Discursive Construction of Female Victimhood in Conflict Narratives: A Feminist Narratology approach in Anthony Doerr’s Novel All the Light We Cannot See

Abstract

Language is not only a crucial tool for constructing social and cultural narratives, but it also defines women’s roles. A complicated and multidimensional concept of victimhood arises at the intersection of language, culture, and power, profoundly and permanently influencing the identities and lives of people, especially women. By means of language, narratives are composed, which are further expanded by the society to inject the victimized role of women. This research aims to investigate the linguistic and narrative construction of victimhood in conflicted contexts, by taking Anthony Doerr's novel All the Light We Cannot See into consideration. By adopting qualitative design, this study employs textual and narrative analysis methodology. Drawing upon Female Narratology theory, proposed by Susan S. Lanser, the research critically explores the rationale for reinforcing how language constructs and heightens gender inequalities, specifically disempowering women. The selected novel serves as a primary source for the data. The text is examined through close reading and thematic analysis and the data collected from the relevant bases is in the form of excerpts, dialogues, and linguistic patterns which reveal the adversity of women molded via language. Scholarly Literature is also referred to support the theoretical framework and contextual grounding of the research. The findings reveal that these women, perceived as frail and jeopardized, are shaped by conflicts, wars, and hostilities of any society. Consequently, this research contributes to emerging feminist literary criticism, offers a deeper understanding of how language produces narratives that prioritize suffering over agency, and presents women as victims of the conflicted situations in literature.