Portrayal of the Inner self a Psycho Analytical Feminist Reading of Manju Kapurs Protagonists

Abstract

This research throws light on the individuality of a woman and her relentless quest to seek self-identity. It proposes to deal the burning issue of the identity of women in the context of renowned Indian woman novelist Manju Kapur s five novels- The Difficult Daughters (1998), A Married Woman (2002), Home (2006), The Immigrant (2008), and Custody (2011). The thesis is an attempt to discuss and analyse the lives of protagonists in the select novels of Manju Kapur, the complex human relationship in modern Indian society, especially the man-woman relationship in the present family system. Each novel of Manju Kapur is progressively a search of the self for a heightened female awareness. It depicts the undulations of the inner self of toiling daughters, mothers and daughters-in-law of the Indian society. The careful study of her novels shows her perceptive portrayal of the secret depths of the human psyche; her accurate characterization; her racy and captivating style which invokes vivid images and compels the reader to identify himself/ herself with the characters and situation. We see the emergence of new women in Manju Kapur s protagonists. She has tried her level best to expose the moral and spiritual concerns of modern society in which a hapless and forsaken woman longs for pleasure and freedom. newline