity, both protagonists remain psychologically dependent on the feminine. Their inability to reconcile vulnerability, desire and masculine identity produces a continuing crisis that takes different forms across historical contexts.

Article Details

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Vol. 1 No. 26 (2026): gender
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Articles
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Author Biographies

Dr Pratibha Tiwari, Amity University, Noida, India

Ms. Pratibha Tiwari is a Ph.D. scholar at the Amity Institute of English Studies and Research (AIESR), Amity University, Noida, India. Her research interests lie at the intersection of adaptation studies and cultural studies, exploring how literary adaptations undergo transformation to represent culture-specific ideas and negotiate the socio-cultural contexts in which they are produced. Besides her research work, she has also served as a Teaching Assistant at Amity University, Noida, where she taught Communication Skills courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Dr Shantanu Ghosh, Amity University, Noida, India

Prof. Shantanu Ghosh is the Director of the Amity Institute of English Studies and Research (AIESR), and also the Amity Centre for Cognitive Science (ACCS), at Amity University, Noida, India. He mentors Ph.D. scholars working in diverse areas, including diaspora studies, adaptation studies, cognitive neuroscience, and linguistics. Before joining Amity University, he served as a Research Fellow (Neurology Service) at Harvard Medical School.

Dr Garima Dalal, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, Indi

Dr Garima Dalal is an Associate Professor (Linguistics) and Chief Coordinator of the Linguistic Empowerment Cell at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India. Her research and teaching focus on English for Academic Purposes, English Language Teaching, and Communication Skills in Higher Education. She has collaborated internationally with the University of Maryland, the University of Texas at Dallas, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.