Her-story: A Gendered Analysis of Wartime Violence in Lisa See’s The Island of Sea Women

Abstract

The research paper explores gender-based violence in conflicts on the Korean peninsula through textual analysis of Lisa See’s novel The Island of Sea Women. Johan Galtung’s theory of violence serves as the theoretical background for the study. Using the dimensions of violence prescribed by Galtung, the paper examines the different types of violence women are subjected to in warzones. The research paper finds that women suffer immense physical, physiological and structural violence in conflicted areas specifically due to their gender. Physical transgressions against women in war include bodily harm, sexual violence, physical displacement, domestic violence and dangerous working conditions. Instances of psychological violence include threats of violence, conscription of male family members, mourning the loss of loved ones, breakdown of female relationships and suffering from social stigmatization. Structural violence against women includes extensive poverty, lack of food and education and financial exploitation. The different types of violence suffered by women in warzones create a comprehensive image of the war experiences of women and literary works centered around such narratives provide a necessary representation of female experiences of war. The paper, thus, platforms women’s voices and hopes to lend visibility to female experiences of violence.