Quest for Female Self in Kathryn Hulme’s The Nun’s Story

Abstract

This research explores the female’s quest for ‘Self ’ in Kathryn Hulme’s The Nun’s Story. The protagonist of the novel, Gabrielle Van der Mal, turns into a nun as Sister Luke. She has a strong desire to exit from nunnery life but her father and her superior, the priest always restrict her to worldly life and stand as barriers in her quest for self. They are the representatives of the patriarchy and patriarchal society creating the utmost obstacle for the females. Sister Luke is fed up and tired with society which does not allow her to make self decision and create her own self. But Sister Luke resists against the patriarchal rules for feminine freedom and successfully exit from nunnery life. She is victimized physically and mentally by the male characters and Holy-rules. However through her consistent efforts she is able to regain the female self and individuality. At first she refuses to obey the Holy-rules and later does just the opposite to those rules and regulation and keeps on questioning them. Therefore, she leaves nunnery life forever in search for her inner self. Thus, Sister Luke (Gabrielle) represents the female agenda and tries to redraw the boundary of patriarchy prevalent in the society.