31, July 2025
Weaponized Truth: Power and Discourse in Colleen Hoover’s Verity
Author(s): Ms. Kirshana R., Dr. Reshmi K.
Authors Affiliations:
1Research Scholar, Department of English, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, India
2Associate Professor, Department of English, PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, India
DOIs:10.2017/IJRCS/202507032 | Paper ID: IJRCS202507032Abstract
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Abstract: The paper focuses on how manipulation and psychological control works in Colleen Hoover’s Verity, using Michel Foucault’s ideas about power, surveillance, and discourse. Even though Verity Crawford is in coma, she still has a strong narrative influence on the people around her especially Jeremy and Lowen. According to Foucault, power isn’t always about control from the top but it can also be silent and hard to see. This study shows how Verity uses silence and her hand written autobiography to watch and control others without doing anything directly. She becomes a kind of panopticon where she doesn’t need to take direct actions. Just the idea that she might be aware of what is happening in the house is enough to make others uneasy. Her manuscript, whether it’s true or not, becomes a powerful way to shape thoughts and actions of others. This connects with Foucault’s view that language and the way of narration can influence understanding of the reader. In the end, the novel is not just a thriller, but it also reveals how silence and hidden forms of power can control people. This aligns with Foucault’s theory, that things like the idea of truth can also be more powerful than force.
Keywords: Psychological manipulation, Foucauldian power, surveillance, discourse, narrative control.
Ms. Kirshana R, Dr. Reshmi K, (2025); Weaponized Truth: Power and Discourse in Colleen Hoover’s Verity, International Journal of Research Culture Society, ISSN(O): 2456-6683, Volume – 9, Issue – 7, Pp. 213-216. Available on – https://ijrcs.org/