Subaltern Women’s Labour and Agency in Thomas Hood’s “The Song of the Shirt”
Kristen Jovina. AP.G. ID No: 23083045101812014, P.G & Research Department of English Holy Cross College (Autonomous), Ngl, India, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, India
DOI: https://doi.org/10.71093/iqmrj.v2i1.202601
Keywords: Oppression, Intersectionality, Agency, Marginalised, Subaltern, Resistance
Abstract
The objective of this study is to explore the intersectionality, exploitation, resistance and reclamation of voice within the frameworks of global capitalism and colonial legacies. With a particular emphasis on the poetry and agency of subaltern women, the research examines Thomas Hood’s The Song of the Shirt through the lens of Subaltern Studies. The poem serves as a powerful socio-economic indictment that foregrounds the lived experiences of a seamstress who remains marginalized within both public and private spheres. Hood’s portrayal exposes the lack of autonomy, economic precarity and social invisibility of women in his society. It also simultaneously reveals subtle and subliminal modes of resistance embedded in their endurance and expression. By analysing the intersections of gender, class and labour, the study demonstrates how working-class women are subjected to layered forms of oppression under the capitalist system. The research situates the female labouring body within broader global and colonial structures of exploitation. The poem captures the psychological and emotional experience of the marginalised woman of relentless labour, exhaustion, despair and alienation as consequences of capitalist exploitation. The study also highlights how The Song of the Shirt critiques the dehumanizing mechanisms of industrial capitalism by rendering visible the otherwise ignored contributions of subaltern women. Through poetic representation, Hood restores a measure of voice to these women, transforming suffering into testimony. Ultimately, the research positions the poem as an early articulation of subaltern resistance, drawing attention to women’s agency within the oppressive socio-economic systems.
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