A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE FEMALE CHARACTERS IN THE SELECTED NOVELS OF V. S. NAIPAUL AND SALMAN RUSHDIE A Thesis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN ENGLISH By Gurjasjeet Kaur Regd No: 41400154 Supervised by: Dr. Sanjay Prasad Pandey Associate Professor School of Humanities Lovely Professional University, Phagwara Lovely Faculty of Business and Arts LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY, PHAGWARA PUNJAB-144411 July 2020 Declaration I do hereby acknowledge that: 1) The thesis entitled “A Comparative Study of the Female Characters in the Selected Novels of V. S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie” is presentation of my original work completed under the supervision of Dr. Sanjay Prasad Pandey, Associate Professor of Lovely Professional University, Phagwara. We made our utmost sincere efforts, including suggestions mooted by the Department Doctoral Board of Lovely Professional University, Phagwara. 2) This thesis strictly avoided any form of plagiarism; and where ever due, the proper acknowledgement was provided throughout the work to the authors’ contribution. 3) The final version of printed as well as soft copies of the thesis went through rigorous proofreading. 4) The submission of the final version of the printed copy of the thesis is in accordance with Lovely Professional University guidelines. Place: Phagwara Gurjasjeet Kaur Date: July 2020 Regd No. 41400154 ii Certificate This is to certify that Gurjasjeet Kaur, with Registration number 41400154, has prepared the thesis entitled “A Comparative Study of the Female Characters in the Selected Novels of V. S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie”. The same is submitted to the Department of English, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English. It is independent and original research work. No part of the thesis has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma before this date. The candidate has pursued the prescribed course work of research, and she has assimilated all the suggestions given by the Department Doctoral Board of the university during her annual presentations and pre-submission seminar. Supervisor Dr. Sanjay Prasad Pandey Associate Professor Place: Phagwara Lovely Professional University Date: July 2020 Phagwara (Punjab) iii Acknowledgements It is a matter of great privilege for me to acknowledge the contribution of all those, without whose guidance, inspiration, and timely help, this research project would not have been possible to accomplish. First of all, thanks a lot to God Almighty for providing me an opportunity to research on the topic “A Comparative Study of the Female Characters in the Selected Novels of V. S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie”. Then I would like to express my deepest gratitude and sincere reverence to my supervisor Dr. Sanjay Prasad Pandey, Associate Professor in English, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, whose untiring efforts, continuous support, motivation, immense knowledge, and constructive suggestions enabled me to work harder and accomplish the research work to the best of my ability. The whole of this work bears the imprint of his balanced criticism and scholarly approach. I feel obliged to Dr. Pavitar Parkash Singh, Associate Dean and Head of School of Humanities, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara. I feel grateful to Dr. Ajoy Batta, Head of English Department, Dr. Nitin Malhotra, Dr. J. P. Aggarwal, Dr. Nipun Chaudhary, Dr. Balkar Singh, and Dr. Digvijay Pandya for their help, encouragement, constructive and invaluable suggestions that helped me to gain an enriching experience throughout the years of my research work. My most considerable debt is to the librarians of Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjabi University, Patiala, and Panjab University, Chandigarh, for helping me in the completion of this research work. I am also very thankful to Mr. Puneet Garg, who helped me in the typing and setting of this thesis. iv I feel indebted to my husband, Mr. G. S. Thind, Advocate, for his encouragement and sustained help in starting and completing this research project. I am also very thankful to my mother, brother, and sister-in-law, who steadfastly supported me in all possible ways during this time. Their encouragement, indispensable help, continuous inspiration and moral support prompted me to complete my work. My acknowledgements will remain void if I do not consider the sacrifices and love bestowed upon me by my daughters, Roohniwaz Kaur Thind and Adabniwaz Kaur Thind, which enabled me to achieve this arduous task. (Gurjasjeet Kaur) v Table of Contents Sr. Title Page No. No. 1. Title i 2. Declaration ii 3. Certificate iii 4. Acknowledgements iv-v 5. Table of Contents vi. 6. Introduction vii – xix 7. Chapter – 1 : Feminist Journey and Patriarchal Oppression 1 – 41 8. Chapter – 2 : V. S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie: Making of 42 – 71 the Authors 9. Chapter – 3 : V. S. Naipaul’s Portrayal of Women in the 72 – 127 Selected Novels 10. Chapter – 4 : Representation of Women in the