Shanlax International Journal of English

The Womb as Battleground: Ecofeminism, Silence, and Survival in the Daughters of Madurai

2026-09-01T09:44:31+00:00

This study explores the application of ecofeminist theory to Rajasree Variyar’s The Daughters of Madurai (2022), a novel that exposes the horrors of female infanticide in Tamil Nadu and its long-lasting effects on women’s lives. Drawing on ecofeminist theorists such as Vandana Shiva, Maria Mies, and Karen Warren, this analysis argues that the oppression of women in Variyar’s novel parallels nature’s exploitation under patriarchal and capitalist structures. In addition, the study highlights how women’s bodies and reproductive capacities are treated as resources to be controlled, reflecting the same utilitarian logic that governs environmental degradation. Through its dual timelines of the 1990s Madurai and 2019 Sydney, the novel dramatizes the intergenerational transmission of trauma and suggests pathways toward healing and resistance. The ecofeminist reading reveals how cultural traditions that normalize violence against women mirror ecological destruction, thereby urging a rethinking of both gender relations and human-nature interactions. Ultimately, Variyar’s work aligns with ecofeminist ethics by envisioning solidarity, care, and ecological balance as alternatives to the patriarchal domination.

John the Baptist, Lakshman, Balaram and the Brotherhood of MDZS: A Comparative Study of Prophetic Witness and Brotherly Selflessness

2026-09-01T09:44:32+00:00

This Research article explores the convergences of prophetic witness and adopts a cross-scriptural inquiry into the preparatory roles of John the Baptist in the Holy Bible, Lakshman in the Ramayana, and Balaram in the Mahabharata, and compares them with the characters of The Grand Master of Demonic cultivation. It explores how they function as a threshold figure: a divinely chosen intermediary bridging mortal existence and divine revelation, revealing a trans-religious archetype of sacred service, loyalty, and moral witness. Drawing on theological hermeneutics and literary narratology, this study argues that John’s harsh prophecy parallels Lakshman’s disciplined devotion to his elder sibling Ram and Balaram’s guidance of Krishna, his younger sibling. They are not only supplementary personas but also spiritual conduits, shaping the ethical imagination of their respective civilizations. Portraying the frameworks of comparative theology, the study argues that John’s ascetic ministry, Lakshman’s brotherly selflessness, and Balaram’s detached strength reveal convergent moral cosmologies where divine purpose intersects with human restraint. This study synthesizes theological, literary, and ecological appraisals to illuminate how these praiseworthy men mediate divine order through obedience and purity, offering models to understand inter-religious ethics in the twenty-first century.

Love’s Hate Behind a White Veil: A Counterplay Between Ageing, Trauma and Revenge

2026-09-02T12:35:25+00:00

The literary ghost of Charles Dickens’ The Great Expectations, Havisham, is appropriately repositioned by Carol Ann Duffy as “the wicked old hag” in a contemporary setting in her poem “Havisham.” The gory and decaying room of Havisham can be interpreted as a metaphor for an old-age home, portraying the struggles of aging, declining mental health, and temporal stagnation. The suspended state of the room covered in dust and taint reflects the fragility and fixation that can be seen in older people. Havisham’s obsessive behavior and emotional extremity mirror the conditions of PTSD that are commonly found in geriatric patients with bitter past experiences who become social recluses. However, there is an exception to this. This research aims to study Havisham’s voluntary isolation from the perspective of the autonomic nervous system, specifically the Dorsal Vagal system, characterized by immobilization in the Polyvagal Theory proposed by Stephen Porges, not as a clinical examination but as endorsed by a critical textual analysis, where her action is screened similarly to that of old people who would have faced traumatic betrayals in life.