Enigma and Disquiet in Joyce Carol Oates' The Female of the Species.

The present paper discusses about the physical and mental analysis of women characters in Joyce Carol Oates's 'The Female of the Species'. Oates makes it clear how women are entrapped in the environment. In this collection, the writer points out the pathetic condition of woman; they are confronted by the destructive force around them. Mostly women are surprised by the same within themselves. Oates demonstrates practically how and why women are haunted by nature in various stages, from childhood, young girls, devoted wives and aged mother, sometimes old aged women. Women seem more deadly than males. That is the reason; commonly women are being called the weaker sex. The present paper focus on the theme of haunting and how women suffer from fevered imagination, struggling to get rid of terrible fear which is hidden within them. Violence and Sexual Abuse are the two key problems of women in different ages highlighted in each tales. the women characters of the short stories 'Haunting' and 'Hunger' reveals the darker side of the female mind in suspenseful by exploring sexuality, violence and redemption. They are having abusive relationships with men either physically or mentally that resulted in death; sometimes the stories ends with the 'abuser' being killed and are focused as pitiless perpetrators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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