The Female World in Shashi Deshpande’s Novels (Hardbound - 2019)

The book is an intensive study of the projection of the female world controlled and dominated by males in Indian patriarchy with special focus on Shashi Deshpande’s novels: The Dark Holds No Terrors, Roots and Shadows, That Long Silence, and A Matter of Time, which deal with a common issue of the plight and predicament of a middle-class Indian woman who is subjugated, oppressed, harassed and exploited, in one way or the other, and who ultimately emerges as a ‘new’ woman ready to move on with her life with courage, confidence and determination.

The prime aim of the book is to take its readers into various layers and nuances of the female life known for silence, patience, tolerance and sacrifice. A sincere and modest attempt has been made in this book to lay foundation of the proper assessment of the root causes responsible for the tragedy of a middle-class Indian woman, a victimized creature. It intends to convey Shashi Deshpande’s implied message that the status and dignity of the woman can be improved only through self-awareness, self-realization and education. Once the woman realizes that her silence has been her own enemy and sharing her views and feelings is better than being silent and withdrawn, and that she is strong and competent enough to have a healthy and constructive competition with her male counterparts in various fields of knowledge and life, she can be equal to man, and as competent as him, in many respects, her problems will automatically be solved.

The book will be useful for the students of Indian English Literature and researchers in this field.

Dr. Tukaram S. Sawant, is serving as an Associate Professor of English at Tuljaram Chaturchand Arts, Science and Commerce College, Baramati, Dist. Pune (Maharashtra). He has been teaching undergraduate and post-graduate classes for the last 28 years. He has also taught post-graduate classes at various colleges affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune. His area of special interest is English language and literature teaching in Indian context. He has actively participated and presented research papers in various national and international seminars and conferences. He has also been a resource person and a chairperson in national seminars. He has so far published two research papers in national journals and four in international ones. He has completed his research work on Shashi Deshpande, an Indian woman novelist in English. He has co-edited two books entitled, The English Drama and English Language and Literature Teaching. He has written an Introduction to the book English Language and Literature Teaching and contributed an article “Approaches to Literature: A Brief Review” to the same book.