Women as Voiceless Subaltern: A Socio-Cultural Overview in Perumal Murugan’s Pyre

Words are the most powerful weapon, capable of constructing a beautiful society. A well-built and knowledgeable society can be easily identified if it is enriched by the works of scholars who are concerned about their community. Perumal Murugan, an Indian writer who is one among those scholars who write for the people of the voiceless community. Many of his works speak about the day-to-day problems which are happening all around the society; among them, the novel Pyre (2016) discusses the cultural contribution of our ancient society. The application of a sociological approach in the novel will help to focus the socio-cultural problems which are discussed in the novel. The novel discusses communal pride and its consequences, which further lead to social problems in the society. The aim of the research is to bring out the voice of the subaltern by encouraging them that no one is superior or inferior; everyone is equal in the world. This article focuses on the area where women are subjugated everywhere, whether she belongs to the upper class or lower class and brings out that women too have blood as men, but they are subjugated everywhere, and suggests ways to overcome it.