A Feminist Reading of S. Ramakrishnan's Uru Pasi

Abstract

Feminism is a socio-political and intellectual movement concerned with achieving liberation, equality, dignity, and equal rights for women. Applying feminist political concepts directly to fictional literature, however, can be complex. A feminist approach to literature therefore examines the factors through which freedom and equality are denied to female characters, as well as the ways in which women are represented by the author within the fictional world. Feminist literary criticism analyzes female characters, events, dialogues, relationships, and the thoughts and experiences presented in a literary work. Through these textual elements, it is possible to interpret the author's attitudes toward women and to identify the gender ideologies embedded within the narrative. Feminist criticism not only questions the author and the social structures represented through the literary work but also examines how women are constructed in literary and artistic texts—as subordinate members of society, as objects of consumption, or as autonomous individuals with agency and identity. Such an approach can contribute to feminist awareness and the pursuit of gender equality while also providing a foundation for the further development of feminist literary theory. It enables readers to identify implicit gender hierarchies and examine the social, cultural, and ideological forces that shape representations of women in fiction. This study critically examines Uru Pasi, a novel by S. Ramakrishnan (S. Ra.), a prominent contemporary Tamil writer and recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, from a feminist perspective. Through an analysis of its female characters, narrative events, dialogues, relationships, and representations of women's thoughts and experiences, the article seeks to identify the author's ideological position concerning women and gender relations. The study further explores the extent to which the novel challenges or reproduces patriarchal structures and evaluates its significance within the broader framework of contemporary Tamil feminist literary criticism.