This article examines the moral and ethical transformation of the unnamed female protagonist in Banu Mushtaq’s Heart Lamp through feminist literary criticism and Kohlberg’s theory of moral development. The narrative demonstrates how patriarchal structures govern women’s emotional survival and moral choices within South Asian Muslim domestic settings. At the beginning, the protagonist complies with patriarchal expectations out of fear, reflecting Kohlberg’s pre-conventional stage shaped by external authority. Her encounters with Shaista, a mother exhausted by continuous childbirth, and Asifa, a girl deprived of education, deepen her awareness of shared female suffering and expose the gendered inequalities embedded in everyday life. Drawing on Simone de Beauvoir’s notion of woman as “the Other” and Elaine Showalter’s gynocritical framework, the analysis highlights how the protagonist’s growing empathy destabilizes established norms and initiates a profound moral awakening. The recurring lamp symbol illuminates her gradual shift from conformity to critical consciousness, marking her internal struggle to reclaim agency. As she progresses toward Kohlberg’s post-conventional stage, she recognizes systemic injustice, challenges oppressive expectations, and asserts her ethical autonomy.Through this transformation, the story reveals how moral development becomes intertwined with feminist resistance, showing that personal awakening can evolve into a powerful challenge to patriarchal authority. The protagonist’s journey underscores the emotional burdens imposed on women while also foregrounding their capacity for resilience, solidarity, and ethical self-determination. This study also offers a distinct academic contribution by demonstrating how feminist resistance can be analyzed through the lens of moral psychology, providing new insight into the interplay between ethical development and women’s agency within patriarchal structures.

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