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March 18, 20260 citationsOpen Access

Feminist Voices In Modern Tamil Literary Works

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MVMs.R.Vilva VirukshaDSDr.R.Shiva ShankariMMs.S.Chitra

Key Points

  • The aim is to critically analyze the role of feminism in contemporary Tamil literature and trace women's expression and agency development.
  • Analyzed foundational Dalit feminist literature and contemporary confessional poetry.
  • Used Intersectional Narrative Analysis as a methodological framework.
  • Evaluated works by Bama, Salma, Kavitha Sornavalli, and S. Ramakrishnan's novel Idakkai.
  • Assessed narrative structures, themes, and resistance across five dimensions.
  • Examined the context of social justice movements in relation to feminist writing.
  • Identified three significant stages in women's expression and agency in Tamil literature.
  • Found a shift from narratives of victimhood to expressions of autonomous subjectivity.
  • Highlighted the contribution of experimental narrative techniques to convey women's experiences.
  • Analyzed the impact of women's literature on resistance to patriarchal hegemony.
  • Established connections between regional literary traditions and global feminist discourses.

Abstract

This paper undertakes a critical analysis of the role of feminism in contemporary Tamil literature, tracing the development of women\\\'s expression, resistance, and agency in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Through the critical analysis of foundational Dalit feminist literature, confessional poetry, and the use of narrative forms in contemporary literature, the paper identifies three significant stages in the development of women\\\'s expression and agency in Tamil literature. This study proposes the use of Intersectional Narrative Analysis (INA) as a methodological framework to analyze the role of women writers in Tamil literature, which combines the analysis of the narrative with the socio-political context. Through the analysis of the works of Bama, Salma, Kavitha Sornavalli, and S. Ramakrishnan\\\'s novel *Idakkai*, the study identifies the evolution of women\\\'s literature in Tamil, which has moved from the narrative of victimhood to the expression of autonomous subjectivity, bodily autonomy, and the reconstruction of the social order. Through the evaluation of the works of women writers on five dimensions—narrative, themes, resistance, intersectionality, and impact—this study identifies the unique contribution of each work and the common thread of the expression of women\\\'s agency and resistance to patriarchal hegemony. This indicates that modern feminist writing in Tamil is using experimental narrative techniques to convey the complexity of women's experiences while engaging with broader social justice movements. The present research is significant in terms of exploring regional literary traditions and their engagement with global feminist discourses and cultural specificity. \\

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Cite This Study

Viruksha et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69ba44654e9516ffd37a60bbhttps://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19049706
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