Women, body and violence in post colonial fiction - Dissertation Example

This essay aims at explaining the reasons why fiction was created and what it portrayed; what were the thematic underlying messages in these expressions. The protection of a novel form had to be taken to eclipse the historical events although partition was used as a backdrop at all times. Post colonial fiction brings to light the struggle to fulfill the desire for modernity but also rests in the conclusion that it is not easy to remove the established culture and religion from the social construct.

It would mean to shatter the ideologies followed by the people who strongly have faith in their customs and belief systems. Authors like Mehta and Baldwin try to emphasize the need for women to raise voice against violence, sexual assault and patriarchy. Modern fiction is an attempt to awaken the suppressed and subdued ‘woman’ in the women. Based on the past cultural and karmic heritage a woman has to carve a niche for her self. Because of the element of recalling certain memories, fiction is also able to do what history and historiography fail to do.

To leave out the reminiscing is to discount the personal and emotional element of Partition trauma. History constrains memories in its futile attempt to be objective, but it is humanly impossible to achieve absolute objectivity. All the novels dealt with in this essay with the backdrop of Partition, deal with the issues of women that were often overlooked in retracing Partition. Hence fiction is a better medium to cope with emotions. The reader can immediately identify his/her self with the characters personified.

Fiction is intended to be subjective and hence more valid as a testimony.