Guided by the Swan: Gender Performativity, Resistance, and Identity in Alexis Wright’s The Swan Book
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31185/eduj.Vol64.Iss1.4234کلمات کلیدی:
Gender Performativity, The Swan Book, Muteness, Identity, Resistanceچکیده
The colonial history of Australia and its ongoing climate crisis have intensified explorations of identity, defiance, and the redefinition of roles, themes central in Alexis Wright’s literary works. Wright, as a leading voice in Indigenous Australian literature, portrays the marginalization of Aboriginal communities and women through a dystopian lens in The Swan Book (2013). Oblivia, the protagonist, confronts patriarchal and colonial framework, defying societal expectations while embodying a renewed identity defined by cultural memory and resilience. This study employs Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity, which posits that gender is enacted through repeated social behaviors rather than being an innate characteristic. Through this lens, the study argues that The Swan Book critiques the oppressive systems that construct identities while demonstrating how acts of resistance allow for self-definition and agency. Moreover, it concludes that spiritual connections to land and non-human entities can lead to the transformation and redefinition of cultural identity.
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