Honor, Shame, and Gendered Violence in South Asian Anglophone Fiction

Abstract

The article critiques contemporary South Asian Anglophone fiction and the subject of honor/shame, and explores their intersections with gendered violence. It challenges conceptions of family honor and communal shame that tend to regulate women's bodies, decisions, and identities. The article examines selected novels by South Asian Anglophone authors through qualitative textual analysis, focusing on salt and on novels with female protagonists. The novel is examined through a qualitative textual analysis of selected novels written by South Asian Anglophone authors, viz., Cracking India, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Brick Lane, Burnt Shadows, The Lowland, and Girls Burn Brighter, and in combination with the salt, the novel is examined in terms of the women protagonists of the novel. Feminist literary criticism, postcolonial theory, and gender studies are utilized to comprehend domestic abuse, forced marriage, honor-based control, emotional pressure, and how women are silenced. These texts clearly reflect more than the victimization of women. They cannot leave without women who refuse to give up, who remember, who speak and migrate, who make friends, and who seek identities. Overall, the article argues that South Asian Anglophone fiction is a significant critical terrain for feminist analysis and for social critiques of patriarchy and possible alternative forms of family, culture, and community.