Seeking the Self, a Study of the Female Protagonists in the Novel of Anita Nair's 'Ladies Coupe'

“They wept together, for the things they now knew.”(104) The last sentence of the first story in Interpreter of Maladies, reveals the cruelty of the elapsed romance in a marriage. In the two collections, A Temporary Matter and The Third and Final Continent, Jhumpa Lahiri demonstrates that a marriage can be either uplifting or discouraging depends on the mindset held by the couple and the strength of human bonding. Lahiri emphasizes the significance of mindset and human bondings through the ending of the two stories. The endings of the two stories are polar opposite : In A Temporary Matter, Shukumar and Shobha weeps for the termination of their relationship; The Third and Final Continent, by contrast, the protagonist(MIT) enjoys a fairytale-like

Mahasweta Devi’s short story, “Giribala,” is about the life of Giribala, a girl of Talsana village located in India. Born into a caste in a time when it was still customary to pay a bride-price, Giri is sold to Aulchand by her father. From this point on, we see a series of unfortunate, tragic events that take place in Giri’s life as a result of the circumstances surrounding Giri’s life. There are many issues in Giri’s life in India that Devi highlights to readers. First, the economic instability of the village leads to an extremely poor quality of life for the lower, working classes. Next, the cruel role of women determined by men in society is to either satisfy the sexual desires of men or to reproduce offspring who can work or be sold off to marriages. There are also other social norms and beliefs which discriminate against women that will be discussed.

Anita Nair’s “Ladies Coupe” has narratives by six women characters who by chance meet in a train ladies coupe that Akhilandeswari alias Akhila boards in. all the women speak of the repressive forces of a patriarchal India. Though they are from different community or cultural, all women share pain in different means. The novel is a ‘bildungsroman’ either narrating the childhood to adulthood life or the characters liberation by developing confidence to shun the web of patriarchal metaphors.

She also believes that the novel can inspire and make the readers act accordingly. Most of the female protagonists of Rajam Krishnan are victims of the joint family set up where they are denied their personal rights. This in turn leads to their alienation. In most of her novels we find the female protagonists following one principle that is they believe in getting rid of the obstacle and walking out to find a better environment. Rajam Krishnan does not stress only on walking out but firmly instructs to set their own final destination. The situation of the women caught in such traumatic situation is similar to that of standing in the middle of cross roads. One will be surely confused to select the right path to reach the correct destination. Rajam Krishnan’s female characters also face the similar situation but they are and capable enough to choose the right direction even at the cross roads. They possess the ability to fight any obstacle bravely and to be bold in all walks of life and in any situation. They neither blindly follow the unrealistic rituals of the society nor accept

So is the case of Sarah, the heroine of the novel who stands between the poles of India and England. Sarah is one of the best women characters of all Anita Desai’s novel. She is weak but possesses steady voice. Sarah, Adit’s wife, represents for reconciliatory approach between East and West. She becomes a victim of psychic and social alienation. Sarah oscillates between her

This paper attempts to examine the fictional projections of Indian girls, to see how they emerge in ideological terms. Their journeys from self-alienation to self-adjustment, their childhood struggles against the hypocrisies and monstrosities of the grown-up world, eventually demolishing the unjust male constructed citadels of power that hinder their progress- are the highlighted issues. The point of comparison between the two novels focused on here is the journey of Rahel in The God of Small Things and Sai in The Inheritance from a lonely childhood to a tragic adulthood passing through a struggle with the complex forces of patriarchal society. Both the novels portray the imaginativeness, inventiveness, independence, rebelliousness, wide-eyed wonder and innocence associated with these young girls.

