கிராமவெளி விருப்பும் நகரவெளி மறுப்பும் (இமையத்தின் கோவேறு கழுதைகள், ஆறுமுகம், செடல் நாவல்களை முன்வைத்து)

Desire for Rural Space and Rejection of Urban Space (With reference to Imayam’s novels: Koveru Kazhudhaigal, Arumugam, and Sedal)

Abstract

Imayam’s novels Koveru Kazhudhaigal (1994), Arumugam (1999), and Sedal (2006) are centered on the binary opposition between rural and urban spaces. Although the characters in these novels get opportunities to move toward urban spaces, they either return to the rural fold or face broken, fragmented lives within the urban environment. While the rural space operates as a site that reproduces caste, gender, and economic oppressions, the urban space offers alternative possibilities of living—such as education, employment, economic progress, and individual freedom. However, in Imayam’s early novels, the urban space fails to establish itself as a realm of liberation; instead, the cultural draw and social control of the rural space are depicted as overriding. This paper analyzes, through the lens of the concept of 'Space', this fictional perspective that prioritizes the rural space while rejecting the urban space.