Epistemic Silencing of Women in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.

Abstract

Hilary Mantel, a versatile writer hailing from England, is known for the narrative vigour and for her utmost realistic presentation of history in her fiction. A writer who specifically employs her narrative style in the portrayal of Tudor England in her historical trilogy, the Wolf Hall trilogy, which consists of novels like Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light. It is through her publication of this trilogy that earned her two Booker prizes in the year 2009 for Wolf Hall and in 2012 for her Bring Up the Bodies. She is one of the writers in the British domain who redefined the conventions of writing Historical fiction by blending facts from history with the revisionist perspective of the past. Though Mantel’s Wolf Hall Trilogy centres on phallocentric Tudor England, it also offers a feminist re-reading of the age. The present article focuses on how Mantel challenges phallocentric patriarchy by recentering the experiences of women in the Tudor Society. Mantel also questions the gendered power structure, with the limitations imposed on female sections. In the male-dominated sphere, the paper has also focused on the inner turmoil induced in women by the injurious deeds caused by men of the court. Key Words: Ecriture-feminism, Historical fiction, Gendered power structure, Psychological Turmoil, Gender Politics.