Politics of Silence in The Thousand Faces of Night

Abstract

This paper explores the multifaceted politics of silence in Githa Hariharan‘s ―The Thousand Faces of Night (1992)‖, a landmark feminist text in Indian English literature. The novel redefines silence not merely as muteness or passivity but as a deeply political and psychological phenomenon intertwined with patriarchy, cultural memory, and identity. Through the interconnected lives of Mayamma, Sita, and Devi, Hariharan examines how silence functions as both oppression and resistance, as well as how myths and traditions sanctify and perpetuate women‘s muteness. The paper also analyses the intergenerational transmission of silence, its reinterpretation through feminist perspectives, and its eventual transformation into a language of resistance and self-assertion