Indo-Anglican Novel: Meena Shirwadkar

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Recommended: Indian feminism in literature

With the advent of the 20th century, the change in the statue and spirit of women has been noted by sociologists. In post-independence India, when women’s education commenced, life had started changing. The spread of education inculcated a sense of individuality among women and aroused an interest in their rights. The early writers presented the traditional type (sita) but the writers tried to show the emerging new woman. The new woman does not want to lead a passive married life of a sacrificial and shadowy creature because the education has matured her sense of individuality. R.K.Narayanan portrays a wide range of feminine characters from conventional to rebellious. Mulk Raj Anand wrote for the emancipation of women. Moreover feminist trends appeared on the horizon and they came into conflict with the conventional moral code. The image of woman in literature in recent decades is different from that of the past. Indian English fiction writers during the last two decades of the 20th century provide a glimpse into the female psyche and deal with a full range of feminine experience. A study of the recent Indian English fiction reveals that the female protagonists are quite conscious of their identity and are no longer meek and submissive. There is a marked difference in their attitude as compared to the portrayal of woman in early literature.
In ‘Images of woman in Indo-Anglican Novel’, Meena Shirwadkar claims the changes in Indian society. Novels have started to progress from depicting women characters solely as epitomes of suffering and womanly virtue as portraying more complex as well as real characters. In the recent years, this was taken to understand that writing was the only preference made by women. Through this medium of ex...

... middle of paper ...

...ndian women novelists advocates independence and assertiveness of women by depicting their characters as survivors who successfully bear torment both physical and emotional. They must raise their voice against the brutalities and violence which is caused by the society. They tend to rebuke the male dominating society which discourages self-reliance in women.

Works Cited:
Seshadri, Vijayalakshmi. The New women in India- English Women Writers Since the 1970. Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation. 1995.
Lakshmi C.S. The Face behind the mask : Women in Tamil literature, Stosius Inc/Advent Books Division ,1984.
Shirwadkar, Meena. ‘Image of Woman in Indo-Anglican Novel’, Sterling Publishers Pvt., Ltd., 1979.
Dhawan, R.K. ed ‘Indian Literature Today’. New Delhi: Prestige Books, 1994.
Iyengar, K. R. S. ‘Indian Writing in English’ , New Delhi : Sterling Publication, 1985.

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