Feminist Voices In Modern Tamil Literary Works

Authors: Ms.R.Vilva Viruksha, Dr.R.Shiva Shankari, Ms.S.Chitra

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.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19049707