Issue Details

SHASHI DESHPANDE’S THAT LONG SILENCE: A FEMINIST STUDY AND HUMANISTIC VIEWPOINT

ABSTRACT

A prominent place has been achieved by Shashi Deshpande in post-colonial New English literature. She was a sharp observer and noticed that the family and society were plagued by many pressing difficulties. She skillfully addressed the pressing themes relating to women’s place in the family and society in her work That Long Silence, which was published in 1990 and won the Sahitya Akademi Award. The main female character in the book is Jaya, who makes the decision to end her silence after 17 years. She is more dedicated and consistent than any other female novelist in her portrayal of a realistic image of middle-class educated Indian women. They undoubtedly began to wonder about their situation as a result of the introduction of Western education and culture. They are deeply interwoven in both modernity and tradition. Despite having the power to advance their status, women are viewed as inferior to men and their servitors. It is evident that the woman’s pain is her fate. Their desires, wills, and aspirations are ignored as a great deal of responsibility is placed on their shoulders by our family and society. Shashi Deshpande never intends to oppose men; instead, he focuses on portraying truth. She is also referred to as a fierce feminist. The roles of women in the family and society were adequately illuminated by female writers like Anita Desai, Kamala Das, Kamala Markandaya, and others. The novelists draw attention to this in a number of different ways. Through Jaya, a character who has aspirations to be heard in That Long Silence, Shashi Deshpande represents women who lack a voice. The writers occasionally make an effort to stay as true to reality as they can, but they never make an effort to express the women’s deepest emotions. Therefore, it cannot be said that Pande’s book That Long Stillness captures readers’ interest or increases their curiosity concerning that silence.

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