SUBALTERNITY AND FEMALE AGENCY IN FARUQI’S THE MIRROR OF BEAUTY

Abstract

This article examines female identity negotiations in the colonized patriarchal society of 19th century Indo-Islamic civilization as represented in The Mirror of Beauty (Faruqi. 2013).  The subalternity and female agency is studied through the characterization of Wazir Khanum, the protagonist, in The Mirror of Beauty. Wazir Khanum identity construction is studied comparatively in relation to Nehal Begum of Twilight in Delhi (Ali, 1940) and Azra of The Weary Generations (Hussain, 1963). The background is the 19th-century Delhi, just before full British colonial control over the subcontinent, Shamsur Rehman Faruqi presents Wazir Khanum, mother of the famous Urdu poet Dagh Dehlvi — as an intelligent, independent, and culturally confident and beautiful and an independent woman. Orientalism (Said, 1978), Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s can the subaltern speak? (1985) and Homi K. Bhabha’s hybridity and third space, along with the concept of “writing back,” the article shows how Faruqi uses Wazir Khanum to reclaim the richness of pre-colonial Indo-Islamic culture while challenging colonial stereotypes of the Eastern woman and traditional patriarchal restrictions. A comparison with Ahmad Ali’s Twilight in Delhi reveals how Faruqi moves beyond nostalgic lament to assertive reclamation. Wazir Khanum demonstrates the fiercely independent and assertive female identity which is exemplified analysis of multiple excerpts. The analysis demonstrates that the characterization of Wazir Khanum is unconventional, and rightful claim of a space for female agency in a colonized patriarchal society.