Abstract

The term “subject” denotes a fixed identity shaped by ideological constructs. Consequently, the analysis of literary works often focuses on ideology and power dynamics, missing the nuances of experience of the self. French theorists Deleuze and Guattari’s notion of “becoming” and Muhammad Iqbal’s philosophy of Khudi خودی advocate for a self that rejects fixed identity and embraces change through self-improvement. Deleuze argues that the unconscious is not a storehouse of repressed desires and fantasies but that it is the mind’s capacity or capability that is constantly being tested. Productive unconscious produces affects, intensities, becoming. Becoming/lines of flight refer to a sudden shift in perspective and its stimulus is not external. It originates in the unconscious. The theorists developed schizoanalysis to trace the production of persons, classes, and interests from coded affects. Literature creates affects and percepts. Deleuze expounds that literary style is not a representation or a depiction but the writer’s unique viewpoint developed over time. Like doctors of society, writers diagnose the ills of thought. The critical study employs schizoanalysis to explore its twofold objectives: first, to explore how “khudi” and Deleuze’s notion of “becoming” can contribute to novel perspectives on the self and identity in South Asian literature, and, second, to examine how style can deconstruct conventional patterns of thought prevalent in patriarchal societies. The study will contribute to the academic debates in postcolonial, cultural, and behavioral studies.