LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 25:9 September 2025
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Selvi M. Bunce, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate
         Nathan Mulder Bunce, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Honorary Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

Celebrate India!
Unity in Diversity!!

HOME PAGE

Click Here for Back Issues of Language in India - From 2001

Poetic Encounter
Available in https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09TT86S4T

Poems
Naked: the honest browsings of two brown women
Available in https://www.amazon.in

Decrees
Available in https://www.amazon.com

BOOKS FOR YOU TO READ AND DOWNLOAD FREE!

REFERENCE MATERIALS

BACK ISSUES

  • E-mail your articles and book-length reports in Microsoft Word to languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.

  • PLEASE READ THE GUIDELINES GIVEN IN HOME PAGE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LIST OF CONTENTS.

  • Your articles and book-length reports should be written following the APA, MLA, LSA, or IJDL Stylesheet.

  • The Editorial Board has the right to accept, reject, or suggest modifications to the articles submitted for publication, and to make suitable stylistic adjustments. High quality, academic integrity, ethics and morals are expected from the authors and discussants.

Copyright © 2025
M. S. Thirumalai

Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
11249 Oregon Circle
Bloomington, MN 55438
USA
Custom Search

Folk, Myths, and Resistance: A Feminist and Queer Retelling in Ruskin Bond's Narratives

Sravana Jyothi Doddapaneni

Abstract

Ruskin Bond, one of India's most celebrated writers, is often recognized for his evocative narratives rooted in nature, memory, and personal relationships. While Bond's work is not typically associated with the explicit retelling of myths, his exploration of cultural folklore and mythological themes reveals a subtle engagement with the ways gender, identity, and power dynamics are constructed within these stories. This paper investigates how Bond's stories re-imagine traditional myths through a feminist and queer lens, particularly in his engagement with themes of resistance, marginalized voices, and fluid identities. By analyzing works such as The Room on the Roof, The Blue Umbrella, and select short stories, this paper explores how Bond's re-configurations of myths reflect the intersections of gender, sexuality, and power, offering a nuanced critique of traditional mythic narratives.

Keywords:Feminist Re-imagination, Queer Theory, Gender and Identity, Mythical Retellings, Fluid Sexualities, Colonialism and Gender

Introduction

Myths have long been a cornerstone of cultural narratives, shaping not only collective memory but also the social and political structures of societies. These traditional stories, often involving gods, heroes, and supernatural forces, have been instrumental in reinforcing established gender roles, expectations, and norms. In many traditional mythologies, women have historically been relegated to passive, secondary roles, while men dominate the mythic landscapes as powerful heroes, gods, or rulers. In contrast, feminist and queer reinterpretations of these myths provide a counterpoint, challenging patriarchal and hetero-normative conventions, and offering alternative depictions of power, agency, and identity.

The retelling of myths and folklore through feminist and queer perspectives has emerged as a significant literary movement, with authors such as Jeanette Winterson, Madeline Miller, and others offering nuanced re imaginings of traditional stories. However, lesser-known authors like Ruskin Bond have also contributed to this evolving narrative. Bond, primarily known for his evocative portrayals of life in the Indian Himalayas, has quietly engaged with themes of gender, identity, and resistance, subtly disrupting the traditional gender roles embedded in mythological and folkloric traditions.

While his works are often categorized as introspective, personal reflections, many of Bond's stories engage with cultural narratives that subtly question societal norms, particularly those related to gender and sexuality. His re-imagining of folk tales and mythic traditions provides a space for exploring marginalized identities and subversive acts of resistance. This paper aims to explore how Ruskin Bond's writings, while not overtly feminist or queer, engage with these themes, offering a subtle yet significant critique of traditional myths and social constructs.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Sravana Jyothi Doddapaneni
Assistant Professor
Department of English & Other Indian and Foreign Languages (EOFL)
Vignan's Foundation for Science, Technology & Research
Vadlamudi, Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh, India
sravani.alapati3@gmail.com

Custom Search
  • Click Here to Go to Creative Writing Section

  • Send your articles
    as an attachment
    to your e-mail to
    languageinindiaUSA@gmail.com.
  • Please ensure that your name, academic degrees, institutional affiliation and institutional address, and your e-mail address are all given in the first page of your article. Also include a declaration that your article or work submitted for publication in LANGUAGE IN INDIA is an original work by you and that you have duly acknowledged the work or works of others you used in writing your articles, etc. Remember that by maintaining academic integrity we not only do the right thing but also help the growth, development and recognition of Indian/South Asian scholarship.