Mapping Feminist Resistance Strategies from Subtle to Blatant in the Selected Novels of Anita Nair and Kavery Nambisan

This paper investigates varied patterns of resistance followed by women while facing oppression. Women faced oppression over the years, and they slowly learned to resist opposition. Resistance can be an act, strategy or movement that challenges the patriarchy, power structures, gender inequality and other oppressive norms existing in society. Resistance is multifaceted in nature, and women express their opposition in a range of ways, from subtle and quiet everyday actions to blatant, loud, and confrontational defiance. This paper will explore how women resist patriarchal systems in different ways and explore the continuum of resistance in various contexts such as marginalised communities, social movements and workplace dynamics. This paper highlights that silent actions and symbolic gestures are equally effective as protests and strikes. This paper explores the female characters that show resistance as form of fighting oppression and how two Indian women writers, Anita Nair and Kavery Nambisan portray them. Their female characters face many obstacles, challenges and they fight for identity and independence. This paper is a comparative study of the works of Anita Nair’s Ladies Coupe and Kavery Nambisan’s On Wings of Butterflies. Anita Nair’s Ladies Coupe is symbolised by women’s train journey in ladies-only compartment where resistance shows up as voices of women, sharing their stories and experiences using narration as a weapon to fight against male-dominated society. Kavery Nambisan’s On Wings of Butterflies is centred on many women who evolve into leaders of the feminist movement with oppression as a root cause. The study aims to focus on oppression, which breeds resistance. The findings help illuminate how women resist injustice through individual efforts as well as collective action in their pursuit of justice and equality