Abstract
This paper discusses the symbolic significance of the threshold of home, a constructed perceptual
barrier between male and female spaces, with reference to the fiction produced by Pakistani
women writers. There are famous anonymous adages: “It is a man’s world” and “Woman’s place
is in the home.” This sums up the reality as seen by patriarchy. Taking these notions as basis,
spaces for women are defined. First category is “Home” and second category is “Outer Space”.
This paper focuses on one space which is seen as the space inside the home, yet it is the separator
between the inner space and outer space i.e. threshold. Crossing the threshold constitute an ageold form of restraint and constraint as far as South Asian religious, cultural, social and literary
tradition is concerned. In South Asian tradition, this boundary-line or threshold is symbolized
occasionally as Laksman-rekha1, a notion from Hindu mythology. This notion comes from
Ramayana, which comprises a set of legends and stories and a rich part of South Asian literary
and religious tradition. Complete works of twenty-six Pakistani women fiction writers, writing in
six different languages were studied for this purpose. It was seen that threshold plays a significant
role in determining the status of women of this society, i.e. if the women stays within the
boundary-line or not
Ambreen Salahuddin , Muhammad Zakria Zakar, Ahmed Usman. (2016) Threshold: A Spatial and Ideological Barrier in South Asian Fiction - A Case study of Pakistani Women Fiction Writers, South Asian Studies, Volume 31, Issue 1.
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