பெண் விடுதலைப் படைப்புகளில் ஆதிக்க மொழி: கோதைத்தீவை முன்வைத்து

Power Discourse and Negotiating Gender: A Critical Study with special Reference to Kothai Theevu

Abstract

V. Ramasamy’s novel Kothai Theevai (1945) is widely regarded as a pioneering work that imagines a women-led social order as an alternative to patriarchal Indian society. Set in a utopian island where women hold administrative, cultural, military, and social authority, the novel is often celebrated as a strong voice for women’s liberation. However, a deeper critical reading reveals that the narrative continues to depend on masculine linguistic structures and ideological control. This study examines how “dominant language and gender authority” operate within the text despite its feminist surface. Through an analysis of coinage of vocabulary, dialogues, narrative viewpoint, myth reinterpretations, and key events, the research identifies a subtle but persistent presence of male power discourse. Although the novel proposes women’s autonomy and matrilineal leadership, female identity is repeatedly framed within patriarchal expectations—beauty, gentleness, modesty, emotional depth, and moral responsibility. The central arguments on women’s liberation are mostly expressed through male characters, making male consciousness the arbiter of female emancipation. Furthermore, the reinterpretations of myths such as Andal and Ahalikai, while outwardly critical, continue to subject female identity to a male-controlled symbolic order. Drawing theoretical support from discourse theorists such as Foucault and Lacan, the study argues that Kothai Theevai illustrates how language acts as a tool of power that constructs gender identity and regulates social meaning. The conclusion asserts that although the novel foregrounds women’s liberation, its narrative unconsciously reinforces male ideological dominance through authority over language and interpretation.