PROBING THE PHASES OF WOMANHOOD IN FAIQA MANSAB’S THIS HOUSE OF CLAY AND WATER

Abstract

This present research aims to scrutinize Faiqa Mansab’s portrayal of women in her majestic creation This House of Clay and Water on following grounds. Firstly, unveiling of the various phases of womanhood in This House of Clay and Water. Secondly, in patriarchal Pakistani society women are oppressed under the tag of domesticity and matrimonial bonds. Keeping these grounds in focus, the research deliberates upon Mansab`s exertion to debunk men`s hegemony and pitiable condition of women entrapped in the shackles of patriarchal Pakistani society. The research is carried in the light of Simone de Beauvoir’s feminist theoretical perspective and different phases of womanhood projected in her trailblazing work, The Second Sex. The technique of close reading is used to scrutinize and interpret the text through qualitative approach. Through critically analyzing the text, it is concluded that being oppressed creatures, women are trapped in a web of societal norms and expectations.