Genre
Science Fiction
Setting and Context
Inside a dream, an imaginary kingdom called “Ladyland”
Narrator and Point of View
Sultana, narrating from a first-person point of view
Tone and Mood
Conversational, philosophical, fantastical
Protagonist and Antagonist
Sultana, the narrator, serves as the story's central protagonist; men and patriarchal society, as a whole, act as the story's antagonists
Major Conflict
The system of purdah, which is reversed in Ladyland to exemplify how society could become a utopian ideal if men were not in positions of power.
Climax
Sultana waking up from her dream and finding herself in Ladyland
Foreshadowing
Sultana waking up, unsure of where she is foreshadows the fact that the story occurs largely within one of her dreams
Understatement
The casual tone the narrator uses to describe the state of men in Ladyland often understates the severity of inequalities between men and women
Allusions
The story alludes to the Mughal empire by mentioning the Koh-i-Noor and the Peacock Throne, two items of luxury that the Mughal empire possessed
Imagery
The story uses imagery related to the scientific innovations made by the women in Ladyland and images of gardens, flowers, and natural growth.
Paradox
The women in Ladyland oppress their men with the same set of ideals that patriarchy used to suppress women—a situation that brought about the men's fall in the first place.
Parallelism
Ladyland’s past is parallel to the present state of Kolkata. Mardana—imprisoning men—is an inversion of the zenana, where women are imprisoned under purdah.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
