FROM MARGINALIZATION TO EMPOWERMENT: FEMALE IDENTITY AND AGENCY IN ARIA ABER’S GOOD GIRL

Abstract

Literary depictions of women are concerned with issues of  female identity, autonomy, and resistance against patriarchal structure. Contemporary fiction, in particular, delves into the negotiation of externally imposed patriarchal expectations, as well as attempts to define an independent female sense of self. Aria Aber’s Good Girl offers a valuable contribution to this discourse through the experiences of Nila Haddadi, a young Afghan-German woman grappling with gender, cultural displacement, belonging, and personal freedom. This research examines the construction of a sense of womanhood and woman agency, focusing on how patriarchal expectations, cultural norms, migration, and social marginalization impact Nila’s identity, and how the idea of the ‘good girl’ as a socially constructed identity regulates female behaviour, sexuality and choice. Through the Nila’s experiences of alienation, desire, grief, and artistic expression, the tensions between conformity and self-determination are exposed. Nila’s engagement with photography and creative expression offers a means for articulating experiences that do not conform to traditional ideas of womanhood. Her process of agency formation is not a simple transition from oppression to liberation, but a gradual negotiation, resistance against patriarchy, and self-definition process. The study concludes Good Girl challenges traditional notions of female empowerment and redefines identity as a fluid, socially and personally constructed process through exploring the intersection of gender, culture, migration, and artistic expression. On the whole, the study presents a nuanced portrayal of the struggle towards empowerment, as a process of recognizing oneself, challenging patriarchal norms and reclaiming voice and agency, rather than an absolute liberation from social and cultural restrictions.