Unraveling Proprietorial Patriarchal Structures: A Study of Sidhwa’s The Bride

Abstract

This study intends to find out the position of women living in Pakistan during the process of their self-discovery and search for identity to become strong enough for an honourable survival. The study has been conducted through a textual analysis of Sidhwa’s novel The Bride while focusing on language, different customs and events represented by the author to highlight the patriarchal structures. The study also examines that women have been treated as commodities and objects without caring for their desires. Their disrespect of patriarchal notions may deprive them of existence as human beings. It pinpoints that women are oppressed, subjugated and marginalized through patriarchal structures rampant in the society like marriage, family and the concept of hounour. Any struggle to get liberation from oppression results in sexist violence.