Exploring Gender and Marginalization in the White Tiger: Female Representation and Patriarchal Dynamics

This paper examines the intersection of gender and marginalization in Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger (2008), focusing particularly on the absence and marginalization of female characters. Although the novel is renowned for its exploration of class struggle, corruption, and socio-economic mobility, the portrayal of women is more muted but equally critical. This analysis seeks to uncover how the underrepresentation and marginalization of female figures in the novel reflect broader patriarchal systems that operate within Indian society. By focusing on characters such as Kusum, Pinky Madam, and other women in the novel, this paper illustrates how women are used as symbols of oppression and silenced voices in the socio-economic hierarchy that governs contemporary Indian society.