Negotiating Feminine Power: Feminine Autonomy And Identity Formation Among Royal Women In Gita Mehta’s Raj

Abstract

This study explores the complex negotiation of feminine power, autonomy, and identity formation among royal women in Gita Mehta’s Raj. Set against the shifting political landscape of colonial India, the novel traces how princely women navigated the competing pressures of tradition, gendered expectations, and emerging modernity. Through the protagonist Jaya and the women who surround her, Mehta reconstructs a world where political structures, family lineage, and patriarchal customs simultaneously constrain and cultivate feminine agency. The research examines how Jaya’s identity is shaped by her upbringing, education, domestic experiences, and exposure to colonial politics, revealing the multilayered struggles and strategies women used within both private and public spheres. Drawing upon feminist theory and historical context, the analysis highlights how storytelling, memory, and cultural continuity serve as vital sources of strength for women negotiating power within rigid social hierarchies. Mehta’s portrayal demonstrates that royal women were neither passive nor peripheral but active participants in sustaining, resisting, and redefining authority. Their endurance, self-respect, and pursuit of selfhood emerges as central forces in challenging patriarchal structures. This study ultimately argues that Raj, through its nuanced depiction of royal women, contributes significantly to discourses on feminine subjectivity in colonial India, revealing the complex ways in which women carved out space for autonomy within deeply entrenched systems of control.