The document analyzes women's sufferings as portrayed in South Asian literature. It discusses how early literature focused on women's enduring self-sacrifice but now examines their own perceptions of suffering from domestic violence and lack of rights. It provides an in-depth analysis of the novel The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, focusing on the suffering of various female characters and their lack of agency and financial independence in the society. In conclusion, it discusses how modern South Asian women's writing is moving beyond the traditional ideal of suffering to explore women's full potential and diversity.

1. Issues And Syntax
Assignment
Name:Madiha Batool
Linguistic Section=C
Topic: Sufferings of Women In South Asian Literature
Objective: Analyze one novel from south Asian Literature and try to discuss
all the aspects related with issues of women’s sufferings a domestic
violence,external and internal authorities,fighting for their rights and their status
in socio-economic frame of reference.
Abstract: Several reasons have been cited for the sufferings of south asian
women.The main reason behind that is financial social constraints.This issue is
challenging against domestic forces.
Social Context: The image of Women in south Asian novels had undergone
a change in the last three decades.In the beginning,traditional enduring selfsacrificing women’s sufferings presented in the literature.In those novels
women’s own perception of their sufferings and moral domains regarding the
gender violence was presented.How the culture interacts with deeply personal
experience of sufferings caused by domestic and sexual violence.
Role: Historical Perspective Women As An ideal
In South asian society women are always considered inferior when we compare
with men.Early history shows that from 8AD to 1800AD,the role of women was

2. most submissive feminine role.Although a women ideally had power as a
mother,as a wife she submitted to her husband and her family.
Relationships:Acute point of relationship between husband and wife was
expected to be based on equality mutual respect devotion and loyality.The
husband could not exert power and control over her.The ideal husband and wife
relationship replaced by “pativartra Concept”.
During changes of time period,new forms of religious practices evolved and
women became the main followers and custodian of these practices.Epics from
the ancient scriptures were translated into vernacular languages and sermonized
in villages across South Asia.
The translations of these epics were executed by men of the time who glorified
attributes of self sacrifice,modesty,obedience sufferings and chastity.
They failed to glorify the strength of these women for example:
Courage
Independence
Self control
Education
Wisdom
Internalized Role of Ideal:
By Blind faith in these values role of ideal for women in South Asian society,where
she was willing to serve her husband if there was no reciprocity in his duties and
sentiments towards her.
Women folk In South Asian Literature:
The Cry of these sufferings of domestic violence can be heard.Traditional
sufferings by women focused by feministic theories.Feministic theories have
questioned the implication of Simone De Beavior’s formulation,

3. “One is not born a women but becomes one”.
Social control and viewing a women as socially constructed body is needed.
The God of Small Things:
Women sufferings and fate.Arundhati Roy’s book,”The God of Small Things” has
been seen from many perspectives.The Sufferings of women In the hyprocritical
shackles of society.The Decadent kerala aristocracy brought into sharp focus,the
main concern related with Postcolonial literature of South Asian Literature.
The ill fated love affair between and aristocratic woman and an untouchable
Paravan has its own ages old element against the caste system. Feminist tinge is
done by suffering described in tangle emotional web of thoughts and minute
sensibility.
Title Of Novel:
Roy takes her cue from the Christian doctorine that nothing is too small for our
love and consideration.Velutha called ”God Of Loss”and when a women of and
aristocratic family loved him the women also reduced to being an untouchable.
“They all crossed into forbidden territory.They all tempered with the laws that lay
down,Who Should be Loved And How And How Much”.
By showing suffering of women from the hypersensitive perspective,Ammu’s
sufferings and subsequent divorce at the hands of an alcoholic husband is echoed
in her own mother.Mammachi has her own background of domestic violence and
submission.
As a proof,she carries a scar on her head,having been battered regularly by her
husband.Ammu’s searing love affair with untouchable Velutha is also presented
on different note in the character of her grand-aunt Baby Kochamma.This lady
too had a helpless love affair with Roman Catholic Priest.

4. Married Life Of Pappachi And Mammachi:
Chacko And Ammu’s Pappachi had been an imperial Entomologist.Pappachi beat
mammachi every night with a brass flower vase.Kids also witness this violence.By
watching these nightly beatings of her mother,had a adverse effect on Ammu.As
she tell the reader:
“Mother bear suffered,these beatings with mute resignation”.
Perppachi’s beatings turned Mammachi almost blind.
Stark Portrait Of Society:
Roy has succeeded in her endearvour of exposing machinery of gender bias and
related problems of her setting and description of Ayemenen House.Ammu
learned to live with. Cold Calculating Cruelity The lofty sense of injustice arised.
Women Helplessness In Society:
Cruel suffering Mammachi,Ammu,babyKochamma,Margaret rahel are cases
pointedly portrayed with stoke of writer.
Socially Supressed,Sexually suppressed Financially Supressed.
Mammachi’s Pickle-making job earns Pappachu’s jealous frowns instead of
favour.Teh fate of the divorced women brought forwards when comrade Pillai’s
pronounciation of the word as”Die-vorced”confers morality of Rahel.
As Ammu was divorced daughter,she had no position any where at all.The Stance
encompasses sympathy for a women in South Asian perspective.A controlled
intricate narrow structure through which the theme of love,sufferings of
women,voice for their rights and reaction of society run like a spider’s web.
Its depth and feelings finding a way out from the feministic point of view and
asking for identity for woman as a human being not as an Entity.

