Hegemony and Resistance in Aysha Baqir's Beyond the Fields: A Gramscian Analysis

Abstract

The research paper examines the themes of cultural hegemony and counter-hegemonic resistance in Aysha Baqir’s Beyond the Fields (2019). Drawing upon Antonio Gramsci’s theoretical concepts of hegemony and counter-hegemony, the study analyzes the text to understand how it positions its characters as agents or victims of cultural hegemony in a patriarchal society. The research is qualitative in nature and explores the complex and multilayered dynamics of hegemony in the novel’s postcolonial Pakistani society. The findings reveal that economy and culture play essential roles in the emotional, sexual, and social subjugation and dehumanization of the proletariat, especially women. However, Gramsci’s counter-hegemonic intellectuals like Zara and Umar give a sense of hope by revealing, challenging and subverting the hegemonic patriarchal structures. This study of hegemony in the recent Anglophone Pakistani novels like Beyond the Fields (2019) offers a foundation for future researchers to explore hegemonic power structures and counter-hegemonic resistance in fiction and society.