Gendered Agency and the Politics of the Unsaid in Jhumpa Lahiri and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Short Fiction

Abstract

Silence in women's fiction is often interpreted as evidence of patriarchal oppression, emotional vulnerability, or resistance. However, such interpretations may overlook the different circumstances in which silence acquires meaning. This paper examines how gendered agency is represented in Jhumpa Lahiri's “A Temporary Matter” and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's “The Thing Around Your Neck.” Drawing on feminist literary criticism, narrative analysis, and scholarship on silence, voice, and migration, the study uses comparative close reading to investigate how non-disclosure, intimacy, and unequal power relate. Lahiri's story presents silence within a marriage affected by bereavement, where temporary disclosure creates an opportunity for intimacy but does not repair the relationship. Adichie's story explores the isolation of a Nigerian migrant whose emotional experiences remain difficult to communicate within an unequal cross-cultural relationship. The paper argues that silence is neither inherently oppressive nor necessarily empowering. Its significance depends on the circumstances that restrict speech, the characters' choices, and the consequences of disclosure. By comparing these different narrative situations, the study proposes a relational understanding of gendered agency that recognizes both the possibilities and the limitations of speaking and remaining silent.