Self-Alienation to Self-Adjustment: Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things and Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss

Women in India were unaware of their miserable condition. It is in the post independence period the women’s quest for identity of her own commenced. The 20th century saw the shift from outer to inner sensibilities and no one can better understand a man or woman better a feminine writer. In modern English fiction a number of women novelists have arrived on the literary scene, they have set out making new forays in to the world of women. Nayantara Sahgal being a feminist writer has emphasized in her novels on freedom and a new definition of the New Women. Sahgal’s heroines are well aware of the injustice done to them in their marriage and they come out of this traditional bond.

Anita Nair is a popular Indian English-language writer. She has much insight into the concerns of studies, family, love and striving for fame and fortune . She makes an attempt to show the quality of strength in a woman. Anita Nair also adds that strength is not usually considered a woman as this. Her styles ultimately differ from other feminist writers. In other words, she is a feminist with difference. She traces the real position of women in the families as well as in the society. Her attempt to exhibit the plight, fears, dilemmas, contradictions and ambitions of her women characters is remarkable. Her primary focus of attention is the world of women, the struggle of women in the content of modern Indian society. Her novel reveals the

The oppression of women has plagued society for many centuries. Many cultures face despotism in various forms due to their cultures’ customs and beliefs. These cultures have set standards for women that have limited them in their abilities and choices. It is a problem that, to this day, women encounter. In literature, many authors have attempted to highlight the difficulties that women are faced with through their stories. Mahasweta Devi, author of “Giribala”, and Rabindranath Tagore, author of “Punishment” both discuss the issues of empowerment over women through the themes presented in their story; the liberation of women is a costly endeavor. Devi and Tagore both display a distinct idea of what liberation means, and how such freedom can be obtained with a cost through the depiction of two main characters who strive to gain their own freedom, and in the process, find themselves. Seeking and gaining complete freedom is a difficult task to fulfill. One must go to extreme lengths to escape the inequality that they are faced with.

The God of Small Things is a family saga taking of a remote village in central Travancore region of South Kerala, the rustic idyll set in the author’s childhood and told endearingly through the stream of consciousness of a small girl. The story is purely autobiographical. In the novel, the writer breaks the regular sequence of events and allows them to the sad fate of Ammu shared by her two egg twins, Rahel and Estha. The theme of doomed love between Ammu, the Syrian Christian, Velutha,

In today 's culture, women assume an essential part in every family. Women were once viewed as the minority, in which their occupation was to be the overseer of their family. This is similar in the case of Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s Secret Daughter; Kavita, one of the female protagonists in the novel. Growing up in a typical Indian household, with practically zero education, and was taught how to be a housewife from an early age. Kavitha, taking after Indian customs, had an arranged marriage once an appropriate husband was found for her. Then again, Somer, another female protagonist in the story, experienced childhood in a Caucasian family, with a proper education and was given the choice to pick her life partner. Motherhood is explored through both Kavita and Somer’s hardships in their post-pregnancy, Somer’s protectiveness of Asha, and Kavita’s continuous sacrifice for her son’s education.

Both “The Namesake” and “The God of Small Things” are examples of post-colonial literature. Through their themes and settings, they both show the repercussions of post-colonialism, cultural shift, suppression, migration and fragmentation. Whilst the perspective of the two novels is different - on from within India, and one outside India - they both capture the troubles of indigenous and non-indigenous people and how they exist either willingly or reluctantly, with a fragmented identity.

Literature provides a window into the lives, thoughts and actions of women during certain periods of time in a fictitious form, yet often truthful in many ways. Through submissive natures, complaint men, using only silent means of escape. Literature forms a means to express the pent up feelings of women and women worldwide have used literature as a tool for expression. Many Indian writers have established a place for themselves by voicing out their cries on behalf of the Indian women. A close reading of British literature up to 19th century reveals that social issues and challenges faced by women form a part of it but they were represented by male writers, the validity of which is ambiguous. Women’s literature which Jane Austen gave rise in true sense, flourished not only in English Literature but also in other literatures.

“Women have mainly played decorative objects in Hindi cinema for a long time. Or, even in films where they had important roles, they are more victims and martyrs or victimizers of other women” – Dr. Shoma Chatterjee (Award winning author, film scholar and journalist, India). Even though Hindi cinema focused more on Male protagonist centrality but during the 1950’s and 60’s Hindi cinema produced films which highlighted Female characters as orphans, wanderers and even Warriors at times. Despite the fact that those films were not women-centric, they still portrayed women as strong characters having the qualities which were supposed to be associated with the male characters for example: Struggling against society for justice, freedom &

This paper deals with the emotional alienation in Arundhati Roy’s The god of Small Things. Our society has created an identity for women since ancient days. Women are considered as a weaker sex and inferior to men. Though she plays an important role in her life, she is not found as an individual human being with all emotions and sufferings. She is supposed to live a life of dedication, surrendering and devotion. In Indian fiction, the women are modeled with the above qualities. Those qualities of women created a large impact on the Indian psyche and the expectation of society, and consciously or unconsciously they have molded themselves to conform to this image. The expectations were raised regarding the behaviour of women, women were been

Kashmira Sheth and Kamla Markanaya depict the picture of such girls in their novels. This paper analyses Leela in Kashmira Sheth’s Keeping Corner , Mira and Pemala in Kamala Markandaya’s Some Inner Fury. These girl are successful in awakening new consciousness amongst other girls and society.

