Motherhood, Duty, and Obedience: A Feminist Deconstruction of Patriarchal Constructs in Postcolonial Fiction

Abstract

This study explores the intertwined themes of motherhood, duty, and obedience as instruments of patriarchal control in postcolonial fiction. Through a feminist deconstructive reading of The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie, and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, this paper investigates how female identities are shaped and silenced under intersecting forces of colonial legacy, religion, culture, and gender politics. Drawing upon feminist theories by Simone de Beauvoir, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Chandra Talpade Mohanty, and Judith Butler, the study examines how the social constructs of motherhood and obedience reinforce the subjugation of women while simultaneously offering subtle forms of resistance. The research argues that these authors challenge patriarchal ideologies by exposing the contradictions within cultural definitions of female virtue and duty. Using qualitative textual and thematic analysis, this work contributes to feminist literary criticism by revealing how postcolonial narratives reclaim silenced voices and redefine motherhood as a site of agency rather than submission. The findings underscore the transformative potential of feminist deconstruction in dismantling patriarchal narratives embedded in cultural and literary discourses.