23rd Annual Student Research Conference
Deadly Eroticism: The Politics of Desire in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things
Amanda E. Jackson
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
The God of Small Things explores the politics of desire, a concept that investigates the underlying and often unacknowledged sources of desire. This is evident in many relationships in the novel, including those between Ammu and Velutha and Father Mulligan and Baby Kochamma, as desire is not simply desire but a force born in the rigid social structures of caste, religion and patriarchy. In this paper, I argue that Ammu fights against her social position by using the complex nuances of the politics of desire, first escaping her family by marrying outside her community and then resisting her position as a divorced woman returned to her fathers home by starting a passionate relationship with the untouchable Velutha. Baby Kochamma sees that Ammu has what she herself has always wanted, which produces resentment between the women as Baby has resigned to accept her fate as an unmarried woman scorned by desire.
Keywords: politics of desire, Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things, Indian Literature
Topic(s):English
Women's and Gender Studies
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 32-3
Location: VH 1232
Time: 10:00