Body Image and Identity: A look into select short stories of Bhabendra Nath Saikia

Abstract

The human body has been theorized in many ways, including the entire notion of the woman as a human creation. It is generally agreed that this concept refers to our perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about our bodies, which influence our behaviour about our bodies. The article examines numerous authors whose individual genealogies meet on the common ground of identity theory and women's lives and is supported by a theoretical framework based on conceptions of identity, body-image and self-image in women and feminist discourse. This paper probes into the concepts of identity in women through the literary canvas of Dr. Bhabendra Nath Saikia and demonstrates the effects of body image and self-image on the development of identity. Of course, an extensive discussion of the short stories of Dr. Saikia is beyond the scope of this paper. The aim of this paper is to analyse the concepts through the two short stories short titled "Dhura Xaap" (ঢোৰা সাপ 1958) and "Sringkhol" (শৃংখল, 1970) by Dr, Bhabendra Nath Saikia. The paper seeks to explore the concepts of self-image, identity and body image through three female characters ‘Chandrika’, ‘Janeki’ and ‘Ambika’.