Female Protagonists in the Novels of

Abstract

This paper focuses on female protagonists in the novels of Shashi Deshpande”. In fact the works by women writers constitute a major segment of the contemporary Indian writing in English. Today women are seen establishing their identity in almost all walks of life and they have heralded a new consciousness in the realm of literature too. Like other women writers, Shashi Deshpande writes about how women want to be free. Shashi Deshpande, the Sahitya Academy Award-winning fictionist, is regarded with the step of troubles and distress, situation and condition, pain and anguish, destruction and exploitation of middle-class Indian women trapped in the trap of Indian patriarchy. She thinks herself a humanist-feminist, aiming to perform females recognize their inherent strength and potentiality and come at the solution to their concerns and problems on their own without depending on their fellow complements. The present article proposes to critically evaluate Deshpande’s women-oriented fictions with a specific focus on her female protagonists appearing as new women. The present article is an attempt to look deep into the inner psyche and consciousness of her protagonists emerging as new women determined to move on with their lives with strength, self-confidence, and sovereignty.