Power and Gender Relations in Ice-Candy Man: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Abstract

This paper analyzes power abuse and gender relations in Bapsi Sidhwa's Ice-Candy Man (2000) using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Fairclough's model. Set during India's Partition, the novel vividly depicts patriarchal oppression, with men, particularly the character Ice-Candy Man, exercising authority over women. Female characters, especially Shanta, experience emotional, mental, and physical exploitation, becoming victims of male chauvinism. The study emphasizes how linguistic manipulation and societal norms confine women to submissive roles, stripping them of their vitality. It also finds out that language is highlighted as a means to reinforce power dynamics, with English representing colonial and male dominance. The study reveals the marginalization of women and how the Partition devastated their aspirations, reducing them to powerless, mechanical beings.