Patriarchal Hegemony and Women Resistance: A Foucauldian Reading of Hoshang Waziri’s The Takeover

Abstract

The archetypal image of patriarchy is a common theme in literary studies. It goes back to social, legal, political, and economic organization of various cultures. Domination of men over women is found even in the ancient civilizations all over the world. However, what is interesting about patriarchy is when the dominance of men over women is achieved by the dead. Waziri’s The Takeover (2003) depicts the legacy of patriarchy and its consequences on the female society. The social microcosm of the play is a house with three residents. The house for them is the symbol of traditional values that they were brought up with and got used to. The fourth female character, the Friend, is the only character from outside this house who has different perspectives and wants to bring some changes to the place while the three residents disagree with her despite being unhappy with the current situation. The juxtaposition of tradition versus modernity and the transition is reflected even in the structure of the play as it is written in three scenes. The present paper is an attempt to shed light on the hegemonic power of the dead over the three female characters in the light of Foucauldian theory of power. His influence is clearly manifested in the behaviors of three women: the Old Woman, the Crazy Woman and the Maid.