Free Will and Self-Assertion in Taslima Nasrin’s French Lover:An Existentialist Approach

Abstract

This research article analyzes the novel French Loverby Taslima Nasrin emphasizing the concepts of essence and existence to explore the instincts of the characters. The protagonist, Nilanjana Mandal navigates the journey of free will, emphasizing her‘self’ to live on her own as she is dominated as inferior.The paper situates Nilanjana’s decision as an attempt to have autonomy in life rather than being a submissive wife.Her desire to live on her own driven by her urge is an attempt to redraw new norms for her freedom. As a qualitative approach, it reviews articles and books concerning Nasrin and her work. The novel supplies information to explore how the characters exist while being guided by their instincts. Existentialism is used as theoretical perspective to explore how the protagonist in the novel has liberated herself rather than clinging to established norms and values that restrict her freedom. The analysis of the characters’ libidos and their personal convictions ensure the value of freedom in human society. The findings of this study indicate that the characters for their independence and freedom stand as free individuals without being attached to obstructive social norms which the perspective of existentialism emphasizes.