BEYOND THE COUPE: RECONSTRUCTING FEMALE IDENTITY THROUGH DECONSTRUCTION AND SUBVERSION IN ANITA NAIR'S LADIES COUPE

Abstract [English]

Anita Nair's Ladies Coupe (2001) catechizes the concepts of gender-autonomy, and societal expectations through deconstruction and subversion. It focusses on the life journey of Akhila, a single, middle-aged woman trying to find her identity outside the bounds of patriarchal norms. The novel employs a fragmented narrative structure, with six women in a railway compartment sharing their life stories. These narratives attempt to deconstruct traditional gender roles, exposing the vulnerability of social constructs that impose marriage, motherhood, and female submissiveness. Simultaneously, the act of storytelling becomes a act of subversion, as the women collectively challenge the dominant and authoritarian ideologies to reclaim their identity through their narratives. This article is an earnest effort to explore the manners by which the novelist tries to destabilize the patriarchal binaries—such as male-female and public-private and also critiques the systemic oppressive structures that perpetuate suppression. The novel, dextrously, is placed within a liminal space that allows for the emergence of transformative possibilities, celebrating women's solidarity and resilience. Through the interplay of deconstruction and subversion, Ladies Coupe not only reimagines gendered identities but also contributes to the evolving discourse on feminist literature.