Fractured Trauma and Agency in Phukan’s ‘The Collector’s Wife’

This paper argues that the site of female trauma in Mitra Phukan’s ‘The Collector’s Wife’ is not solely the external sociopolitical conflict but also the coercive domestic spaces and patriarchal institutions that systematically destabilise the sense of self of the protagonist Rukmini. The text is set against the terrifying horizon of political insurgency in the region. This study shows how the internalized trauma, severe reproductive distress, intense marital alienation and widespread surveillance of the community coalesce to fragment Rukmini’s identity. It is these tyrannical structures that transform institutional neglect and informal social control into widespread, deep internal guilt, and emotional isolation. The private and domestic space becomes a principal location for psychological warfare. It is argued that this deep psychological dislocation is precisely the spark for Rukmini's eventual negotiation of agency. Instead of falling prey to the total annihilation of identity under the weight of constricting traditional norms, Rukmini elegantly activates her inner conflicts to forge a reimagined, resilient identity. She reclaims personal agency through meaningful professional engagement as an academician, her symbolic attachments to non-human nature; and conscious psychological distance from the obligatory tasks of marriage and pronatalism. The paper, in probing this dialogue between systemic oppression and self-realisation in depth, demonstrates how female agency within inherently coercive social frameworks is negotiated not through grand, confrontational rebellion, but through the subtle, persistent and strategic reclamation of personal authority of her life.