Subverting Traditional Feminine Conventions in Samra Zafar’s A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose

Abstract

This paper focuses on the life of Samra Zafar’s as portrayed in her memoir A Good Wife: Escaping the Life I Never Chose (2019). Though the society tries its best to confine Zafar’s life according to culturally prescribed boundaries, she breaks every convention, makes herself identifiable in everyone’s eyes and sticks to her own view-point. Initially she was, at some level, confused and didn’t know whether to fulfill her personal demands or cultural conventions, which were continuously forcing her to live according to them, but then, with the course of time, she realizes everything and subverts every norm which, for her, was unacceptable. Generally, this work, along with female’s right, also talks about intimate-partner abuse, but this paper discusses only those points where the protagonist becomes aware about her mistreatment and takes action. Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1963) talks about females’ rights especially their involvement in outside affairs and is an important work in the history of feminist cause. Zafar’s memoir is analyzed through this lens. It is obvious that Friedan’s book elements are very similar with Zafar’s personal story; both of them discuss that how a woman can gain her autonomy and agency in a world where everyone is trying to put her back in the world of prison. Moreover, Zafar doesn’t gain an independent life for herself but also for others and becomes an inspiring soul, who tries her best to save others from the same situation. The outcomes, which are derived from this investigation, reveal the rebelliousness and enmity of protagonist towards society, where her education, employment and freedom of action or expression are of utmost significance for her, and she changes her fate with the aid of her intellective passions, especially education.