A Comparative Analysis of Gender Representation In Indian and Western Feminist Fiction
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Abstract
This paper provides a comparative study of feminist fiction in India and the West, including representation of women protagonists and issues, male characters, and theme, plot resolution, and resistance. A purposive sampling was used to select 20 feminist fiction texts (10 Indian and 10 Western) using a comparative qualitative content analysis approach and analyzed using frequency and percentages. The results indicate that both traditions pay a lot of attention to feminine-centered stories, but in Western feminist fiction there is more emphasis on the individual empowerment and self-identity, control over sex, and first-person narration. Conversely, Indian feminist fiction is more focused on the theme of patriarchy, domestic oppression, intersectionality, and collective opposition which is formed due to the socio-cultural reality. More male characters in Indian fiction are described through patriarchal figures of authority, whereas more supportive and multifaceted male characters are given in Western fiction. Moreover, Western feminist fiction gives more emphasis on independent narrative solutions and activism, but Indian feminist fiction indicates more realistic, unclear, and socially determined results. The paper comes to a conclusion that although both literary traditions criticize gender inequality and encourage female agency, their portrayal of gender is different due to a particular cultural, social and ideological background. This comparison study can be beneficial to feminist literary studies as it offers a more profound understanding of cross-cultural gender depiction and feminism.
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