MALE SEXUALITY AND MANHOOD: A STUDY OF SHASHI DESHPANDE’S ROOTS AND SHADOWS AND THE BINDING VINE

Abstract

There are many myths prevalent in our societies that portray men in different ways. Men too tend to believe in myths about themselves. Like other myths, the myth of male aggression and sexuality also shapes male perceptions and attitudes. In the area of sex, one notices, many of the men tend to be highly aggressive in order to assert their superiority and dominance over their women. At times, their aggression takes a violent form which they use as a means to control and coerce the opposite sex. This happens, particularly, in the case of those who feel insecure and lose their sense of confidence and prestige in their own eyes as men when they happen to fail in the economic and social areas. The idea that man by nature is sexually active and aggressive turns them insensitive to the individuality of women. They tend to see the willful expression of their virility and treatment of women as mere sexual objects for their own gratification as something legitimate. This paper is an attempt to study the concepts of male sexuality and manhood in Shashi Deshpande’s novels, namely, Roots and Shadows and The Binding Vine. Some of Deshpande’s men appear to be indifferent to the needs and desires of their wives and thus try to exercise complete control over their sexuality. They feel shocked at woman’s expression of passion as they expect women to be passionless and submissive.