This paper seeks to explore the status of women as subaltern and the
denial of voice and agency that they suffer due to the patriarchal set up in
the society as represented in In Other Rooms Other Wonders. It
investigates in detail the processes involved in creation of women as
subaltern in the light of Gyatri Spivak’s theory. Spivak’s definition invites
us to look in detail at how the subaltern is separated from the mainstream
and the mechanics involved in their discrimination. Men maintain the
powerful position of the controller of resources, while women suffer as the
“Other”, and are treated as “subaltern”. We can see the dynamics and
machinations of this relationship within the master-slave dialect, where
women are important only insofar as they serve and obey their master.
Keywords:
Feminism, Subaltern, Patriarchy, voice, agency