A New Historicist Perspective of Staples’ Novel, Shabanu: Daughter of The Wind

Abstract

This paper examines Suzanne Fisher Staples’ novel, Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind, through the lens of New Historicism founded by Stephen Greenblatt. This novel narrates the intellectual history of the people of Cholistan. The fictitious characters introduced and the fictional environment developed effectively depict the historical perspective of the people of Southern Punjab and Cholistan. When the novel, Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind is analyzed through this theoretical lens, it becomes evident that the historical context of the period in which it was written is vividly portrayed.  As the new historicists emphasize that literary works are the   windows to delve deep into the historical and ideological conditions of a specific time. Therefore, study of the novel in light of the New historicism provides “little histories” of Cholistan and its people suggesting that history is rooted in literature books.  The novel endorses the concept of “the refusal of universal aesthetic norms” (Gallagher & Greenblatt, 2000, pp. 6-7) and challenges the generalized narratives about Cholistan, often overlooked and incorporated within broader portrayals of Punjabi society. This study reveals that if a reader seeks insight into the political history of Cholistan, he or she can find glimpses of it in Staples’ novel, Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind that encapsulates historical perspectives of the time.