A Narratological Study of Kamala Markandaya’s Two Virgins: Interpreting Narratives through Saroja’s Focalized View

Abstract

This study endeavours to examine Kamala Markandaya’s Two Virgins (1973) through the approach of narratology and analyse focalization in the novel to understand the narrative of ‘two virgins’. The novel is noted for its nonconforming narrative as it challenges the patriarchy through its subject while providing insights about the ethical code for women. Two Virgins subsides the notion of patriarchal narrative which celebrates the idea of women as the embodiment of chastity and virtue. The study presents Markanadya’s manoeuvre of narration as she used Saroja’s perspective to narrate the story of two sisters which attracted extensive contemplation from the reader as well as critics. Through this narrratological study of narrator and focalization the reader will understand how the story is constructed and affect us. This study will provide a method to analyse focalization in any fiction through the narratology which navigates the reader to decode the meaning of narrative.