The Pariah Women In Kanthapura: A Subaltern Representation

In Gramsci’s subaltern studies the subaltern consists of the proletariat classes mainly the middle classes; the working class and the lower class. His work does not mention women as a different class among the subalterns. Hence Gayatri Spivak’s article “Can the subaltern speak?” demands a space for women in subaltern studies. However in the novel Kanthapura as in other Indian writings caste plays a dominant influence in the psyche of the Indian society. Women in general form a different section in the subaltern studies but lower class women called the sudra or pariah women are attributed the lowest in the strata of class or caste divide. This paper is an attempt to try and represent the roles and contributions of the pariah women and find a space for them to voice their identity in the social structure.