A Comparative Study Of The Search For Identity In Select Works Of Margaret Laurence And C S Lakshmi

Abstract

The Thesis is segmented into five parts. The introductory chapter provides the framework of the thesis and it gives an outline of the thesis. It traces briefly the origin and growth of comparative literature and the growth and development of feminism and the literary contribution of the feminist across the globe that paved the way to break the cocoon wound by the patriarchal ideologies. It gives a bird s eye view of the beginning of feminism in India and Canada. Women s writing propel the mind in various directions as they express their point of view, form and construct womanhood, create a feminine perspective within newer broader dimensions. The second chapter highlights the different images of woman protagonists and analyses Laurence s and Lakshmi s female experience in five striking ways. The first elaborates on the first person point of view so central to the novels. The Second focuses on their relation with other and that identify their self. The third, on their relation with mirror and window. The fourth is about motherhood and the fifth deals with marital discord. It is interesting to note that the two writers thoughts and discussion on women are interrealated in terms of created and liberated world for their women. Both the writers have made traditional portrayal of self-sacrificing women who rebel against social norms and emerge as new women. The most striking feature of Lakshmi s and Laurence s women s is that they are highly creative personalities and tend to be autonomous, intellectual and self-reliant. The stories widen the awareness and awaken the readers. newline