Anita Desai’s novels unravel the mystery of the inner life of her characters. Anita Desai is interested in the psychic life of her characters. For her it is a depth which is interesting, delving deeper and deeper into a character or a scene rather than going round about it. She incorporates themes such as the agony of existence, the meta-physical void, the fears and trembling of her protagonists whose values, beliefs and structures are jeopardized, which, in turn, stand in the way of the individual’s self-realization. However, there is a genuine attempt suggesting a struggle to attain a maturity of outlook, and positive growth. Her forte is “the exploration of sensibility – the particular kind of Indian sensibility that is ill at ease among barbarians and the philistines, the anarchists and the moralists.(Iyenger 1983: 464).
According to her, the warp and woof of her works attract attention when “ the themes are analysed, the social and political elements are subtly camouflaged and subdued by dwelling on emotions and responses which are far more engrossing than the hard facts of reality.(Jain 1987:1). As her discussion progresses from thematic concerns to philosophical and psychological issues.The primary task of this paper is to dwell upon the female strength without losing the inner self of the character in all critical situations. The focus will remain on the politicization of land and landscape through the study of women’s search for identity in this complex social world where alienation, disintegration and submissiveness are inherently attached to female psychology. For example, Where Shall We Go This Summer is based on relating Sita’s desperate search for direction of India’s anxiety to find her identity.
Meenakshi Mukherje...
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In every one of our patient analyses shows us that they had been carried back to some particular period of their past by the symptoms of their illness or their consequences. In the majority of cases, indeed, a very early phase of life is chosen for the purpose – a period of their childhood or even, laughable as this may sound, of their existence as an infant at the breast(Freud 1973: 314).
Works Cited
• Anita Desai,Cry, the peacock . New Delhi: Orient Paperback, 1980.
• K.R.S Iyenger, Indian Writing in English . New Delhi: Sterling Publishers, 1983.
• Jasbir Jain, Stairs to the Attic: The Novels of Anita Desai .Jaipur: Printwell, 1987.
• Meenakshi Mukherjee, “The Theme of Displacement in Anita Desai and Kamala Markandaya,” World Literature Written in English, Vol.17, 1978.
• Sigmund Freud, Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis .England: Penguin Books, 1973.
One statement in the beginning of the book was especially poignant to any one who studies Indian culture, It is easy for us to feel a vicarious rage, a misery on behalf of these people, but Indians, dead and alive would only receive such feelings with pity or contempt; it is too easy to feel sympathy for a people who culture was wrecked..
Though varied in cultural they share a deep interest in evolving female culture and liberation of women. Our thesis mainly focused on her one of the novel “The hero’s walk” which mainly deals with Diasporic sensibility like “The hero’s walk”, “Tamarind Mem” And “Can You Hear the Night Bird Cell?” Written by her also deals with the same theme of Diasporic sensibility “Tamarind Mem” (1997) grew out of her university thesis. Her novels deal with the complexities of Indian family life and with the split that emerges when Indian move to the west. Her first novel “Tamarind Mem” deal with pungent sugary home sickness of her Indian sensibility portraying her memories of her past days, depicting the descriptions of Indian domestic life. Her second novel “The Hero’s Walk” could be the best illustration to her alien feeling which was clod in a fine garb of refinement. And also she has portrayed the clash between the cultural of East and west. She attempts to explore the nuances of Diasporic consciousness by the quait portrayal of woman characters. Badami’s third novel “Can You Hear the Night Bird Call?” Explores the golden Temple slaughter and the Air India Bombing was set against the back drop of Punjab division “Can You Hear the Night Bird Call?” Could be branded as a historical novel, as the plot conveniently moves between India and Canada in 1947. It tries to explore the
Jhumpa lahiri (1967), born of Bengal parents, was awarded Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000 for her debut collection of short stories entitled “Interpreter of Maladies”, (1999). Her very first novel “The Namesake” (2003) made her more popular. Her second short story collection “Unaccustomed Earth” (2008) has again established her as one of the most excellent and commendable fictionists of the world. Not only a Diaspora writer of Indian origin, but she can also be called an American writer, because of her constant obsession with the American way of life. Her narrative world shuttles between India and the U.S.A. The imbibing of influences of various past or contemporary authors and her excellent narrative technique establish her as one
