Emma Donoghue's Room as a Captivity Narrative

Abstract

Emma Donoghue's Room foregrounds the issue of women due to the nexus between captivity narrative and patriarchy searches for the freedom and equality for females to survive in the society. The protagonist character Ma is suffering for 7 years by her captor in the locked up room and able to come outside from the room suffering during the captivity and outside the captivity. Finally, she becomes able to survive without the presence of her captor as a husband rather she traps him for 25 years imprisonment. Her failure attempt and the birth of the son become the most powerful weapon to come outside and survive as freely and equally as other married woman in the society, she has the illegal child due to the regular sexual attempt of her captor during the captivity period. The narrator is equally affected by his mother's escaping plan that makes him able to find out the reality of life from inside the captivity to outside the captivity. Once, although Jack's mother whom he calls Ma always has to commit suicidal attempt even after escaping from the clutch of her captor, she never feels fed up then finally, she is able to survive without torturing and sufferings. She makes Jack able to find out the reality of life within the room and outside the room. The life of women without marriage having a child and her struggle to escape the labyrinth of her captor with her feminist attempt is the major theme of this novel.