ABSCISSION OF FAMILIAL BONDING: A MARXIST FEMINIST ANALYSIS OF THE PATIENCE STONE

Abstract

This research paper examines the gradual disintegration of familial bonds in The Patience Stone (2008) by Atiq Rahimi through the lens of abscission, employing a Marxist feminist framework. Abscission as a biological phenomenon, which refers to controlled loss of plant parts, is redefined to focus on the emotion, psychological, and relational disconnection in Afghan families. It is a qualitative, interpretive, and literary-analytical research that employs close reading and thematic analysis to examine the voice approach through confessional monologues and narrative strategies of the protagonist. The results show that authority by patriarchy, economic dependence, ideological control and social political instability all undermine emotional closeness and family unity. The domestic and emotional labor, limited agency, and imposed obedience of women represent systemic oppression and resistance in narrative confession, bodily labor, and symbolic assertion represents how women agency persists despite structural marginalization. The research finds that familial disintegration in the novel is not accidental and punctual, it is a process that is gradual, normalized, and regulated by intermittent forces of patriarchy, capitalism, and cultural norms. The study provides an innovative interdisciplinary approach to understanding the nature of relational fragmentation in literature by connecting the notion of abscission as a biological metaphor with Marxist feminist theory, thus emphasizing the degree of oppression, resilience, and agency inherent to Afghan family forms.