The short story ‘Girl’ by Jamaica Kincaid demonstrates the importance of the feminist theory and depicts how marginalized women were in the setting of the West Indian / Caribbean society through brilliantly employed satire. The story illustrates the “place of woman” as narrated by the author, asserting the woman’s personhood and autonomy in regards to one of the major tenets of the liberal feminism. In the beginning of the story, it seems as though one is conditioning another on the rules, manners and expected living responsibilities of a woman. However, Jamaica Kincaid perfectly and carefully connects the constructed livelihood faced by each and every Caribbean girl growing up. It is consistent in showing the reader the lack of feminism and what it was like being an exploited woman in a patriarchal society. Along with the setting, the piece uses the aspects of feminism and geographical space to make the piece more relatable and solidifies the

Having moved far from the misery of conventional archetypal women of long back, they think that its hard to stay as housewives. They soon find that their endeavors to accommodate themselves to homemaking just add to their sufferings. When they find that surrendering professional roles does not make them in at any rate happy at home, the female heroines look to escape from their domestic duties too. Giving up their roles as wives and mothers, they swing back to their parent's' homes. The parental homes get to be havens for their fretful souls. There they start their quest for knowledge and for an answer for their private hardships.

Divakaruni contains exquisitely written eleven short stories. The Falgu-like undercurrent of feminist cry runs through the nucleus of the stories. All the stories have women at their foci and lays bare their burning problems, their psychological conflict, their identity crisis, their demythologizing of the womanhood, their rebellious angst against the patriarchal domination, their search for identity, their self-independent and self-actualisation in their lives. Arranged Marriage is Divakaruni’s testament for women’s liberation, women’s right to self-expression and their way-out to individualization. Some of her heroines take control of their destinies single-handedly and some with the assistance of other

As he ventures deeper, the beauty of the maidens ascend accordingly with their wealth, which leads to his selection of last maiden with the greatest fortune and beauty. The tale tends to glorify ancient values associated with women, such as passivity and self-sacrifice. The maidens’ curiosity of who the stranger is must make way for imminent patriarchal needs, such as food and hospitality.

The lives of the residents intertwine and range from comic (2 wives sharing one kitchen is bound to lead to bickering) to tragic (the undercurrent of Hindu-Muslim tensions is ever-present) to divine (a central theme of the novel is a beautiful visualisation of death and reincarnation).

Throughout different cultures, similar themes reflected in writing expose diverse connections between societies. Isabelle Allende’s The Stories of Eva Luna detail everyday life of women in Chilean culture. Bharati Mukherjee’s collection of Middleman and other Short Stories emphasizes how familial changes affect women in Indian culture. An analysis of the works reveals both authors’ creation of strong and compelling female characters.

Using the elements of fiction and truth a mass amount can be gained from understanding how women fit in with the government/patriarchy. From novels comparably, A Passage to India and A Handmaid’s Tale, these two reflect different times: a realistic time of Indian Imperialism and a Utopian fantasy that could indubitably become the future of tomorrow. How do they correspond with the role of women? Both either represent or differ from the true, unseen representation of women amongst the power of the elite, against the suppressors of the minority, and the

Women roles in society have been to take care of their families, and do what is required of “ a woman”. In Jamaica Kincaid’s poem Girl, a mother is giving her daughter advice on how to be a woman; simultaneously, reminding her if she does not obey these duties, she will be considered a “slut”. The mother is explaining to her, the role women play in society, how to act around a man, take care of your spouse, and how to never act less than a woman. Reading Kincaid’s poem alongside the academic article titled, The Female Breadwinner: Phenomenological Experience and Gendered Identity in Work/ Family Spaces, I have concluded that women’s roles in society are outrageous; however, they are improving. This poem has more to do with gender roles and less to do with the pride, integrity, and self worth a woman feels internally as a result of the things she has been taught.

The articles “Voicing the Feminine Within: A Journey through the Life Narrative of A. Revathi”, Writing a Life Between Gender Lines: Conversations with A.Revathi about her autobiography The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story”, Gender Geometry: A Study of A. Revathi’s autobiography The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story and the interview Voice of Visibility by NithinMayanth are the only works directly based on Revathi’s autobiography The Truth About Me: A Hijra Life Story, the primary text of this research.