Feminist Narratives of Intersectionality, Identity, and Resistance in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things

Abstract

This study explores the themes of intersectionality, identity and resistance in the novel “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy, and it analyses the interwoven system of gender, caste and social hierarchy in contemporary India through an intersectional perspective that portrays the multifaceted lives of disenfranchised individuals, particularly women, and how their identities are shaped by a range of interwoven models of subjugation. The book explores the restrictive nature of caste prejudices, feudal standards, and socio-political structures that dictate people’s lives and interpersonal relationships through the characters Ammu and Velutha. In addition to assessing how gender interacts with caste and social status in order to form identities, the study examines the different ways that characters resist the existing social structure. Primary sources of data collection are adopting a feminist intersectional framework, which employs qualitative textual analysis.  The secondary sources include academic publications, scholarly journals, and intersectional feminist criticism proving perspective for analysing the narrative depictions of interlinked power and disparity structures. How does Arundhati Roy represent the intersection of caste, gender and social inequalities in The God of Small Things, and how do these overlapping oppressive systems shape the identities of marginalized women?  The aim is to show how resistance originates as a critical reaction to social inequalities, and identity is portrayed in “God of Small Things” as a fluid and dynamic construct moulded by intersecting power relations. According to the analysis, Roy’s book challenges the social norms by elevating vices that are often buried in a masculine and caste-driven community.