Interrogating Subaltern Voice: Representation and Epistemic Violence in Spivak’s Postcolonial Theory

Amrita Sonal Kalesh; Santosh Kumar Kahar

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.64686

Interrogating Subaltern Voice: Representation and Epistemic Violence in Spivak’s Postcolonial Theory

Author(s)	Ms. Amrita Sonal Kalesh, Dr. Santosh Kumar Kahar
Country	India
Abstract	This paper critically examines the concept of subalternity in the writings of Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak, with particular emphasis on her seminal essay “Can the Subaltern Speak?” and her subsequent theoretical interventions. Situated within postcolonial discourse, the study explores how questions of voice, representation, and epistemic violence shape the conditions under which marginalized subjects are rendered audible or silenced within dominant systems of knowledge. Drawing on Spivak’s interdisciplinary engagement with Marxism, feminism, and deconstruction, the paper analyzes subalternity as a positional condition produced through material exploitation, gendered power relations, and discursive mediation rather than as a stable or recoverable identity. Through a close theoretical and textual analysis, the study highlights Spivak’s critique of historiographical transparency and intellectual mediation, demonstrating how attempts to recover or represent subaltern voices often risk reproducing structures of domination. Particular attention is given to the gendered dimensions of subalternity, illustrated through Spivak’s reading of the sati discourse, which reveals the double marginalization of subaltern women within colonial and patriarchal frameworks. The paper also engages with critical responses to Spivak’s work, reassessing the claim that the subaltern cannot speak as a methodological provocation rather than a literal denial of agency. The study concludes by underscoring the continuing relevance of Spivak’s intervention for contemporary postcolonial literary criticism, emphasizing the need for ethical reflexivity and critical vigilance in engagements with marginal narratives in an era of globalization and mediated representation.
Keywords	Subalternity; Gayatri Chakraborty Spivak; Representation; Epistemic Violence; Marxism; Feminism; Deconstruction
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 1, January-February 2026
Published On	2026-01-22
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i01.64686

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Interrogating Subaltern Voice: Representation and Epistemic Violence in Spivak’s Postcolonial Theory

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