DefinePK

Abstract

The theoretical framework of the paper under question is the Feminist Stylistics as a formulated idea by Sara Mills in her work Feminist Stylistics (1995). In the context of sociopolitical locales of modern Pakistan, the paper explores how the traditional gender rules are created and disrupted based on linguistic features, especially narrative voices, dialogues among characters, and word choices. The main protagonist of this analysis is the figure of Alice Bhatti, a Christian nurse, who has to explore the environment of formally patriarchal, religiously segregated (and religiously stratified), and class-defined Karachi. Finally, the present paper adds input to feminist literary discourse with regards to showing the viability of Feminist Stylistics in the analysis of gender politics in South Asian fiction. It confirms the possibility of the stylistic analysis to reveal veiled but forceful criticisms of patriarchy installed within the fabrics of narration, especially in the postcolonial societies such as Pakistan.