The Poetics of Transgression and Memory in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24113/ndmk5e89Keywords:
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things, caste, gender, memory, transgression, postcolonialism, subalternity, patriarchy, fragmentatioAbstract
Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997) remains one of the most influential postcolonial novels of the late twentieth century because of its experimental narrative structure, its critique of caste and gender hierarchies, and its lyrical treatment of memory. This article examines the novel through three interrelated frameworks: the politics of transgression, the aesthetics of fragmentation and memory, and the ethics of “small things” as a counter-discourse to dominant social structures. By foregrounding forbidden love, caste violence, and the intimate perceptions of childhood, Roy constructs a narrative in which the “small” becomes a site of resistance against patriarchy, caste, and state power.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Raghvendra Gahlot (Author)
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