Subordination to Liberation in Anita Nair’s Mistress

Abstract

Subordination and liberation focuses on the modern women's quest to emerge out of the existing conditioned life of subordination and submission to reach the state of emancipation and independence by finding possible solutions to the varied problems. Anita Nair's women, irrespective of their educational and economic background, are physically and psychologically opposed by patriarchal norms. By exposing the miserable plight of Indian women in the different strata of society, Nair seems to emphasise that real human progress will be beyond reach until the status of women is at stake. Women are an integral part of human civilisation. A society or country needs active participation of women for its development. The main goal of feminism is to destabilise the patriarchal norms entrenched in society that has led to gender disparities. Modern women no longer want to be a continuation of the so-called superior sex. Anita Nair has given special attention to the problem of cultural dichotomy prevailing in society. Also, she focuses on the modern Indian women’s quest to emerge out of it and to carve an identity. The present study probes into the notion of ‘subordination to liberation’ in Anita Nair’s Mistress.