Beyond the Ballrooms: Austen’s Adaptation by Contemporary Pakistani Authors

Abstract

This research, which drew inspiration from Jane Austen’s timeless tale, aims to thoroughly examine how romantic themes are culturally portrayed in the writings of Pakistani female authors. This leads to attempt to examine cultural adaptations of romantic themes in Pakistani female-authored fiction that are inspired by Austen's work. This study provides a textual analysis of Unmarriageable by Kamal and Sukhera’s edited collection of short stories Austenistan, to analyze the points of comparison between this genre of Pakistani adapted fiction and Austen’s. This study seeks to uncover how romantic tropes vary and yet remain the same across cultures globally. By conducting literary analysis and employing comparative methods, this study uncovers the impact of cultural, social and historical contexts, on the development of Romantic narratives. To accomplish a comprehensive research, two theories are used for the framework i.e., adaptation theory and post-colonial theory. In this research, these two theoretical frameworks have worked in tandem to provide a comprehensive analysis of how Pakistani female authors adapt and transform the romantic themes of the novels of Jane Austen in the framework of post-colonial Pakistan. This multidimensional approach has helped us unravel the intricate layers of meaning within these literary adaptations. Additionally, it delves into the portrayal of relationships among ethnic and religious identities in these adaptations. Overall, this study offers an analysis of the interplay, between contemporary Pakistani storytelling and the classic British literature—an endeavor that broadens our understanding of literature's transformative power and its ability to bridge cultural divides.