FEMINIST IDENTITY AND ADVERSITY IN LISA GARDNER'S WHEN YOU SEE ME

Across annals of time, women are extensively objectied and relegated in literature and society. The pervasive androcentric societal structures and patriarchal hegemony have evidently perpetuated the inadequate and underrepresentation of women in multiple magnitudes. The genesis of feministic movements has fostered diverse feminist theories, which have evolved over the course of time for the highest good of representation of womanhood. Gynocriticism has not only unlocked the avenues for feminist interpretations but has also advocated its profound signicance in contemporary cultural climate. Lisa Gardner's When You See Me (2020) provides insights on intersectional feminism and explores adversities bounded to women community with contemporary relevance. By employing prime feminist theories and concepts, such as intersectionality and gynocriticism, this study seeks to locate the ways in which the novel entails feminist themes and empowers women's agency. This study ruminates to explore the converging nuances of intersectionality and gender through select female characters from the novel to gather a comprehensive knowledge on the radical change in the contemporary landscape of gender representation of women's portrayal and empowerment.