பஷீரின் பால்யகால சகி நாவலில் பெண்ணடிமை வெளிப்பாடு: ஒரு பன்முக சமூக-இலக்கிய ஆய்வு

Expression of Female Subjugation in Basheer’s Novel Balyakalasakhi: A Multidimensional Socio-Literary Study

Abstract

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer, regarded as the "morning star" of modern Malayalam literature, wrote the novel "Balyakalasakhi" (Childhood Companion). It is not merely an ordinary love story; it is a tragic document of the poverty, patriarchal structures, and female subjugation prevalent in the Kerala Muslim society of the early 20th century.

This article provides an in-depth feminist analysis of the life struggles of the female characters, particularly Suhara. It explores the hierarchical power of a patriarchal society, the denial of education, physical oppression carried out through rituals, and the violence enacted in the name of marriage. Against the backdrop of Basheer’s unique philosophy of "something a little bigger," this study utilizes socio-historical data to present how poverty and patriarchy converge to shatter a woman’s personality.