Re-Contextualizing Power and Family Relations: A Post-Structural Feminist Study of Subjectivity in Rafia Zakaria’s the Upstairs Wife

Abstract

This study explores The Upstairs Wife (2015) by Zakaria through a post-structuralist feminist lens, focusing on family dynamics and power relations in a patriarchal society. The study examines how gender, class, and cultural identity influence women's lived experiences within the family. By analyzing the protagonist's struggles, the research investigates how patriarchal norms shape women's roles and agency. By applying post-structuralist feminist theories (Foucault, 1978; Weedon, 1997; Scott, 1992; & Butler, 1994) that deconstruct traditional gender roles and emphasize the fluidity of identity. The researcher examines how Zakaria constructs her characters, their relationships, and the tension between individual desires and collective family expectations. Through close textual analysis, the study highlights the use of language in portraying women’s lived realities, revealing how power is inscribed in both personal relationships and the wider societal structures that govern them. Through the feminist lens, the researcher underscores the significance of engaging with women’s narratives as a means of raising awareness about gendered power relations, fostering dialogue on systemic inequality, and contributing to the broader feminist scholarship on postcolonialism, identity, and social justice.