Woman and family in recent Indian feminist fiction in English: a select study

Abstract

In India, the centre of family is in principle considered to be ?woman? ? Jayae Dastam (wife is the home) is a Rigvedic expression, which shows how domestic life is interwoven with the life of a ?woman?. In Indian tradition, not only are the goddesses like ?Lakshmi?, ?Saraswathi? and ?Sakthi? are adored in every household for their divinity but the women are also expected to manifest this divinity in their daily life. The burden of such expectations does become a form of oppression for the women and the men, in an astute manner, escape the scrutiny of critical eyes. Thus, the women, who have to magnify themselves to become ?Lakshmi?, ?Saraswathi? and ?Sakthi? see themselves trapped by very mundane situations. They realize that the conferring of the ?Devi? status is only ideological, because in real life, Indians have not given to women what they have given to ?Devi? in the cosmos. From the exalted position of goddess of worship in the Stone Age which celebrated matriarchies or social order with women in charge, the position of women has greatly deteriorated down the ages. The Indian woman is particularly conditioned by tradition and conventions and willingly accepts the responsibility of being the custodian of the family and prestige. It is widely acknowledged that family constitutes the dominant milieu and constructs the primary identity of women. It defines and prescribes the social roles that women will play in familial terms: daughter, wife, mother. Thus family becomes the major site of women?s oppression. An Indian woman is yet to seek identity as a human being with equal status in the family in which she is born and in the family to which she is given in marriage. The introductory chapter features the significance of the family as a vital social institution. It also defines the various terms and systems related to family ? traditional, modern, nuclear, joint and postmodern. Sociological factors that strengthen and weaken the family unit are also discussed.