Sania Imtiaz

1925116118

Breaking the norms: A study of Female

Emancipation of Anuradha Roy’s All the lives we
never lived
 Introduction

• All the Lives We Never Lived(2019) is the South Asian, Indian, fiction by Anuradha Roy. The novel is about a woman wed off
in a haste after her father’s death. This marriage forced to suppress the artist within her and thus she paved a passage for
‘freedom’. The narrator is Myshkin, her son, reminiscing the hindsight of his life. This flashback narrative disclosed many
aspects of Gayatri’s life in her absence (masterclass).
• Gayatri is actively driven by a goal to fulfill her passion. She is holistically loyal to her passion, thus she abandons her family
for art. She crossed the socially constructed walls and removed this obstacle from her way herself.
• Gayatri ’s character contradict to the general perspective of a woman protagonist in South Asian works. Her independent
feministic approach is depicted against th patriarchal norms. Woman as a female gender is considered conflicting when it
comes to the individual independence. The dysfunctional behaviors of society are accessed through Gayatri’s character. The
book deals with important issues like feminism, art, patriotism and nature.
 Aim and Objectives

Aim Objectives
This research intents to examine the novel from an opposite • To discover the struggle of female protagonist for
edge. The apparent antagonist of the novel is a South Asian self independence.
rebellious woman who is culturally and traditionally restricted
by the society and its norms. On the other hand she can be dealt • To highlight conflicting ideals of females in the
as a protagonist due to her passion for her independence. society.
 Methodology

• In order to achieve the described aim, the paper is strategized with the
qualitative research method for a deep contextual study of the novel in
order to analyze the social structures. It’s a basic research that comprise of
the primary and various secondary resources to conduct a descriptive
analysis.
• Primary resource: Anuradha Roy’s All the lives we never lived
• Secodary resources: Articles, journals, reviews
 Literature Review

• The conflicted ideas of feminism as female sufferings, endurance and sacrifice is traditionally identical
portrayal of South Asian women. This proposal deals with the difference of perspectives of female liberation
and its evolution through the years (Hussain, ch. 2). Many South Asian writers like Kamala Markandaya have
strived to portray the sympathetic character as ptotagonist who accepts the sufferings and the antagonist as one
who violates the traditional norms by refusing to sacrifice in “Nectar in a sieve” (Changing Images of Women
in South Asian Fiction). South Asian female characters are generally an embodiment of tolerance and
submissive nature, exploited by male prejudice (Juneja 77). Roy’s All the lives we never Lived is the depiction
of a woman’s role very different. Gaytri with an artistic instinct, as a mother, rebelling against what Indian
culture, at that time of history, deemed unacceptable, makes her a rebellious protagonist.
 Chapters

Chapter 3
• A critical feminist study of Roy’s All the lives we never lived
Chapter 4
• Conflicting patriarchal values and their rejection
 Conclusion

Critical feminist theory suggests the existence of multiple feminisms, often by pointing to the fact that
the category of woman itself is non-homogenous, thereby feminism is as diverse as women
themselves. Giving up the on-going dominance of patriarchal, misogynist, and male-oriented norms ,
Gayatri is an exceptional character while carrying out resistance against these norms (Abrahamyan et
al.). Traditional values imply heteronormative, patriarchal, and nationalistic norms on women.
Unacceptable feminine roles in maintaining relation to men, family structures, and the state apparatus
are dealt with the concern of depriving female participation in their own lives.
 Work Cited list

• Changing Images of Women in South Asian Fiction. www.postcolonialweb.org/india/literature/sml3.html.

• https://caucasusedition.net/women-challenging-gender-norms-and-patriarchal-values-in-peacebuilding/
• https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36391803-all-the-lives-we-never-lived
• https://www.iasj.net/iasj/download/9bdd7af7b061b51d
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/40872963
• https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-a-flashback
• http://www.postcolonialweb.org/india/literature/sml3.html
• Hussain, Y. Writing Diaspora: South Asian Women, Culture and Ethnicity (1st ed.). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315233376
• Markandaya, Kamala. Nectar in a Sieve. India,1954.