A Psychological Violence and the Silent Control of Women in the Modern Society

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-615-4_33How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Psychological Behaviour; Violence; Silent Control; Emotional or Mental Abuse

Abstract

This research paper explores the issue of psychological violence and the silent control of women in modern society through the play of Marie Ndiaye like Hilda. Unlike psychological abuse, physical violence often remains hidden because it happens through manipulation, emotional pressure, fear, authority, and dependency rather than visible physical harm. The research examines how the character Madame Lemarchand sluggishly dominates Hilda, a domestic worker who is always absent. Her absence from the stage becomes a powerful symbol of erasure, silence, and loss of identity. Although Hilda never appears in the play physically, her life is controlled through language, surveillance, emotional blackmail, and social power. The paper analyses how gender hierarchy, and economic dependence make women more vulnerable to emotional abuse. It also highlights how psychological violence is often normalized within families, workplaces, and social structures, making it difficult for victims to recognize or resist oppression. Using feminist theory, psychological analysis, and textual interpretation, the study focuses on dialogue, silence, and dramatic absence to reveal hidden forms of domination. The study further argues that psychological violence is not an individual problem alone but it is a social issue supported by patriarchal and institutional systems. The paper concludes finally that Hilda presents psychological violence as a modern form of oppression that destroys a woman’s identity and independence without leaving physical marks, while questioning society’s silence toward the emotional suffering of women.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Jay Prakash Vishwakarma
AU  - Poonam Kumari
AU  - Ravindra Kumar Das
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/15
TI  - A Psychological Violence and the Silent Control of Women in the Modern Society
BT  - Proceedings of the Anubhuti 4.0: Discourses in Indian Knowledge Systems – Pathways of Culture, Inclusion, and Sustainability (ICIKS 2026)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 484
EP  - 492
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-615-4_33
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-615-4_33
ID  - Vishwakarma2026
ER  -