Women in Kamala Markandaya’s Novels – Trendsetters in Feminism

Abstract

Literature is the supreme and the most ingenious method of manifestation, enlightening or sustaining or reviving the various social movements. Srinivasa Iyengar quotes Gandhiji in relation to the use of English by the Indian writers to convey their message to the readers: “The purpose of writing is to communicate, isn’t it? If so, say your say in any language that comes to hand” (Iyengar, IV). The portrayal of society in Indian literature is honest and truthful. Indian novel, in effect, is an end product of the Indian renaissance: it came into vogue as an upshot of the bearing of the west on Indian life and literature (Ramesh, 67). The transition may take different forms – status of life, ethnicity, bearings and ethics of men as well as the behavioral paradigm. The demeanour of the Indian novel is replete with Indian aesthetics, creative imagination and compassionate posture. Thus the novel becomes a social deliberation portending positive alternatives to the smothering negatives in life.