ILN Journal: Indian Literary Narratives

Articles

Vol. 3 No. 3 (2026): ILN Journal: Indian Literary Narratives

Subaltern Speech Acts: Urmila in Kavita Kane’s Sita’s Sister and the Global Discourse of Marginalised Women

Submitted
20 August 2026
Published
2026-09-30

Abstract

     The representation of marginalised women and their struggle for voice has become a major concern in contemporary feminist and postcolonial literary studies. The concept of subalternity provides a critical framework for examining how patriarchal and hierarchical structures suppress, exclude, and negotiate marginalised voices. Kavita Kane’s Sita’s Sister (2013) reimagines the Ramayana from the perspective of Urmila, a woman whose experiences and sacrifices remain largely peripheral to the dominant narrative. This study examines Urmila through the frameworks of subaltern studies and speech-act theory, focusing on her speech, silence, agency, and resistance. Drawing on Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s concept of subalternity and J. L. Austin and John R. Searle’s understanding of language as action, the study analyses how Urmila’s utterances function as acts of questioning, negotiation, refusal, and self-assertion. By situating Urmila within the broader discourse of marginalised women, the study argues that Sita’s Sister challenges dominant representations and creates space for a previously peripheral female voice. The study thus highlights Urmila’s transformation from a marginalised figure into an active speaking subject and demonstrates the significance of female voice, agency, and resistance in challenging structures of marginalisation.

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