Bodily Agency and the Limits of Resistance in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

초록

This essay examines the complex interplay between personal defiance, sexual transgression, and societal oppression in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things. Focusing on the characters’ bodily transformations and acts of resistance, the essay argues that while individual acts of sexual defiance, such as Ammu’s and the twins’ transgressive lovemaking, serve as powerful expressions of agency, they remain ultimately constrained by entrenched societal hierarchies. These “small,” destructive transgressions neither save the individuals involved nor allow them to gain lasting political agency, yet they hold symbolic significance by challenging oppressive structures. The exploration of individual efforts to live more fully through these acts offers an opportunity to critically reflect on the complexities of bodily agency as a form of political empowerment. Through Roy’s nuanced portrayal of these acts, the novel reveals that while personal defiance can be a means of survival and healing, it also underscores the harsh reality in which such resistance is often insufficient to dismantle systemic forces. The essay explores the ways in which The God of Small Things intertwines the symbolic power of individual defiance with the ongoing oppression faced by its characters, ultimately exposing the limitations, as well as the potential, of sexual and bodily agency within a rigidly hierarchical society.

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