STORYTELLING AS A PANACEA TO GENDER EXPLOITATION IN MARGARET ATWOOD’S THE BLIND ASSASSIN AND THE ROBBER BRIDE

Atwood remarkably presents her characters both male and female as social and cultural constructions, conditioned and influenced by the norms, patterns and practices of society and patriarchal law.To explain the subordination and exploitation endured by men and women in the society owing to wrong beliefs, perceptions myths and traditional practices Atwood provides the allusion through the storytelling in her novels. The paper will explore that how Atwood uses storytelling as a tool to criticize and challenge the traditional myths, historical and cultural narratives that promote the construction of gender identities of men and women according to the norms of proper femininity and masculinity as well as reinforce powerful cultural images and expectations.