BENEATH THE SURFACE: STRUCTURALISM IN RASOOL MEMON’S NOVEL 19 WOMEN (اٹویھہ عورتون)

Abstract

In this research paper, a structuralist approach to the study of Sindhi historical novel 19 (اٹویھہ عورتون) Women is provided. The work is based on the theories of Ferdinand de Saussure, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Roland Barthes and Jonathan Culler, it will review the hierarchy of meaning as it exists in binary oppositions, character functions, thematic structures and narrative techniques (Culler, 2006). The protagonist, Kehadas, is an ordinary man who goes on a quest to save his beloved Haransee who is taken captive during the eventful political era of medieval Sindh c. 1300 CE (Rid & Sodhar, 2023). Memon doesn't focus on the heroic attributes like physical strength or martial prowess, but on Kehadas's wisdom, patience, and clever dealing with the “19 women” division that brings a new form of heroic archetype for the Sindhi researcher . It explores significant oppositions such as freedom and captivity, heroism and anti-heroism, love and power, and humanity and oppression to critique patriarchy, political injustice, and gender dynamics. The paper also examines the novel's novel combination of historical fiction and satire (Mastura & Eldorbek, 2026). In the end, it is a personal love story that it's hoping to present as a larger statement about individual freedom, strength, and defiance of history and society. This study fills the void of rather a few structuralistic approaches in the study of the contemporary Sindhi literature and elucidates the current relevance of the structuralism in the analysis of historical fiction in South Asian context (Ashraf & Ahmed, 2019).