Flames of Despair: The Politics of Self-Immolation in Imayam’s A Woman Burnt

Abstract

This paper explores the plight of Revathi in Imayam’s A Woman Burnt, tracing her journey from hope to despair, culminating in the tragic act of self-immolation. The narrative set by Imayam is entrusted with the second person, that is Revathi’s mother. The narrator is not the protagonist but her own mother through which the entire novel is told. The protagonist is on her death bed, completely burnt and the entire narrative revolves around her past and present.  Revathi, an engineering graduate who marries Ravi, an autorickshaw driver, against her family’s wishes, endures relentless control, violence, and societal neglect that strips her of dignity and dreams. The study examines how patriarchal structures, familial complicity, and cultural expectations perpetuate cycles of abuse, leaving women like Revathi with limited choices. Her self-immolation is analyzed as both a personal act of despair and a powerful rejection of systemic oppression, drawing on insights from Simone de Beauvoir, Adrienne Rich, and Judith Herman. Imayam’s novel serves as a poignant critique of gendered violence and societal complicity, urging a reexamination of the norms that enable such tragedies.