Gender Representation in Maps for Lost Lovers: A Corpus-based Stylistic Analysis

Abstract

The present study aimed at the corpus-based stylistic analysis of gender representation in
Nadeem Aslam’s novel Maps for lost lovers. The data consisted of instances of taboo terms,
verbs, and adjectives used with male and female characters. The study followed the
theoretical consideration of Dale Spender and the methodology adapted was corpus-based
that dealt with data both quantitatively and qualitatively. The instances of selected categories
along with concordances were derived from a specialized corpus built of one-novel text
through AntConc 3.5.8. The study revealed physical and linguistic violence of men against
women. The frequency analysis of taboo terms, adjectives, and verbs concluded that male
characters were shown as more dominating, powerful, and resourceful landlords whereas
women were reflected as struggling, inferior, and wicked objects. 75% of verbal taboos were
spoken by male characters, of which 92% were directed towards demeaning female
characters. Moreover, 43% of verb concordances were found with male characters portraying
man’s dominance, decisiveness, and independent status while 35% of verbs directly correlate
with woman’s submissive and passive roles in society. There were 86% of adjectives having
negative connotations in various respects used with female characters attributing women as
immoral, sexual, irrational, and overemotional whereas 28% showed the assertive, exuberant
nature of the male figure. The research serves as a major contribution to the emerging field of
corpus linguistics integrating it with gender studies and recommends further study of gender
roles portrayed in the Pakistani literary genre.