Reading Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness: A Tale of ‘subalternity’ and ‘New Women’

Abstract

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness offers a profound exploration of the evolving roles and responsibilities of women in Indian society. As usual, Arundhati Roy showed us how to become a champion of the downtrodden. Her latest work The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is evidence of her promises towards society. Not only does she depict the inhuman condition of subalterns but she also projected them as new faces of subjugated people who fight against prejudice and unjust society. The faces which have defied the discriminatory social norms and set their journey of respect and identity. This research endeavour is taken to critically analyse the novel which reflects on the two different lives lived by the different women and transgender characters. It will analyse two different presentations of the same women's character. One character is, one who has lived a life of disrespect, humiliation, and oppression. Other characters are the same but the difference lies in their evolving personalities. The evolved women are more resilient, empowered, independent, publicly stand-alone and challenge societal norms. The perspectives of ‘subalternity’ will be analysed from Ranajit Guha, Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak and the other scholars of the Subaltern Studies Group and the concept of ‘New Women’ will be analysed from the theory given by Sarah Grand. After analysing two different theoretical concepts the proposed studies will show how women and transgender subalterns become New Women in society.