• Mirza Aqeel Abbas

ABSTRACT The foundation of Toni Morrison’s novels always often centers around the lives of Afro-American women who are trying to come out of the fixed identity attributed to them by the society. The atmosphere around them builds a wall of constrain in which they are unable to express their true identity. They have a double wall of sexual inequality and gender disparity to contend with. The prevalence of female characters in the novel who have been affected by love and betrayal. The women characters in the novel, Love are effected by both feelings of abandonment and betrayal. The characters of May, Christine, Heed and Junior are all victims of love and betrayal. There is a challenge faced by these women characters as far as their relationship with men is concerned. At the same time they also suffer due to the relationship that they have with women around them, who often break their trust and put them in an awkward position. Each woman has a separate struggle while she contends the forces of sexual exploitation, gender discrimination and colour segregation. The Cosey women are all followers of cultural feminism as they celebrate their unique qualities of being subordinate and invisible members of the society but they fail in the conclusive definition of the extremist approach of cultural feminism as they are not able to create an ideal matriarchy.

Keywords: love, betrayal, cultural feminism, subordinate, invisible, gender disparity

"Identity Crisis, Abandonment and Betrayal of Afro-American women in Toni Morrison’s Love ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.9, Issue 5, page no.c363-c373, May-2022, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2205346.pdf

"Identity Crisis, Abandonment and Betrayal of Afro-American women in Toni Morrison’s Love ", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.9, Issue 5, page no. ppc363-c373, May-2022, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2205346.pdf