Dialectics of Gender Issues in the Select Episodes of M. T. Vasudevan Nair’s Manorathangal

Abstract

1. T. Vasudevan Nair is a prolific contemporary writer and journalist from Kerala who has authored numerous short stories, novels, screenplays, and articles for journals and newspapers. His fiction frequently delves into the lives of women and exposes the mechanisms of patriarchal subjugation in society. The present paper examines the socio-psychological dynamics of gender in the selected episodes “Olavum Theeravum: Ripples and the River Bank” and “Kazhcha: Vision” from the anthology Manorathangal. “Olavum Theeravum” portrays the lives of an uneducated mother and daughter living in poverty and foregrounds the patriarchal pressures imposed upon economically vulnerable women. “Kazhcha” delineates the experiences of an educated woman who struggles to attain personal freedom and equality while confronting patriarchal restrictions on her creativity and self-expression. The episodes also draw attention to the importance of quality education, gender equality, and decent work and economic growth. Through the female characters Beevathu, Nabeesa, and Sudha, Manorathangal reveals the ways in which social norms, economic deprivation, patriarchal authority, and psychological pressures shape women’s lives. The paper argues that the selected episodes provide a critical representation of women’s struggles for dignity, identity, creativity, and autonomy in contemporary Indian society.