AIN’T SHE A SOUL: A CRITIQUE OF WOMEN OBJECTIFICATION IN MY FEUDAL LORD

Abstract

The present research is carried out to explore the commodification of women in the novel, with the Marxist Feminist perspective under the light of criticism made by Lois Tyson. This study has investigated the commodification of women, in Tehmina Durrani‟s famous novel; My Feudal Lord. This research is designed to figure out the elements, which cause women to be treated as a commodity in the capitalist societies where women are exploited under the control of men, due to the class and gender differences. The present study has highlighted the incidents of Commodification of women, when woman is used as a product of sign-exchange value, the decaying impact of this commodification on human relations and the reinforcement of the process of commodification by the protagonist in the selected novel. The text is subjected to close reading, to find out the process of commodification of women and for this purpose, Karl Marx concept of commodification is taken from his masterpiece Das Capital, in which he has defined the idea of commodities in the first chapter of the book. This Marxist philosophy paved way for the feminist thinkers to extend it for the rights of women, calling it Marxist Feminism; a viewpoint which is used to analyse the commodification of women, in the particular novel under the lens of Lois Tyson’s criticism on Marxist theory.