The Voiceless Women: A Study in Shivani’s Bhairavi: The Runaway

Abstract

The term ‘subaltern’ incorporates the entire people that are subordinates in terms of class, caste, gender and rank, or in any other way. When it operates in terms of class, gender and caste, it is more psychological than physical.  Antonio Gramsci coined the term subaltern to identify the cultural hegemony (According to Merriam Webster the word hegemony means the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group).

This paper endeavors to highlight the voiceless Marginalized women in Shivani’s Bhairavi: The Runaway (a translation from the original Hindi text, Bhairavi rendered in English by Priyanka Sarkar). Shivani aka Gaura Pant was a very prolific and voluminous writer, she has many novels, short stories and essays to her credit. The English translation of her works give an insight into the deeper psychological understanding of women. Shivani’s purpose is to give voice to the marginalized women in the society and to explore the discrimination order of caste, gender and class.