DOI: 10.36347/sjahss.2019.v07i09.002

Pages: 626-633

BP Koirala, in addition to being the first democratically elected prime minister of Nepal, is one of the most renowned literatures. His novels and stories have been noted for his success in bringing alive the real life characters into the realm of fiction, and ascribing prominent roles to female characters. This paper will rhetorically analyze the female characters in one of his seminal novels, Narendra Dai. Influenced by Chekhov and Freud, Koirala crafts female characters who are governed by the elements of sensuality and emotional turmoil. His characters are equally rebellious in terms of listening to the calls of their hearts and deciding their course of action. Unlike most of the other contemporary novelists of his times who accord high prominence to male characters and places females as their sidekicks, Koirala has crafted very powerful female characters that exhibit the courage to challenge the norms of the society that is intensely governed by patriarchal norms and values. However, not all female characters of BP stand tall and powerful. There are some that simply conform to the hegemony of patriarchy and move along as mere assistants of the lead male characters.