Selected Novels 128 – 207 of Salman Rushdie 11. Chapter – 5 : Comparative Study of the Female Characters in 208 – 284 the Selected Novels of V. S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie 12. Conclusion 285 – 301 13. Bibliography 302 – 322 vi Introduction Throughout the ages, the voice of females has been repressed by the patriarchal systems of society. Females have been assumed weak and inferior to men. The oppression and subordination of women mainly happen because of the existence of patriarchal systems present in society. In patriarchal societies, males dominate and exploit females. Simone de Beauvoir, in The Second Sex, rightly observes, "We are urged, 'Be women, stay women, become women.'" (3). Patriarchy has remained the prime obstacle in the development and advancement of women. Understanding of the system, which keeps women subordinate and oppressed, is required. Unravelling of these systems will help for the emancipation of women. In contemporary times, women are going ahead with the use of their abilities and merits. They are performing well in every sphere such as political, economic and social. But, still, patriarchy creates problems in the ways of women’s journey of advancement. Patriarchal oppression is responsible for the secondary and subordinate status of females in society. Absolute authority and power provided to men in patriarchal society limit women’s equal human rights to some extent. The women are taught to imbibe gender roles through the socialization process. They are made weak through patriarchal practices, which condemn assertiveness, individuality, and subjectivity. The patriarchal practices foster docility and modesty in women. These practices, be it mental, psychological, physical, emotional, political, social or cultural, are operational in society to make women subordinate. The present thesis, entitled "A Comparative Study of Female Characters in the Selected Novels of V. S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie", deals with the representation of women in the selected novels of both these renowned novelists. This thesis has explored the similarities and vii dissimilarities between V. S. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie as far as the representation of women in the selected novels is concerned. Feminism is a cultural, social, economic and political movement working towards establishing equal rights for women through the interface of life with literature and criticism. It is an ideology that is rooted in the basic concepts of human identity and the value of humanism. Feminist literary critics try to demonstrate the undesirable and stereotypical representation of women in literary works. They have also questioned the depiction of women in literature by male authors. Feminist literary critics focus on what type of roles female characters have been provided, are they protagonists, do they challenge patriarchy, do they hold power and what is the author’s attitude towards female characters in the text. During the 1980s, feminist literary criticism considered gender as a primary category to analyze the representation of women in literature. Feminists criticized the exclusion of women's voice from literary theory and criticism. The feminist writers tried to deconstruct the deformed image of females in fiction. They observed all realities of women's lives from the feminist point of view. Female authors used their pen to reach the forbidden world for them. They have provided a voice to silences. Pam Morris, in his famous book Literature and Feminism: An Introduction, observes, "Writing by women can tell the story of the aspects of women's lives that have been erased, ignored, demeaned, mystified and even idealized in the majority of traditional texts" (60). Feminist critics re-analyzed the bifurcation between male and female fiction. Feminist literary criticism became an effective medium to demolish the conventional image of women and install the actual one. The feminist critics posed a challenge to an androcentric world view to viii give place to new meaning. They depicted strong women characters to break the barriers set by male domination. Along with personal and emotional representations of the females, they have written on social conditions, female positions and gender roles. Gender has a vital role in the life of human beings. Starting right from their birth, in some countries, newborn babies are given pink or blue colour covers according to their sex; blue cover is reserved for boys, and the pink cover is meant for girls. These cultural traditions sent them forward in society to develop as men or women. From childhood, people are instructed to follow a particular code of conduct, which contrasts relying upon their gender. In a male-dominated culture, men have a special existence, and their experiences and preferences are considered as standardized human experiences. A woman is characterized just in connection to the man. Urging people to act and behave according to fixed roles is harming because these gender roles force human beings to encounter life just from their perspective as males or females, not as individuals.