Identity development in girls and women as reflected through the vernacular writings of tamil women writers

Abstract

The purpose of my research was to study the nature and process of identity development in girls and women as it unfolds through the literary writings. I have used Literature through the medium of fictional writings which incorporates into its fold genres like novellas, novels and short stories for the explication of identity related issues. My work is based on the assumption that there exists a symbiotic relationship between Literature and Psychology (Shankar, 2007). While Psychology deals with the mind and the consciousness of the individuals, Literature vividly highlights the dilemmas, struggles, conflicts, pleasures, joys and frustrations of the protagonists in the context of the circumstances and situations in which they are placed, which leads to a comprehensive explication of theoretical issues. I have selected the translated works of eight Tamil women writers across diverse socio-cultural and religious backgrounds in order to lend adequate representativeness to my research. Identification of these eight writers- Ambai, Bama, Lakshmi Kannan, P. Sivakami, Rajam Krishnan, Salma, Sivasankari and Salma was done through an elaborate scouting task which involved visits to suitable libraries and publication houses that publish vernacular literature and women s writings. The selection of writers and writings were done through an elaborate consultation with experts which included academicians, editors, publishers, translators and the some of the writers themselves. newlineThe process that was followed as part of the methodology, first involved reading of the selected writings and making a list of significant identity and gender related issues which emerged from them. Both visible and nuanced issues were delineated. They were drawn from the characters life situations, life experiences, relationships, dilemmas, joys and the circumstances in which they were positioned. Significant narratives were culled out from a cross section of the texts, duly respecting the characters lens, circumstances and situations.