Moulding lives, shaping destinies : motherhood and nation in celestial bodies by Jokha Alharthi and a golden age by Tahmima Anam
Female narratives hold an important place in literature as they tell stories from women’s perspectives, spatially and temporally. In Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi and A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam, the female characters play a significant role in determining the outcome of the story as the...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
2022
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| Online Access: | http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20560/1/55801-191955-1-PB.pdf http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20560/ https://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1539 |
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| Summary: | Female narratives hold an important place in literature as they tell stories from women’s
perspectives, spatially and temporally. In Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi and A Golden Age by
Tahmima Anam, the female characters play a significant role in determining the outcome of the
story as their personal narratives run parallel to the history of Oman and Bangladesh in the 1970s,
respectively. The paper examines the intersectionality of gendered narratives through the lens of
motherhood and individual lives within a nation in both texts with the aim of uncovering its
manifestation in both Omani and Bangladeshi societies. The methodology adopts the theory of
parenting as a lens to examine the textual depiction of mothering within the two socio-cultural
contexts of Oman and Bangladesh with a specific focus on Diana Baumrind’s categorisation of
parenting styles. The findings suggest that the mothering styles portrayed in the two novels,
namely authoritarian and permissive, are present in two distinct yet overlapping manners: one,
within mother-daughter relationships grounded in cultural engagement, and two, through
participation in nationhood. In addition, mothers in Celestial Bodies serve as witnesses to the
cultural changes in Oman, creating intra-gender generational conflicts. In contrast, the mother
figure in A Golden Age functions as the backbone of the youth’s participation in Bangladeshi
liberation. Many of the choices made by the mothers in the two novels implicate the lives of the
youth, society, and consequently the nation-states. The implication of this comparative reading
shows that the mothering roles in women’s fiction are rich and multi-faceted as they partake in the
pursuit of nationhood within and without the family institution. |
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