An Exploration of the Subaltern and Feminist Voices in Indira Goswami s Select Novels

Abstract

Indira Goswami is an intelligent and celebrated writer. Besides being an editor, poet and newlineprofessor, she is also a well-known scholar of Assamese literature. Indira Goswami s novels deal newlinewith the realities existing in the society. Indian English novelists, especially, women novelists newlineare known for dealing with the themes of oppression and subjugation. Therefore, most of them newlinetend to speak about the pathetic condition of women in their literary creations. Indira Goswami is newlinealso an Indian woman novelist and her literary works deal with variety of themes. But the newlineprominent themes in her novels are woman, other marginalised sections, and Indian society. newlineIndira Goswami s novels thematically and characteristically try to show the subaltern sections of newlinethe society and their conditions. However, she is more inclined towards women as subaltern in newlineher novels. Indira Goswami combines subalternity and feminism in her literary works. newlineThe voice of subaltern is prevalent in Indira Goswami s novel, The Moth Eaten Howdah newlineof Tusker. As the novel is about the Satra system of South Kamrup of Assam, it describes about newlinethe Satradhikars, the owners of the vast tracts of land. The name of the novel Moth Eaten newlineHowdah is the symbol of richness, power and grandeur. But now this Howdah is eaten up and newlinedestroyed by worms. The elephant throws it off and breaks it into pieces when he gets angry and newlinetired of carrying it. At the elephant is killed. In the same way, the peasants raise their voices and newlineprotests against the feudal systems run by the Satradhikaris. Indranath, the future Adhikari of the newlineSatra is killed by the peasants who were tortured and oppressed by feudal system. newlineThe novel also describes about plightful conditions and despair of both, the victims and newlinevictimizer. The feudal families have become poor during recent times. However, they have to newlinefollow the rigid caste systems. They cannot mingle with the common folk or villagers. As a newlineresult, they feel alienated and suffer a lot. They become poor but can t get rid of the so called newlinep