Predicament of Non-human Being: An Ecofeminist Study of R. K. Narayan's A Tiger for Malgudi

Abstract

This present research work studies Narayan’s A Tiger for Malgudi (1983) from the ecofeminist perspective as he has stressed on the moral and spiritual need to protect animals who have been subjugated just like women in patriarchal society. The novel shows the exploitation of animals without understanding their sufferings at the hands of man, which is shown through the tiger, Raja. Narayan shows his concern for the tiger as a female, which is given physical and mental torture in the circus--symbol of confinement-- in the course of training. This act is against the natural and moral law as it damages animal-human ecology and limits the rights of other creatures to live freely in the environment. The imagery of tiger's enslavement and confinement in the cage and subsequent torture in the circus cage at the hand of male hunters and circus masters symbolizes the same predicament of the non-human beings and women in patriarchal society.