Patriarchy and Female Suffering in Arundhati Roy’s Novel The God of Small Things

Abstract

Patriarchy is a social system in which men hold the majority of power. They hold the leading positions in political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and property ownership. Art is a mirror of life. It shows us worlds in which gender stereotypes are still alive and portrays women’s experiences of life and grief. A significant element of postcolonial English literature is the attention to women's issues and the struggles of disadvantaged social groups in Third World countries. Arundhati Roy’s novel The God of Small Things is a work of protest literature that is conscious of social injustices perpetuated by current cultural practices. The famous novelist Arundhati Roy is excellent at expressing the awareness of her female characters, representing their difficulties, fears, conflicts, contradictions, and aspirations. The current study examines the portrayal of patriarchal power in the novel The God of Small Things.