Portrayal of Indian Women A Study of Select Novels of Shashi Deshpande

Abstract

The present Ph.D. Thesis is entitled Portrayal of Indian Women: A Study of Select newlineNovels of Shashi Deshpande. newlineThe first Chapter introduces Indian English Writing, its origin and backgrounds. newlineSignificance of Indian Writer s contributions is also detailed in the introductory newlinechapter. A brief description about the author selected for this study is given in detail. newlineA review of the related literature is also a part of chapter one. newlineThe Chapter Second titled Marital Discord in That Long Silence analyzes the newlinetheme of marriage and marital discord in Indian marriages. Conflicts between couples newlinearise after marriage mainly due to their cultural backgrounds while psychological newlinedifferences in married people may arise due to many factors including their thoughts newlineor views on life. Shashi Deshpande portrays these intrinsic differences that transpire newlinein the hearts of women through her novel, That Long Silence. newlineThe III Chapter titled Psychological Confrontation in The Dark Holds No newlineTerrors is an analysis of human psyches and specifically female psyches in their newlinegender discriminations. The third chapter examines Shashi Deshpande s Dark Holds newlineNo Terrors in the aforesaid angle and through the study of her characterizations, newlineevents and incidents that revolve around women in the Indian society. newlineThe Fourth Chapter captioned as Voice of Protest in The Binding Vine is the newlinestudy of discriminations of women by males in the Indian society. Indian women are newlinemade subservient from their early childhood with consistent words of their inferiority newlineto men in life. Shashi Deshpande repels these thoughts and her women in this novel newlineprotest very strongly against patriarchal male. This chapter is dedicated to her women newlinecharacters who raise their voice against males in Indian society by being independent. newlinevi newlineThe concluding chapter is the summing of the previous chapters. It newlineconsolidates the analyses done in the preceding chapters. Finally, this chapter sums up newlineShashi Deshpande as a novelist of mettle and calibre.