Abstract

Human beings have a complex network of power relations and there are various models of submission and domination in this power struggle. Dualistic thinking based on the binary oppositions such as ‘culture/nature’, ‘head/ heart’, ‘form/ matter’ is related to the opposition between man and woman. Inequality between women and men can appear in many different forms- it has many faces and sometimes the different asymmetries are quite unrelated to each other. In recent times, feminist theories have paid attention to the narrative texts based on culturally constructed gender. While analyzing a narrative text culture, identity, sexuality and power tend to form the major part. This work looks closely at The Thousand Faces of Night published by Githa Hariharan which takes a gender centered platform. In this analysis, the author tends to look primarily for ways in which Hariharan’s narrative deconstructs binary oppositions underlying mainstream assumptions about identity, culture and sexuality. Some feminist critics advice to keep the Indian social structure in mind when attempting feminist criticism in India. While studying Indian women novelists we have to understand the difference between east and west. The model should not be rigid. The ‘female’ body can be made docile, submissive, erotic, usable and productive .The Thousand Faces of Night represents a variety of female characters, mythological (ideal) and real, with varied wishes and frustrations, desires and agony, searching for self-identity or self liberation. Hariharan’s female characters revolt against considering marriage and motherhood as ultimate goals of an ‘ideal woman.’ They truly represent contemporary Indian women who are bringing about a silent revolution. Here, they stand with the third wave of feminism strongly advocating individual liberation. Through the study of women characters, Githa provides us with a peek into the Indian tradition and culture and the position of women in the Indian society. It is about the journey of Indian women through tradition to modernity in search of self-identity. It also discusses the ways out. It tells us how the characters, mythological and modern cope with passive victimhood. Issues raised by Hariharan are social, cultural and ethical. The vision Hariharan has for womankind is of empowerment. The protagonist finally disowns her status of ‘other’ finally to return to her mother or her roots to rediscover her true identity.