Sexuality as a Subversive Force in Erica Jong’s Fear of Dying

Abstract

Women have been marginalized and pushed to the periphery of the society all these years. They are marginalized in terms of gender and sexuality. They were confined to private sphere and was restricted from participating in the public sphere or mainstream society. There was no representation of women in the mainstream history. With the passage of time, women started to claim their rights. They started deconstructing the popular notion of mainstream history in order to provide equal space for women. Erica Jong in Fear of Dying also displays the anxiety of ageing in a woman’s perspective. Through the work, the author unsettles the notion of fear towards ageing and death. Erica Jong in Fear of Dying is trying to give women an authoritative and rational voice by challenging the patriarchal rules. Vanessa, a 60 year old actress in the story, reflects the condition of women and challenges the patriarchal rules. The novel explicitly represents those activities and lifestyles which helps women to move from passive agents to active agents. Through Vanessa, Jong exhorts women to move out of existing patriarchal system and discover their identity as separate from male defined identity of women.