At the core of her writing always remains the recurring presence of India, fastened with shared anguish of personal loss that generates the aesthetics of readjustment and recuperation. Her literature allows for a variety of readings such as Feminism, Transnationalism and Multiculturalism, with notions of exile, postcolonialism, and hybridity mixing with myth and magic situated at the very core of Divakaruni’s numerous narratives that would not exist without these dimensions. Queen of Dreams, is such a bewildering bewitching creation of her genius. From the title, it may sound somewhat, as probably it would going to describe as a lover’s cry for his dreamgirl, ‘swapno ki raani’, as a very popular hindi song is there; and we must know that Divakaruni has a special fondness for hindi movie songs, which recurs so many times in her narratives. It begins somewhat unexpectedly, as if in the medias-res, with the events described in a dream journal; and the description of a snake, the harbinger of death, preparing someone for her impending death; unavoidable, irresistible closeness of everything. It takes us aback as we are unable to guess what is going to be presented before us. Then chapter by chapter the story unravels itself, presenting of course, a ‘queen of dreams’, one who can interpret the dream of others and provide immediate solutions to their
Lahiri examines her characters’ struggles, anxieties, and biases to explain the details of immigrant psych and behaviour. Jhumpa Lahiri through her work states that the distinction between human cultures is man-made. The characteristic of her writing is “plain” language and her characters. Often Indian immigrants to America must find a way between the cultural values of their homeland and their adopted home. Jhumpa Lahiri has the abilitie to pass on the most seasoned social clashes in the most prompt mold and to accomplish the voices of a wide range of characters are among the one of a kind qualities that have caught the consideration of a wide crowd. She was conceived in London, and after that moved to Rhode Island as a youthful kid with her Bengali guardians. It is especially engaging that Jhumpa Lahiri is the child of Indian immigrants and that she also crosses from England, her birth place, to the U.S.A. and became an American citizen. In The Namesake, Lahiri’s experiences of growing up as a child of immigrants resemble that of her protagonist, Gogol Ganguly. Immigration became blessing in disguise as that makes her a Diaspora writer. In her novel, The Namesake, Lahiri deals with the frightful experience of Ashoke and Ashima, the Indian immigrants and their offsprings, Gogol and Sonia, the second generation, conceived and raised in America. This novel manages space, time, dialect, and societies for drawing out the substance of Indian diaspora. Lahiri has specified three landmasses - Asia, Europe and North America in her novel. She plans to build up the topic of the novel, diasporic dilemma, through the fundamental characters-Ashoke, Ashima, and Gogol. For Ashoke, diasporic strain isn't profound. It is exceptionally obvious in Ashima and Gogol. Sonia is
The t0pic 0f the research paper is 0n KAMALA DAS as a C0nfessi0nal p0et with special reference t0 her P0em DANCE 0F THE EUNUCHS. Kamala Das is perhaps the m0st interesting and c0ntr0versial figure in p0st-c0l0nial Indian English p0etry. She writes with 0utsp0kenness and truthfulness unusual in Indian c0ntext. Her private experiences and 0bservati0ns are portrayed in her poems but those familiarities and interpretations appear t0 bec0me universal. Her v0ice als0 symb0lizes the m0dern w0men’s v0ice wh0 wants t0 free her fr0m the religi0us 0rth0d0xy (d0s and d0n’ts). Being a c0nfessi0nal p0et, Kamala Das takes the reader int0 the w0rld 0f her private life and unveils the delicate facts and even the bedr00m secrets.
Uprooting from one's own culture and land and the agonies of re-routing in an alien land are depicted in many postcolonial works. This paper is an attempt to discuss the postcolonial dilemmas faced by the characters in Kiran Desai's novel The Inheritance of Loss. They often face the problem of identity and alienation and become frustrated at the end. Even when they come back to their own country, like the Judge in the novel, they develop a sense of distrust and anger. They are in a state of confusion from which they will find it difficult to come out. The paper will mainly focus on the postcolonial experiences of Jemubhai Patel, the Judge and Biju, the son of the Judge's cook who eventually supposed to have found out happiness in the reunion with his father, though he has lost all that he earned from his brief time in
Ramamoorthy, P. “My Life is My Own: A Study of Shashi Deshpande’s Women” Feminism and Recent Fiction in English Ed. Sushila Singh. New Delhi: Prestige, 1991.
By portraying women that find themselves in extraordinary situations at various points of their lives, Nair and Lahiri-whose novel does not focus primarily on women-challenge the traditional roles Indian women, are ascribed. Most of the women they depict in their novels are particularly strong women who are determined to fight for themselves no matter what. Doing so, they often break the codes the society has imposed on them, either deliberately or as a side effect. Crossing the lines of what is and what is not allowed in human relationships is what Nair's novel examines, as well as the consequences that it brings for all who are involved either directly or indirectly. The characters in “Namesake” are strong women who fight for their rights and are prepared to face the consequences. None of them is, however, able to imagine how different-and much crueler-the real consequences can be from what they expect. There is a great discrepancy between what they imagine would be an appropriate punishment if they cross the lines and what they really have to face when they do. What might seem to be a normal behaviour to a Western woman can have literally lethal consequences if performed by a South Indian middle class woman, acting on a whim or following one's dreams regardless of what the others may say is a behaviour that not only is not tolerated, but is punished rather severely.
