خالدہ حسین کے افسانوں میں عورت کی داخلی دنیا: ایک نفسیاتی مطالعہ

Khalida Hussain’s Short Stories and the Inner World of Women: A Psychological Study

Abstract

This study explores the inner world of women as portrayed in the short stories of Khalida Hussain from a psychological perspective. Khalida Hussain’s fiction is marked by subtle narration, symbolic expression, and a deep engagement with the inner consciousness of female characters. Rather than focusing on overt social rebellion, her stories reveal women’s psychological conflicts, emotional repression, loneliness, fear, and silent resistance within patriarchal social structures. The research analyzes how inner monologue, symbolism, silence, and fragmented narration are employed to represent women’s mental states and subconscious anxieties. Through a close reading of selected short stories, the study highlights themes such as identity crisis, emotional alienation, existential anxiety, and the tension between selfhood and societal expectations. The paper situates Khalida Hussain’s work within modern Urdu fiction and demonstrates how her psychological insight contributes to a deeper understanding of women’s lived experiences. Ultimately, the study argues that Khalida Hussain presents women not merely as social victims but as complex psychological beings whose inner struggles form the core of her fictional vision.