Abstract:
The current research aims to do the feminist critical discourse analysis of Khadija Mastur’s
novels “The Women’s Courtyard (2018)” and “A Promised Land (2019)”, translated in English
by Daisy Rockwell. The study aims to highlight the intricate web of gender and power narratives
within these texts, by focusing on the ways through which female characters navigate and
subvert societal norms and structures. Through the close examination of linguistic and narrative
choices within these texts, this research analyzes how the female characters of Mastur’s novels
challenge the traditional gender roles, reclaim their agency and negotiate their positions within
the patriarchal society. Lazar’s concept of Feminist critical discourse analysis is employed as a
lens to analyze the gender representation and power dynamics in the discourse. Feminist critical
discourse analysis (FCDA) is an extended version of critical discourse analysis (CDA) that
focuses on the construction of gender-based ideologies. It focuses on the use of language in the
text especially how the language has been used to portray the female gender and their identity.
Fairclough’s three-dimensional model is used as a theoretical framework to analyze how
language is linked with power and ideology. Through the three dimensions, the study focuses on
the functions of language, the production and interpretation of discourse and the social practices
that influence the discourse. The findings of this study highlight that through the use of different
lexical choices such as verbs, phrases, metaphors and symbols, Mastur has depicted the struggle
of her female characters living in patriarchal system to challenge and negotiate the societal
norms and reclaim their agency.
