Portrayal of Women in the Novels of Nayantara Sahgal and Shobha De: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Feminism, Self-realization, Indian women, New Woman Indian Literature in English has journeyed a long way to achieve its present glory and grandeur. At present a number of women writers through their writings offer penetrative insight into the complex issues of life. The fictional concerns of these women writers analyze the world of women, their sufferings as victims of male hegemony; they also express social, economic and political upheavals in Indian society. Among these women writers Shobha De and Nayantara Sahgal has earned a separate space for their particular attention towards psychological insight and existential concerns. These new generation of writers talked about the self-realization of women. The high class, educated, sensible women became protagonist in t heir novels. Their women were new class of women whose lives were not infested by problems of dowry or poverty. These Indian women lived a blessed life as far as material standards are concerned, but there was something wanting, some vacuum in their lives. These women were facing the problem of identity. They show concern about basic human problems and to them woman is a mother, a wife, a daughter, a housewife, a working woman and above all she is a woman. Their women are the victims of a male-dominated society. In their novels men are not always sinners or oppressors. They explore the identity of the oppressor and show a holistic approach to the problems of women through their novels. They have raised woman’s issues and strove to reach to their solutions as well.