S. Punitha
Women, in spite of being ignored for many centuries in various aspects have attained a great indomitable place in literature. They grew in numbers as they reflect the other sector of the prevailing society in much more candid way than their male counterparts. They have unearthed the field of literature in every possible way. Women’s literature gained much attention when many women writers voiced for their fellow females and echoed those voices against suppression and discrimination not only based on gender but also in the society in all means. It received great accolades in the various parts of the world. Whenever there is suppression and discrimination of women, there arises the voice through the literary works which is mightier than the sword. Herta Müller, a minority Romanian born German and a 2009 Nobel Laureate, explores through her writings the unspoken silences which become unbearable when they are purposely silenced in a totalitarian regime. Men of this minority group also bear the pains of the regime. But these entire traumas get intensified in their households.Müller in The Passport, a novella of 85 pages portrays how the officials under the regime force the commodification of women as an act of bribery. This paper explores how the women fall prey to the anger of the males and the other various exploitations in the bereft rural society.
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