Gender Identity as a Culture-Based Construction in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Treatment of Bibi Haldar and Zoya Pirzad’s The Tale of Rabbit and Tomato

Men’s dominance over women in patriarchal societies has affected all aspects of women’s life and even their identity. The present article examines and sketches the ways in which patriarchal systems and ideologies defined the concepts of “womanhood” as well as “femininity” and assigned women to roles mostly related to their domestic responsibilities contributing to the formation of gender roles as sexual roles. It attempts to plot connections between the dominant cultural and social principles and ideologies constructed by patriarchal systems and the definition of gender identity. Working within the framework of gender theory from Simon de Beauvoir in her well-known work The Second Sex, this study sheds light on gender roles in Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Treatment of Bibi Haldar and Zoya Pirzad’s The Tale of Rabbit and Tomato as cultural constructs rather than a biological one. Moreover, this paper investigates the reaction(s) of female characters within the stories towards their prescribed gender roles and limited conditions imposed on them by living in patriarchal societies. It is argued that women, despite their resistance and effort to overcome the oppression and restrictions resulted from the culture of patriarchy, are finally submissive.

Keywords:

Gender , Identity , Culture , Patriarchal society , Jhumpa Lahiri , Zoya Pirzad