Representation Of Indian Woman And Man: A Feminist Stylistic Analysis Of Transitivity Choices In Faruqi’s The Mirror Of Beauty

Abstract

The present study covers an interesting area of the representation of wo(men) from within the field of language and gender. With a focus on transitivity choices at clause level, the researchers have employed Halliday’s (1985) transitivity model as suggested by Mills (1995) in her feminist stylistics to trace and unpack the relationship between language use and gender depiction in Faruqi’s novel The Mirror of Beauty (2013). Grounded in feminist stylistics propositions, the study utilizes a mixed method approach where data is collected through close reading method guided by purposive sampling technique. The data comprise of 6 extracts containing a total number of 83 clauses which have been analyzed for process-participant division to see gender differences. The findings of the study reveal that men characters are portrayed through material (37%), verbal (8%), relational (4%), behavioral (4%) and mental (4%) processes while the woman is presented through material (33%), behavioral (5%), verbal (4%), relational (1%) and existential (1%) processes. This disparity in gender depiction is further highlighted when man appears with maximum actor roles (26%) and woman through maximum goal roles (27%). This unequal distribution of processes and participants’ roles hints at the sexist and biased attitude of Faruqi (2013) towards the depiction of woman where she is commanded and controlled by active and dominant men in romance scenes. The researchers have found the transitivity model suitable to analyze linguistic choices of the writers to see gender depiction as claimed by Mills (1995).