Novels of Shashi Deshpande: A Study with Humanistic Perspectives

Abstract

The crux of novels of Shashi Despande lies in the fact that, it’s not easy to sustain and survive as a woman with dignity in the patriarchal and tradition bound society. The venture may land them into tremendously disastrous situation. At the same time, the message communicated by Deshpande is loud and clear that they will not lie low suffering the pangs of their situation meekly. The protagonists would wage a war against the hostile human condition in which they are found trapped as if it were a cage. In this respect her writings are akin to the vision of Anita Desai unlike that of Arundhati Roy, Shobha De and Manju Kanpur. Despande and Anita Desai evolve a balance between traditional demands and circumstantial compulsions and renegotiate their will to transcend the facticity they are plagued with.