A Sociopragmatic Study of Abuse against Women in “Behind Closed Doors” Novel by B.A. Paris
Wafaa Mokhlos Faisal, Wafaa Abd Ali
The concept of violence and abuse can be defined as the systematic pattern of abusive behavior in a relationship that is used to gain and maintain domineer over another person. This study investigates the socio-pragmatic aspects of the act of verbal abuse against women. This work deals with the verbal violence in British novel by Paris “Behind Closed Doors”. Accordingly, the study aims to answer the following questions: (1) What are the socio-pragmatic stages of verbal violence?(2)What are the main social variables that affect in verbal violence?(3)What are the socio-pragmatic triggers of verbal violence behind the abuser?(4)What are the speech acts used by the abusers in the chosen novels? . It is hypothesized that This study analyses five extracts both quantitatively and qualitatively. An eclectic model is used and it is based on Searle’s (1969), Linder’s (2006) ,Gilbert and Daffern(2010) , Holms(2013), Labov(1966). The study shows that verbal violence is a process of a number of three stages. Gender and position are utilized by the abusers and considered as prerequisites to abuse others in the novel. Put down, insult, and humiliation triggers are used by the abusers in order to devalue the victim. The dominant speech act used is expressive.
Keywords: Sociopragmatic, Triggers, Abusers, Domestic
