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@article{190786,
        author = {Sopan Gove},
        title = {Negotiating Gender Politics, Marriage and Female Desire in Preeti Shenoy’s The Rule Breakers},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {4565-4570},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=190786},
        abstract = {Preeti Shenoy’s The Rule Breakers (2018) offers a compelling exploration of gender politics within the framework of middle-class Indian society. Set in the 1990s, the novel foregrounds the systemic regulation of women’s lives through familial authority, marriage, and internalised patriarchy. This paper examines how gender operates as a socio-cultural construct in the novel, shaping women’s identities, desires, and limitations. Drawing on feminist theory, Indian feminist scholarship, and studies of Indian English fiction, the article analyses the intersection of gender, marriage, silence, emotional labour, and agency. The protagonist Veda’s journey from obedience to self-assertion demonstrates how resistance can emerge from within patriarchal systems rather than through outright rebellion. By situating The Rule Breakers within feminist literary discourse, this paper argues that Shenoy’s novel critiques normative gender roles while advocating a nuanced form of female empowerment grounded in self-realisation and social engagement.},
        keywords = {Gender politics, Indian English fiction, marriage, patriarchy, female agency, Preeti Shenoy},
        month = {January},
        }