Many a writers of Indian Diaspora have expressed their true emotions and fear through their writing in multifaceted ways. For the non resident Indian writers the struggle is everywhere, whereas the Indians trapped in the cultural conflict in their country itself endure a constant struggle which ends nowhere leads nowhere. The Man Booker prize winning Indian works Midnight’s Children, The God of Small Things, The Inheritance of Loss, and The White Tiger are written with an intention to discuss the inner struggles faced by various elements of the society in India and outside India. The cultural confusion naturally suffered in the displaced society is experience by the characters of the novels in some or the way. They are not able to get rid

Bharati Mukherjee, currently working as a professor in the department of English at the University of California, Berkeley, presents a deep insight into the Indian culture and immigrant experience through her works. The Indian-born American writer Bharati Mukherjee is one of the prominent novelists of Indian Diaspora. She has created a fair place for herself in the literary circle abroad, by her contribution to Indian English writing. Her commendable work places her in the class of great diasporic writers like Salman Rushdie, Vikram Seth and Jhumpa Lahiri. The ailment of the human psyche is Bharati’s forte. She emphatically displays the damaging effects of the severance of the natural roots and the dislocation of geography, climate, race, custom which leads to ‘ declining

The traditions, culture and society in India have given precedence to men over women in multitude of issues concerning family, administration, decision-making and several other matters of high magnitude. This gender bias has gradually taken a shape as male chauvinism, which resulted in the oppression of women and subjected them to insufferable physical, psychological, moral and ethical castigation. Women, albeit contribute equally with men in societal and domestic affairs, are not allowed to enjoy equal status with men in traditional India. Indian society has always manifested them as obedient daughters, dedicated mothers, devoted wives and loving siblings. The funniest thing in Indian culture is a mother, being a woman, alienates her daughter and manifests antagonism to her, if she makes attempts to question gender-bias in her family or in society. The novel is an impeccable manifestation of post colonial period where a woman is fighting for her constitutional rights for education and power. The female protagonist Saritha in the novel acquires good education and becomes a doctor despite her mother’s antipathy to girl education. She sustains her mother’s antagonism to her who perpetually maltreats her with her offhand attitude to her very existence in the family as she wrongly concludes her as the murderess of her dear brother, Dhruva. Further, she is estranged from her family as she marries a person of her choice. Her husband, Manohar is a school teacher. Saritha, being a

The aim of this article is to analyze the reflection of the women empowerment in the Indian Diaspora novel The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. It is rightly said by Alfred North Whitehead- "It is in literature that the concrete outlook of humanity receives its expression." Literature is not only a reflection of the society but also serves as a corrective mirror in which members of the society can look at themselves and find the need for positive change. It is necessary to take a close look at some works of literature, in order to understand how literature actually reflects the society. Literature as a whole grows and changes from generation to generation. It is not static but dynamic. It means that each age has its own particular point of interest and its own particular way of thinking and feeling about things. So the literature which it produces is governed by certain prevailing tastes. These tastes last for a time only. The influence of literature on society is felt directly or indirectly. Women Empowerment is a burning issue of this modern age. So, an effort is done in this paper to reflect the traditional roles which women, especially, Indian women are expected to follow and the role which the women choose in context to a novel the Lowland.

Arundhati Roy Presents a slice of life in a small Indian town where male hegemony as well as Androcentric power relation are prevailing on the other hand, she depicts different types of male and female identity challenging myths. This novel depicts the feministic elements, caste and class gender, political and childhood exploitation. It does not deal with one particular theme. It encompasses all the social issues. The dominance of patriarchal voice and treatment of Dalits and women are mainly focused in this novel. The God of Small Things portrays the struggle of women in the male dominant conservative society. In this novel women of three generations are discussed. The first generations is about Mammachi and second is about Ammu and finally Rahel. The three women are struggled throughout their life and they were not able to survive in a peaceful manner. Mammachi was often beaten up her husband Pappachi. Ammu and Rahel were divorced in their life before they begin their family life and both of them returned to Ayemenem. Both of them became the victims of the so called male chauvinistic society.