Abstract:
Employing the insights gleaned from queer theory, this
paper engages with the literary representation of tabooed sexualities
by scrutinizing the depiction of the queer character in the post-
Independence Sri Lankan novel. The methodology of the study is
based on a textual examination. The primary texts under scrutiny
are three texts by the two pioneers of the Sri Lankan English novel,
Punyakanthi Wijenaike (Giraya and Amulet) and James Goonewardena
(An Asian Gambit); in which one finds the earliest appearance of the
queer character in Sri Lankan English fiction. In a nutshell, the paper
examines how these authors negotiate with what the feminist critics
term, “the perceptual screen provided by our patriarchal cultural
conditioning” by attempting to see if the works of these authors hold
any subversive potential. This end is achieved by examining whether
the depiction of the queer character in the novels of these authors
is employed as a means of tracing a redefinition or a reaffirmation
of the patriarchal social institutions such as love and family. In the
exploration it becomes evident that especially in Wijenaike’s work
there is a critical recognition the discriminatory aspects of certain
patriarchal institutions. Nevertheless, the study unearths that in spite
of the authors’ ostensibly radical move of engaging with tabooed
sexualities in the Sri Lankan society in their novels, their depiction
of the queer character is predominantly governed by homophobic,
heterosexist undercurrents. It is hoped that this paper will throw new
light on the preoccupations of the Sri Lankan English writers, enable
new readings of old texts, and illuminate a previously unexplored
area of experience in Sri Lankan English fiction.
