Clash of Spatiality and Female Identity Affirmation in Postcolonial Sri Lanka -In Relation to Island of a Thousand Mirrors and The Road from Elephant Pass

Abstract

The depiction of females in Sri Lanka during the diaspora can be identified as a complex and multifaceted representation. This study encapsulates The Road from Elephant Pass by Nihal De Silva and Island of a Thousand Mirrors by Nayomi Munaweera in the spectrum of females’ quest for unique spatiality of belonging as Postcolonial subjects. Both Silva and Munaweera employ the female body as a space and a strategy to acclaim identity to transgress hegemonic polarizations. The disposition of both Saraswathi and Kamala as representatives of the LTTE depicts the validity of the female body as a successful space of growth and identity formation. Females are rooted and uprooted from diversified spaces, making identity formation and affirmation difficult. As a critical discourse, selected works are articulating the clash between majority and minority spaces in which marginalization itself functions as a result of females allocating and occupying spaces. Descriptions of the Wilpaththu jungle by De Silva are an amalgamation of love, hatred, and violence and a catalyst in identity re-structuring Kamala. Also, Munaweera’s view as an expatriate and her depiction of freedom in America exposes the exotic way she handles the Sri Lankan space. From the perspective of a male writer, De Silva exposes the quest for space Kamala within the limited realm offered to her. It raises the fundamental question of whether the Deterritorialization of females from varied space to another will relinquish a unique identity and autonomy for themselves. Females’ identity affirmation is pluralistic as they are uprooted from different territories and relocated forcefully in spaces where females are engulfed in a constant quest for their authentic spatiality of belonging. The idea of women empowerment is suggested by both Munaweera and De Silva through the clash of spaces and the active way of handling the multiplicity of spaces encountered by their respective female characters.