5. Plot: Plot of this novel is densely remained on tension and tautness of a thriller.
Images:Sensory imagery makes this tragedy of its own kind.The Tragic
reasonance and her art can be best described in her own words she depicts
Velutha’s being as untouchable and Ammu’s Secret lover:
“He Left no foot prints on sand, no ripples in water,no images in mirros”.
Race And Culture:
The probing factors are we feel pity for female characters that her mortification is
not just on the personal level.
There are many elements of race and culture involved in it.
Settings:Dramatic narrarive and lyrical narrative as a series of flash back,the
story reveals most chronologically presentation of narrative task.Another after
effect of colonial oppression is that it sometimes results in parallel between state
of women within patriarchy.
Giving voice to those who were voiceless.Historic and polemical codes in the
novel too funcation as direct and indirect commentary on the will to power of the
BigGods.
Personification:
She personifies partriarichial norms in south asian society in from of abusive
manic and tryrant males that suppress the hopes and lives of women around
them.
“The Smug Ordered World”

6. Cry Against Society and Its System:
Ammu has no means of achieving freedom as she lacks college education.
Universality:
Narrativ’s Inner indentity of imagination make it universal.
Issue:Confrontation with the right of love
Roy has radically confronts her reader with the fact that their own bearings of
right and wrong are also steeped in history and society.
“All dreams are captured”
Metaphor: South Asian Society is described the metaphorical way “Trapped
Outside”.
“The War That captured Our Dreams and Re-dreams them”.
While love making o Estha and Rahel is trangressive act that once again broken
the love law that lay down who should be loved and how much.Moral and sexual
transgression also raised questions in the mind of reader.Device of Trangression is
used to convey state of flux.
Women Descrimination In post Colonial Studies
Why?How?
ArundhatiRoy echoes loud and through the halls of world literary pantheons.In
oct 1997 ,this novel “The God Of Small Things” picked up Britian’s Prestigious
Booker Prize.
She has been penning indispensable essays that call out social injustice and that
cry out for…
Mixture of guilt,anger,defiance,sneaking envy.It Was swarmed by mainstream
media criticism.

7. The fictional world of Roy Seemed to provides the reflection surface Feminist.The
fact is that novel’s appearance coincided with post colonial with post colonial
studies hitting a strong mid-stride in the academy worldwide with other factors.
The thirdworld artifact swept up into….Authors’ focus main on female
characters,narrative Sensibility.
How Narrative techniques stream of consciousness express resistant feminine
psyche.That is so different from man even oppressed by male dominant
controlling power.
For Singh,Roy’s retrieval of subaltern voices becomes a post colonial “act of
discrimination and women sufferings”
Post colonial feminist frame moving towards silent margins.
Women ,children,untouchable.
Roy States,”So different from that of men”(105).
“The fractured sensibility and the broken and fragmented world of
women”(106).
“Act Of Liberation”(133).
Feminist Tinges on the Psychoanalytical and Socio
Historical Theme.
Behaviours,actions,concepts and themes are interlinked with deep issues.Every
character demanding the rights and fighting with shackled of emotions Restrains.
Roy’s Novel in particular capable for fitting external world and from the subjective
world of feelings and thoughts while using all narrative techniques.
Aspect Of Fear:Fear as an response to powerlessness is significant.The
focus on how through socially constructed body is site of control of
determinations.The Mechanism of control are also signs of anxiety about

8. uncontrolled lived body.Social control is attempting to escape the challenges
thrown by loved body.Process of subjugation and mechanisms of oppression and
portrayed with issue of women sufferings.
Thus, ending of novel is tragic with death of Velutha.
Changing Concerns:
The changing images of women in south Asian fiction in the last three
decades,Women writers have moved away from traditional enduring towards
conflicted female characters searching for rights.Kamala Das,Sara Suleri,Anita
Desai are such writers.Female characters in 1980’s assert themselves and dely
marriage and family structures.Chitra Fernando’s collection of short stories.Three
women,Anita Desai’s in custody and many other writers break through sufferings
that traditional sufferings offer them.
Conclusion:
Hence the modern women in life has been trying to throw off her burden of
inhibitions she has carried for ages.Yet a women on way to a liberation,trying to
be free from inhibitions.
Post colonial Femisim argues that woman as a uniserval group or only defined by
their gender.They have their rights in social class,race,enthnicity and sexual
preferences.
Aness Jung point out,”Where the two experiences meet lies to revelation”.
Rather than limiting the lives of women to one ideal they push the ideals towards
full expression of each women’s potential as seen in new writings of South Asian
Literature.
In conclusion,this issue hones into:

9. The Diversity of Women and Diversity With In each
Woman:
Opens Our imaginations to think and feel.
References:
The “God Of Small Thing “by Arundhati Roy.
Abrahan M(2000) islolation as form of domestic violence:The South Asian
immigrant Experience.
Journals Of Social Distress.
The Position of Women in Hindu civilization By Altekar,A.S(1959)
Choksi R,Desai,Adamali.Over view of domestic violence in south asian
community.
Translating Pain:Sufferings in literature and culture (University of Toronto
Press Publishing).
Ramu Nagappan papers about social Sufferings and south asian Narratives.
The Women Of South Asian Descent Anthology (Luke Press San Franciso).
Work Cited From:
http://www.postcolonialweb.com
http://www.sotosay.wordpress.com