Feminism in Shashi Deshpande's That Long Silence and Anita Desai's Cry, the Peacock: A Comparative Study

Priti Koolwal

doi:10.24113/ijellh.v9i5.11055

Abstract

Feminism is a rapidly developing critical ideology of great promise. In the words of M.K. Bhatnagar, "Feminism in the Indian context is a by product of western liberalism in general and feminist thoughts in particular". With the social and cultural change in post independence India, women find themselves standing at the cross-roads. On one hand it is the consciousness of a changed time and on the other, the socio-cultural modes and values that have given them defined role towards themselves, have led to the fragmentation of the very psyche of these women. Caught between two worlds, they need to define themselves, their place in society and their relationship with surroundings. Anita Desai and Shashi Deshpande have constantly sought to come to grips with these problems of Indian womanhood and vividly and realistically portrayed the 'women question' and 'feministic traits' in their novels. If comparative study is the study of literature across national, political and linguistic boundaries, feminism is the comparative work across boundaries of gender and culture. The main concern of this paper is to present a comparative study of the note of feminism in the best words of both these feministic writers, i.e. Anita Desai's Cry, The Peacock and Shashi Deshpande's That Long Silence.

Highlights

Shashi Deshpande's That Long Silence is an account of the main female protagonist Jaya's own series of memories
Delineating a different aspect of feminism, Anita Desai's Cry, The Peacock attempts the delineation of the diseased psyche of a woman on the brink of insanity
The main reason of Jaya's struggle in That Long Silence is that Jaya wants to develop herself as a woman with liberal thinking

Summary

Introduction

Shashi Deshpande's That Long Silence is an account of the main female protagonist Jaya's own series of memories. Shashi Deshpande delineates 'the delicate swings' of mood, the see-saw movements of joy and despair, the fragment of feelings perceived and suppressed, the life of senses as well as the heart-wringing anguish of the narrator protagonist, Jaya, a housewife, a mother and a failed writer. In the novel, Shashi Deshpande has depicted the psychology of such a woman (Jaya), whose desire to live life with modern, liberal and progressive view, is rejected after her marriage by the traditional family of her husband.

Results

Conclusion