An Attempt at Gender Reading of the A. S. A. Harrison’s Novel «The Silent Wife»

Abstract

The paper attempts to examine A. S. A. Harrison’s novel “The Silent Wife” through the prism of gender interpretation, in particular, by revisiting established gender roles and stereotypes in fiction. The relevance of the study is due to the growing interest in gender issues in both global and Ukrainian humanities discourse, which manifests itself in a focus on female experience, representations of masculinity and femininity, and the deconstruction of the traditional literary canon. The purpose of the study is to reveal gender stereotypes and their destruction in A. S. A. Harrison’s novel “The Silent Wife” through an analysis of the main characters — the married couple Jody and Todd. The subject of the study is the images of Jody and Todd as bearers of socially conditioned gender roles and their gender behavior. The problem lies in understanding how the characters’ external conformity to gender stereotypes hides deep psychological trauma, internal contradictions, and personal drama that lead to tragedy. The focus of the study is silence as a key motif of the work, which simultaneously acts as a sign of strength, a form of resistance and a way of avoiding responsibility, a manifestation of adaptation and weakness. The main research method is gender analysis, which allows us to trace the rifts and imbalances not only in the relationship between husband and wife, but also in much larger contemporary issues. As a result of the study, it was found that A. S. A. Harrison’s novel “The Silent Wife” demonstrates the gradual destruction of gender stereotypes. In particular, the main character Jody is portrayed as a strong, self-sufficient, and traumatized personality, while Todd is presented as a strong and courageous man, but weak and indecisive when it comes to crucial matters. Silence, as the main motif of the work, appears not only as an instrument of power, but also as a form of escape from responsibility, which ultimately leads to self-destruction and tragedy. Prospects for further studies lie in the investigation of secondary characters in the work that represent other social roles and behavioral models, which will allow for a more complete coverage of gender issues in the novel, as well as an understanding of the gender aspect in works of art in general.