A Comparative Feminist Analysis of The God of Small Things and a Thousand Splendid Suns

Abstract

This article presents a comparative feminist analysis of Roys’ The God of Small Things (2007) and Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007). The main aim of this study is to investigate the way in which female characters in both novels experience and resist patriarchal oppression in their respective cultural contexts. The study is qualitative in nature and is based on an interpretive paradigm. The researcher explored a feminist approach to examine the representation of female characters in The God of Small Things (1997) and A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007). The data for this study consists of the two novels selected for their powerful portrayals of female characters and their experiences in patriarchal societies. The findings of the study reveal that in Roys’ The God of Small Things (1997) and Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), female characters experience male-dominancy and patriarchal subjugation through different ways that are shaped by their political, social, and cultural environments. Despite the strong restrictions imposed on these women, they resist this patriarchal oppression and challenge the oppressive norms imposed on them.