Women’s roles in indian caste system portrayed in arundhati roy’s The God of small things: a Marxist Feminist Literary Criticism

ABSTRACT

Among hudred years ago, women have been considered as second sex, they have been alineated and have been marginalized. It happens because women are weaker than men physically. This matter leads women into imbalance position and unequal right to men. It related to gender role. Women‘s roles are domestic while men‘s public.

The caste system in India which has rigid rules also differs this unequal rights based on sex. This difference is based on the status of women in term of caste. Furthermore, it differs women‘s role between high caste and low caste.

Arundhati Roy‘s The God of Small Things is analyzed based on some considerations. First, this novel describes women‘s role between high caste and low caste. The researcher identifies and describes women‘s roles based on their status, society and economy as the result of capitalism. Second, it is controversial novel. Third, the existence of caste system suspence in India which bring women into lower position under men, and also the law of caste system that obviously shown in this novel who changed the life of everyone in India, Marxism in Kerala, and the social inequalities between women and men.

To achieve the objective of the study, the reseacher applies Feminist Literary Criticism which focuses on Marxist Feminism, which insists on linking women‘s role and women‘s position in literary work as the result of capitalism.

The result of this analysis shows that women‘s position in society and family influence their role in society and family. First, women‘s position in indian caste system are women are inferior under men‘s control, women are unequal to men. Second, there are different role between women from Touchable caste and women from untouchable caste. Tounchable women‘s role are women as men‘s servant, women as men‘s helper, women as mother who educate and take care of their children, women as women for their men who alwas faith to their men. Third, untochable women have roles as working women who work outside house as labour and main livelihood seeker for their family, and women who have to fulfill touchable men‘s sexual desire.