Feminist Perspective in the Select Novels of Indian Women Novelists

The postcolonial modern novelists depict ’new woman’ in their fiction, the woman who is the product of modern mercantile society, one who revolts against the traditional social set-up. There is a consistent growth in her behaviour and attitude. Thus, the journey of such a woman becomes a case study of feminism. The present study is limited to the comprehensive study of the four novels written by Shashi Deshpande, Githa Hariharan, Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai. The theme that strikingly dominates in these novels is the plight of women in Indian society. Each of these four writers has focused on the aspect of feminism in her novel, championing the cause of woman in our traditional society. These writers are generally labelled as feminists and their chief concern is to liberate their female protagonists caught up in the shackles of tradition by making the protagonist pass through many an oppressive factor that hedges the natural growth and development of the individual. Thus, the purpose of every feminist writer is to present her woman protagonist as a modern one embracing new values of life.