EFFECTS OF GENDER ISSUES ON FEMALE’S PSYCHE: A STUDY OF KHALED HOSSEINI’S NOVELS

Abstract

The current research study posits the effects of gender issues on the psyche of female characters in Hosseini’s novels. Female characters of the three novels have been analyzed through close reading technique for the psychological effects they have suffered at the hands of not only men but the society at large. After analysis of the female characters and their sufferings, it can be said that women are not only physically oppressed and tortured by the patriarchal social values but they also suffer mentally and psychologically. Some women, like Sanaubar and Homaira are the victims of ethnicity, while women, like Mariam, Pari and Laila become the victim of society. It has also been observed that women like Homaira do not make any resistance to the society, while women like Nana succumb to the societal pressures. However, there are women, Soraya, and Mariam and Laila, who react and face the hurdles to become strong women in the face of all hardships and miseries.