Representation of Women and Circulation of Power in Khaled Hosseini’s and the Mountains Echoed: A Montrosean Reading

Abstract

This paper is an intertextual analysis of Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed under the light of Louis Adrian Montrose’s theory of power relation. Montrose asserts on textuality of history and historicity of text. By textuality of history, he refers to the functionality and constructedness of history, while historicity of texts refers to cultural specificity and social embodiments of all modes of writing, the rootedness of a texts in the social, historical, political and cultural ambiance of its production. He believes that there is no such a thing as objective history because history is a narrative, which, like language is produced in a context and governed by social, economic and political groups or institutions. Hence, Montrose in an intertextual analysis of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream applied his theory of power relation to figure out the manipulated and symbolic power of women during Elizabeth in Renaissance period. Therefore, this paper aims to intertextually analyze the situation of female characters in Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed based on power relationin order to discover how Khaled Hosseini represented the social, political, and economic condition of Afghan womenin the 20th century in Afghan society.