A FEMINIST STYLISTIC ANALYSIS OF CONTEMPORARY FICTION USING SARA MILLS’ FEMINIST STYLISTICS FRAMEWORK AND TEXTUAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

Abstract

This research paper conducts a feminist stylistic analysis of contemporary fiction using Sara Mills’ feminist stylistics framework. The study examines how gender ideologies and patriarchal norms are embedded, reinforced, or challenged in literary texts through systematic analysis at three interconnected levels: the word level, the phrase/sentence level, and the discourse level. Drawing upon key concepts such as naming strategies, semantic derogation, transitivity, presupposition, focalization, subject-object positioning, and fragmentation, the paper reveals the mechanisms through which language constructs and perpetuates androcentric worldviews while also highlighting instances of female agency and resistance. The analysis is applied to selected contemporary works, including Monica Ali’s Brick Lane, Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures, Naomi Alderman’s The Power, and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. These case studies demonstrate how linguistic choices influence character construction, narrative perspective, and reader positioning. The paper further discusses global and intersectional dimensions of gendered discourse, particularly in Pakistani and Kuwaiti narratives, and explores linguistic mechanisms of control such as passivization and negation. Ultimately, this study underscores the political nature of feminist stylistics as both an analytical tool and a transformative practice that encourages resistant reading and challenges systemic gender inequalities in literature and society.