Postmodern Feminist Reading towards Gauri Character In Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Lowland

Abstract

Abstract: This study presents the results of an analysis of a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri entitled The Lowland using a postmodern feminism approach. The focus of this research is the existence of unusual behavior carried out by Gauri as the main female character in the novel, which from the beginning was assumed by the reader as an irregularity. This research uses the theory of postmodern feminism conveyed by several theorists such as Luce Irigaray and Judith Butler which this theory concludes that men should not be a benchmark for freedom and equality and the absence of validity of meaning in a context. This research produces two conclusions. First, Gauri’s improper behavior in the novel is not something to be questioned and the irregularity can be broken. Second, all the problems related to Gauri’s behavior in the novel produce a repetitive pattern which breaks the concepts of freedom and equality that have been offered by the second wave of feminism. The absence of a fixed meaning limit for women in achieving their desires, either by having to put themselves in trouble to be able to achieve their goals.

Keywords: postmodern feminism, second wave feminism, phalogosentrism, freedom