ISSUES OF IDENTITY AND SENSE OF INSECURITY IN KHALIDA HUSSAIN’SSHORT STORIES WITH REFERENCE TO EXISTENTIALISM

Abstract

Existentialism strives to analyze the basic structure of human existence calling individual to an awareness of his/her existence in its essential freedom. This movement fights against those intellectual and social forces which cripple, stifle or destroy freedom.

Khalida Hussain’s short stories describe the contemporary facts as well as inner feelings of the characters. She describes the inner pain and suffering of the characters in such a way that the painful truth of human fears, doubts, hatred and disgust is seen deeply. These reflect the individual's loneliness and uncertain mortality in their search for their self, and the fear of insecurity and failure renders them helpless and constrained. Khalida Hussain's characters are intelligent. They want the best of life and have a sense of selflessness both outwardly and inwardly. They try to make life meaningful even though they themselves suffer from loneliness, but they are dedicated to share the loneliness and pain of others through their emotions and feelings. She presents mystic ideas and the problem of existentialism in her stories. From this perspective, the anthologies of her stories: are a reference to her contemporary Existentialism. The paper explores contemporary Existentialism in her short stories.