Critique of Cosmopolitan Modernity in Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train

Abstract

Mobilizing the concept of modernity and gender, this research project concentrates upon the difficulties and crises upon female characters in Paula Hawkins’ novel The Girl on the Train. Most of the female characters in The Girl on the Train are deviated from their cultural root and individual identity. They feel that the temptation to follow the westernized thought has distorted the taste and attitude of the young generation. The main character of this novel Rachel is a middleclass woman who comes to London in search of her dream. Rachel forgets her real name, cultural identity and her own background being lost in the midst of western technocratic world. She becomes puppet on the hands of different males in the city simply because she is a woman. Modernity promises education, development, and betterment of humanity. However, modernity deteriorates Rachel to the level of an object despite enlightening her. The research aims to prove loopholes of modernity project. This thesis uses concept of modernity and gender conceptualized by Janet Wolff, Griselda Pollock and Bonnie Kim Scott. Key Words: Modernity, City, "flaneurs", "flaneuse", Enlightenment, Females, Exclusion