Fractured Narratives in Mahasweta Devi's Rudali

AbstractMahasweta Devi’s Rudali employs a fractured narrative structure to depict thesocio-economic and caste-based oppression experienced by Dalit women inrural India. Through episodic storytelling, shifting perspectives, and non-lineartemporality, Devi mirrors the fragmented and precarious lives of marginalizedcommunities. The novella subverts conventional heroism by presentingSanichari, the protagonist, as a figure of endurance rather than triumph. Oralstorytelling traditions and interwoven voices contribute to the text’spolyphonic structure, allowing multiple oppressed voices to emerge.Additionally, the disruption of chronological time reflects the cyclical natureof caste and gender-based exploitation. By resisting dominant narrativeconventions, Rudali serves as both a critique of systemic inequality and areclamation of subaltern voices. This paper examines the fractured narrativetechniques in Rudali and their role in reinforcing themes of oppression,survival, and resistance.Keywords: Fractured narrative, Dalit literature, caste oppression, oraltradition, subaltern studies, trauma narrative