feminism in a postcolonial context with salman rushdie's shame 2003

8/11/2019 Feminism in a Postcolonial Context With Salman Rushdie's Shame 2003

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Feminism in a Postcolonial Context

with Salman Rushdies Shame

Coordonator tiinific : Lect. dr. Isabela Meril

Absolvent: Dumitrescu Victoria-Laura


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Contents

Feminism in a postcolonial context

Rushdies writing between postcolonialism and

feminism

To be a women within an without Shame


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Argument

When we pronounce the word woman, weautomatically think of our mother, wife, lover, or itsimply takes us to the thought of kindness, protectionand tenderness.

However, there was a time when the word womanhad a different meaning. It signified the weak, theunworthy of consideration, the mentally-unstablehuman being.

The way in which the woman was seen changed withthe help of intelligent women who fought for the rightof equality.


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Today when we talk about feminism we sometimes

forget that it took a long road until the wordfeminismcould be pronounced. We are today independent due

to yesterdays womens wish of equality.

Feminism is not about involving women into wars

and destroying the male representatives of thespecies. It is about gaining equality of rights among

people, regardless of gender, ethnicity or culture.

Not very different from the movement, feminist

literature tries to present its readers the brutal truth ofwomens oppression. Thus, feminist literature offers

its writers the chance to express in words their

perspective on this unequal world dominated by

discrimination.


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Salman Rushdie is one of the writers who tries to

highlight the mistakes that are made in society andwho makes his readers understand that in order toevolve, humanity must hear the voices of thesuppressed so that it can change for the better its wayof being.

Shameis one of Rushdies masterpieces thatincorporates problems of gender, culture and religion.It shows the reader the consequences that appear ifone does not respect others decision regarding hisreligion or culture.

It is thus an important source that shows the cruel lifethat we live in.


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Feminism in a postcolonial context

A social and complex movement, feminism is the belief inthe economic, public and political equality of all people.

Feminism tries to rely on the idea that people come to

know the world, to change it and to be changed by itwithin our activity. It tries to affirm the fact that we mustrespect life as it is and we must respect our siblings, be itwoman or man.

As well as feminism, postcolonialism claims that every

human being is equal and has the same cultural well-being. It supports the idea that there should be no divisionbetween people.


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Both feminists and postcolonialists are a part of a

system dominated by male power in which they are

discriminated and denied the right to have an identity.

Feminism and postcolonialism are thus two fields that

interpolate and fight for the same idea, that of

struggling against oppression and injustice among

people.


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Womens movement has always been in touch with

literature, both struggling for womens rights. Ever

since perspectives on life were questioned in

literature, feminism had its place in it.

Feminist literature was the expression of the self-

consciousness, of women wanting to write about their

suffrage and about their vision of life. It was a way in

which they expressed their inner thoughts.

The purpose of feminist activity, whether in a battle

or in literature was to change peoples thinking by

promoting womens equality.


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Postcolonial literature tries to carry forth the way in

which the non-European literatures and cultures were

marginalized by the colonial rule.

While looking for a more equal world,postcolonial

literature criticizes the colonial rule. It is a literature

of equality, protest and hope that tries to understand

history in order not to repeat itself and to create abetter future.

Throughout postcolonial literature, the history of

oppression, colonialism, racism and injustice was put

to an end. Therefore, postcolonial literature is aliterature of critique, emancipation and

transformation.


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Making a parallel, while feminist literature has tried tostop womens oppression and to promulgate the authorityand coherence of women all over the world, postcolonial

literature had to confront the same kind of inequality,whereas people who did not belong to the Western sidecould not express their opinion about their own culture.

Postcolonial literature, as well as feminist literature seeksto open peoples comprehension on difference and

marginality among human kind. Thus literature helps ussee the importance of understanding our cultural activities.

Both feminist and postcolonial literature tries to centeraround the idea that racism and colonialism are boundedwith the gender differences of the non-white and non-Western women.

Feminist and postcolonial literature fights for the samegoal, that of promoting the concept of equality among

people.


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Rushdies writing between

postcolonialism and feminism

When speaking about Salman Rushdies work, weimmediately think of the fantasy world that only he

can create. Inspired from reality, his writings consistin true stories related under the form of fiction.

Throughout his writings, Rushdie reveals the truenature of human kind when it comes to power and

politics.

He proves within his stories that he believes in mixedcultures and identities and not on limiting onesidentity in one place.


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Throughout his writings, Salman Rushdie captures

images of reality and creates new languages with

which we can understand the world. Capturing

images of Hindu, Islamic and Western traditions, he

speaks in an equal manner to the East and to the

West.

Although he focuses on the mixture between religious

ideologies and politics, Rushdie highlights the impact

of the social and spiritual corruption upon the

feminine side.

The issues of gender in Rushdies writings are

combined directly with problems of politics, religion

and power.


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To be a woman within and without Shame

A novel that touches many perspectives of life, Shame

focuses on two major problems that exist in our life. The

first one consists in the gender issues and the second one

in the identity of the migrant. Throughout his female characters, Rushdie promotes a

Western view of oppressed Pakistani women.

Rushdie thus creates a masterpiece in which he promotes

feminism and determines his perceptions of the formationof postcolonial identity.

He unites in Shame different women who suffer the same

burden caused by the oppressions existent in their country.


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Conclusions

Whether in literature or in its general movement,

feminism has involved a great deal of resistanceguided by inner frustration and repression and made

huge steps towards modernity and evolution.

Feminism has always been a controversial topic in

our society and thus has passed throughout manystages until accomplishing our actual position.

Due to the battles that women sustained against

prejudice and inequality in the past, we now have the

power to control our life.

Thus, feminism is an ideology, a complex and a

contradictory philosophy that militates for the right of

gender equality and that promotes womens

affirmation in society.


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