Towards Excellence

(ISSN No. 0974-035X)
(An indexed refereed & peer-reviewed journal of higher education)
UGC-MALAVIYA MISSION TEACHER TRAINING CENTRE GUJARAT UNIVERSITY

VOICES OF THE SUBALTERN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EXPOSITION OF ISSUES OF WOMEN THROUGH DIASPORA NOVELS

Authors:

Jagdish Joshi, Mahesh Bhatt

Abstract:

Literature is one of the best mediums which can unfold various issues of the subalterns especially the issues of women. Pen is mightier than sword. In the era of globalization, migration has become inevitable for progress and sustenance. The issues of immigrant women-vis- a-vis those who are at home are of prime concern today and the expatriate women writers give voice to it.

The paper will focus on comparative study of two novels of the expatriate novelists, viz. Anita Rau Badami’s The Hero’s Walk and Bapsi Sidhwa’s An American Brat. It will concentrate on various issues that women face in the host country and homeland. In The Hero’s Walk, Maya goes to Canada and then marries with Alan. Her condition in a patriarchal set up and the freedom that she gets in Canada are narrated by Badami. An American Brat narrates the journey of a young woman Feroza through three cultures-her own community’s Parsi culture, her country’s Pakistani Islamic culture and the western culture of the United States. In Pakistan she finds clash between conservative Islamic traditions and freedom of her community. A comparison between gender-relations in India and among overseas Indian communities will be carried out.

The novels will be studied from the theories of Edward Said and Gaytri  Spivak on legacy of

Colonialism. It will help to reassess the conventional ways of understanding the status of women and will suggest various steps that are required to be taken in social, political and economic policies for eradication of this gender discrimination and to provide a dignified status to women.

Keywords:

Subaltern, Diaspora, Colonialism, Gender

Vol & Issue:

VOL.13, ISSUE No.3, September 2021