மலர்வதியின் புதினங்களில் கைம்பெண்கள்

Widows in Malarvathi's novels

Abstract

In the contemporary context, women's life experiences, social struggles, gender oppression, poverty, and social marginalization have become significant subjects of study in Tamil literature. In particular, the lives of widowed women, their economic burdens, social exclusion, and psychological sufferings have been portrayed from various perspectives in literary works. Among contemporary Tamil women writers, Malarvathi occupies an important place for her novels that focus on the lives of marginalized communities. In her novels *Kaathiruntha Karuppayi*, *Thooppukkari*, *Kaattukkutti*, and *Andiyabeesu*, she profoundly records the lived realities of women who have lost their husbands, women abandoned by their husbands, and women who bear family responsibilities on their own. This article examines the social status, economic struggles, psychological challenges, and the self-reliant and resilient life perspectives of widowed women as depicted in Malarvathi's novels.