Abstract
This study provides a conceptual discussion by using Judith Butler’s theory of “Gender Performativity” that analyzes the tensions between self-identity and social identity. It proposes that identity is reflective of the correlation between the roles that people enact in society. The researchers scrutinized the role of gender and identity in the selected story of Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies. It will be investigated in the light of cultural and feminist criticism as well as their theoretical concepts. This study is conducted by using descriptive-analytic methodology as well as the materials available in the valid libraries. To conclude, the application of Butlerian theories to the selected short story provides the best opportunity for creating a balance between gender and identity spheres. It endorses the theory that gender performance is not the real hallmark of one’s identity. Indeed, formulating identity based on gender performativity is not necessarily incompatible with domestic values.
Highlights
1 Identity is most defined as a person's own sense of self
This study provides a conceptual discussion by using Judith Butler’s theory of “Gender Performativity” that analyzes the tensions between self-identity and social identity
Postmodern feminist strategies are summarized in the following shape: It is a combination of post-structuralism, postmodernism, and French feminism
Summary
1 Identity is most defined as a person's own sense of self. People strive to be classified as a “somebody” rather than a “nobody”. The issue of identity has become a very challenging subject. Individuals face a wide range of social roles within different cultures. Contemporary feminism is a leading movement in challenging the traditions and conventions of ‘patriarchal’ society, which means any society that is based on masculine authority, hegemony, and ideology. Keith Booker: Feminist literary criticism focuses on the relationship between literature and patriarchal biases in society and on the potential role that literature can play in overcoming such biases; many feminist critics have persuasively argued that literature plays a central role in the development of social attitudes toward women and of women’s attitudes toward themselves. Keith Booker: Feminist literary criticism focuses on the relationship between literature and patriarchal biases in society and on the potential role that literature can play in overcoming such biases; many feminist critics have persuasively argued that literature plays a central role in the development of social attitudes toward women and of women’s attitudes toward themselves. (Booker,1996: 98)
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