The format of the book is that of a speculative mythology thriller based in contemporary Ayodhya, Mithila and Lanka. It has been almost a decade since Sita has mysteriously disappeared from Ayodhya, leaving it an intolerably repressive kingdom, where dark secrets lie beneath the veneer of the glorious ‘Ayodhya Shining’. Peppered with many parallels to contemporary socio-political conditions in India, the book makes intelligent comments about vital issues like land dispossession, a biased media, the government-corporate nexus, terrorism, state surveillance, intolerance, manipulation of ‘history’ and of course, misogyny. Amidst all this, our unnamed narrator journalist develops an obsession for searching for Sita which becomes a metaphorical journey for hunting out the truth. Along the way, she comes across rebels and the misrepresented, like Kaikeyi, Shoorpanakha and Sam Boo Kha, who shed very different light on the official version of Ayodhya’s story, though we are also indirectly cautioned against taking all their words at face value. An elderly, decrepit Kaikeyi in the prologue to the novel remarks, “…me, Kausalya, Sita—all we’ll ever be are villains or footnotes in history textbooks” (19). To redeem such women, the novel carries the testimonies of several of them, forging an unlikely bond between them through a story that otherwise thrusts them apart. Thus, a feel-good story slowly unravels to reveal its cracks and fissures until a new one emerges, bitter but more
Generally, in the depiction of the immigrant woman’s negotiations with the New World, Bharati Mukherjee’s treatment of the past spacetime becomes crucial. Usually, her novels portray the past spacetime as a circumscribing space that must be escaped in order to (re)construct identity. For instance, in Wife, Mukherjee depicts Dimple’s inability to escape from the past as an inability to transform into an American individual who has the agency to define her self. On the other hand, in Jasmine, the protagonist almost completely rejects her past and her Indianness to facilitate her transformation and assimilation in America. Both novels depict the past as a constricting spacetime. However, in Desirable Daughters, instead of depicting the past as an essentialist, fixed entity that thwarts the transformation of identity, Mukherjee highlights the active participation of the past spacetime in (re)defining identity. Mukheree’s new artistic vision parallels Homi Bhabha’s theory of the performative space, whose dynamicity challenges pedagogical fixity and contributes to the continual (re)structuring of both individual identities and nation-spaces. Meanwhile, Mukherjee’s new treatment of the past spacetime resolves some of the dialectical strands of her artistic vision. To delineate the dissolution of these dialectics, this article traces Mukherjee’s portrayal of the past spacetime, first as an essentialist entity, then as a fluid metaphor, and lastly as an ambivalent entity that helps the protagonist redefine her identity. In the process, critics who brush off Mukherjee’s novels as having an Orientalist vision may be made to reconsider her aesthetics as well as her novels.
Mahasweta Devi, always writes for deprived section of people. She is a loving daughter, a clerk, a lecturer, a journalist, an editor, a novelist, a dramatist and above all an ardent social activist. Her stories bring to the surface not only the misery of the completely ignored tribal people, but also articulate the oppression of w...
Joy, in Markandaya's reality, comprises in coming back to the crease, to time-worn circles of customary society and not in fleeing. Escape from institutions is viewed as negative. The conservation of female identity inside the circle is allowed. Rukmani understand this. Whether an Indian woman can accomplish full acknowledgment of herself inside the substantial patriarchal folds of this society is begging to be proven wrong. Feminism has not yet turned into a movement, despite the expansion in the quantity of urban working women. Therefore, individual fights for female freedom don't win strong ground in the restricting of patriarchal society. However, there is more acknowledgements and recognition of the power of woman to go up against man's world notwithstanding her own domestic sphere and in this, the Indian woman is just going further and further. if women’s liberation is a battle to accomplish responsible status in the society at that point it is succeeding gradually. But, if women's liberation is a fight to measure up with men then it is a long way from triumph at least in India
The psychological suppression that Aruna goes through in the novel lead to immense confusion and unidentifiable emotions which ultimately result in resistance and later on in accosted with the voice and breaking of barriers. Resistance of Aruna in the novel presents the simplified desire of a woman to be ‘herself’. She wants to survive in the society by being recognized as a human who has her dignity. The narration of the novel confuses the reader but in the ideological terms the author has put up some very poignant issues. Volga has illustrated that how and why it is important to discover the spaces that women have created for themselves so as to resist the dominance that is asserted on them in order to diminish their sense of individuality. In The Law of the Threshold, Malashri Lal points out that the writings of Indian women have a propensity to be “non aggressive” (Lal, 28) but A Quest for Freedom can be considered aggressive to a large extent as the protagonist refusal to accept the norms is taken a little too far.
Mahasweta Devi’s Outcast: Four Stories powerfully and realistically presents the dismal and pitiable fate of four marginalized women characters—Dhouli, Shanichari, Josmina and Chinta—who are marginalized even by those who are generally considered as the marginalized in society. The writer gives a picture of a three-tier structure in the Indian social order composed of three rungs, the first of the main stream, the second of the marginalized, and the third of the outcast. Herein the writer explores and exhibits the gendered causes lying beneath the social and ...