Evolution of New Woman: A New Façade of Indian Culture in the Select Novels of Manju Kapur and Shobha De

Abstract

The present paper is a sincere and humble effort to explore the evolution of new woman in India after the partition. The birth of “new woman” in India is a reality, as the concept and position of womanhood has changed in the modern context. Attitudinal shift can be seen in the woman who longer shies away from taking initiatives. Though this new change in thought has its variables, the results are relative depending upon the individual. Through present paper, the researcher has attempted to investigate a new fac ade of Indian culture that gave birth to a new woman presented in the select novels of Manju Kapur and Shobha Dee. The new image of women presented by novelists under study is ambitious, lustful, power hungry and bold. She is an assimilation of western influences as well as her native culture. She is a hybrid who despite of all kinds of upheavals, is able to strike a balance among diverse spheres of her life. All domains of her growth, social, political and psychological remain the focus of our investigation. Index Terms—Evolution, fac ade, new woman, psychological. I. INTRODUCTION This research paper is a sober attempt to study the evolution of new woman in India after the partition. It is pertinent to note that throughout the history of mankind, from its Paleolithic civilization, goddess worship was widely prevalent, and families were matriarchal in their structure. But in the course of time civilization was overtaken by patriarchal dominance, and worship of the male deity became the dominant concept. In social set up, male ego acquired control and predominance in all spheres of social activities such as ritualistic performances, politics, religion and ethnic which in turn submitted women to the place of utter subordination, a secondary place; the insignificant. The phrase „new woman‟ [1] was coined originally by Henry James and intended by him to characterize American expatriates living in Europe. Women of affluence and sensitivity exhibited an independent spirit and were accustomed to acting on their own. The socio-political and economic forces brought about awareness in women who took up the new roles in the social, political and economic life. In the post World War, the slang „Flapper‟ was applied to a „new breed‟ of young western women who revolted against the Victorian conventional set up and assumed new fashionable and modern roles in the society as quoted by