Abstract

Matriliny is a system wherein the descent and transfer of property is traced through the female line. This is generally contrasted with patriarchy and patriliny, in which descent is traced along the male line. This study focuses on how the erstwhile Nair matriliny is portrayed in Anita Nair’s novels during and after its legal abolition in Kerala. It also questions colonial family ethics that resulted in the legal abolition of an indigenous culture. It critiques how the matrilineal culture of the Nair community in Kerala portrays patriarchal ideologies in selected novels by Anita Nair, an Indian English novelist and how women and children compromise their passions and desires to comply with patriarchy. This article moves beyond a study of literary texts to encompass sociological, anthropological, and cultural studies. By doing so, it aims to open up a wider range of approaches to reading the novels of Anita Nair and Indian English women writers.