A Study of Intermingling of Socio-cultural Norms and Supremacy of Patriarchal Domination on Female Nuptial Space in Jaishree Misra's Afterwards

Abstract The present study focuses on the process of arranging marriages in the Indian cultural space creates a complex situation before the new generation. Due to the social norms and cultural constraints, girls are forcefully thrown into the unnegotiable and unknown marital space where they are given off to a person who is completely unknown to them or does not match their spaces. As per the cultural norm, girls are supposed to marry a man whom they never meet and even unknown to his familial, cultural, social, economic background. Misra, through her narratives, tries to showcase the fact that her female protagonists are middle-class but educated, empowered, bold, and courageous women who always show their strength to challenge the dominant patriarchal society. They are confident enough to lead their life independently while raising their voice against the patriarchal hegemony. They are ready to fight and challenge the age-old traditions and customs of a conservative society that compels women to occupy a subordinate space. Maya, the protagonist of the novel, gets the subordinate place in her traditional arrange marriage. Her arrange marriage denies her to occupy variant spaces to share her thoughts, ideas, principles, feelings, and emotions. She is supposed to live in her marital life in a silent space that abides by the rules and norms of patriarchy and cultural codes and conducts of the tradition-bound society.