Representation of Women in Kamala Das’ Alph...

Representation of Women in Kamala Das’ Alphabet of Lust

Author Name : Raheel Ahmad Trag

ABSTRACT Our society is mostly patriarchal in which women have certain constraints and are expected to play various conventional roles. It has become normal in Indian society to harass and humiliate women as she is considered to be the weaker sex in the society. Despite the advances made during the recent past, gender inequality is a problem for women in our society. The male centered society is controlled, conducted and organized in such a way as to subordinate women to men in all cultural domains. India has been an abode of intellectual writers whose literature is praised across the globe. With changing times, the themes and forms of literature keep on evolving. Plethora of women writers contributed through their painstaking efforts to apprise us about their intellectual acumen. One such female prominent writer is Kamala Das who has depicted the travails of women faithfully without any inhibition. Her frank and bold style has mesmerized and shocked the whole Indian society. She portrays the female sexual desires and the horrible experiences of woman in Indian context in her sole novel Alphabet of Lust. The concept of female sexuality hardly exists until the publication of this novel. Even talking about sexual desires was considered a taboo in that conservative period. It was a revolutionary novel even till date that awared the people about female desires and sensibilities. This research paper will portray the representation of women in Kamala Das’ Alphabet of Lust.