SELF-IDENTITY WRITING: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF KAMALA DAS' FAME

This paper explores Kamala Das' autobiography, My Story, and her struggles to find feminine identity in a maledominated culture.It looks at how bold and persistent she was in sharing details of her private life.My Story is an illogical and aggressive outburst of "victimization" literature.The environment and society contribute to feelings of victimization and anger.She feels that women have always been a part of the underprivileged group of people,whilst males think that the perks they have are theirs by right.She now sees how femininity and feminine traits have been misused by patriarchy to keep women under its control.The violent instincts that are restrained in women and prohibited in their writing and everyday life are expressed in her memoirs. She breaks women's silences to reveal their repressed emotions.Kamala Das finds that writing helps her concentrate.