Gender Identity Construction in Akhtar’s Melody of a Tear

This study aims to discuss the notion of gender in terms of performativity and social construction. It also draws upon the idea of gender identity construction and how it relates to the society, performativity and biology. As its theoretical framework, the study relies upon the Performative Theory of Gender and Sex (1990) presented by Judith Butler and studies the gender identity construction in the female protagonist of Akhtar’s Melody of a Tear. Zara is a girl who is raised as a boy from his father and there is a kind of dilemma in Zara’s personality related to being masculine and feminine. The cultural norms of a particular gender are also a cause of this dilemma. Throughout the novel, she is in a conflicting state whether she should behave feminine or masculine. She is being depicted as an incomplete person until she finds and resolves this issue of gender identity. The paper discusses the gender performativity, social construction, cultural norms and identity as these are all contributing to the confusion and construction of the protagonist’s identity. Character analysis is used as the methodology of analysis.