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Abstract

Monica Ali’s novel Brick Lane (2003) is not a definitive portrayal of a geographical location but rather a narrative centered on Nazneen, a Bangladeshi immigrant, and her transformational journey from a silent, passive figure into a self-reliant, successful seamstress. Following her marriage to an older man named Chanu, Nazneen relocates from a remote village in Bangladesh to Brick Lane in London. Her progress towards independence is shaped primarily by her friendship with Razia, a fellow immigrant, and partly by her affair with a young activist, Karim. Additionally, she receives emotional support from her sister, Hasina, which is conveyed through letters that sustain her from a distance. In this paper, I analyse the growth of Nazneen from a subservient housewife to a working woman through a qualitative textual analysis. I employ care theory, transnational feminist theory and anti-essentialist theories of subjectivity to critique Nazneen’s transformation from a sari-clad, docile housewife to an independent seamstress living on her own terms. The paper argues that Nazneen’s success demonstrates how a supportive environment enables the subversion of gendered power hierarchies, emotional neglect, the public and private divide, and other forms of gender oppression. Furthermore, Nazneen’s attainment of agency illustrates how multimodal practices of care—such as friendship, conversation, touch, and emotional intimacy through the body—foster confidence, thereby situating Brick Lane as a text that advances an inclusive vision of belonging and solidarity beyond national, cultural, and ethnic boundaries.

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